MX2

MXGP keeps running the FOX Holeshot competition trough the rounds of the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship season together with MXGP Partner FOX.

The way it works is that 1 point is awarded per MXGP or MX2 championship race. The first rider who cross the white line painted on the ground at the exit of the first corner will be given a point. At the end of the season, the 2 riders – one per category - with the most FOX Holeshot points will win a mega prize.

At the MXGP of Russia that took place on April the 30^th and May the 1^st in Orlyonok Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings took the FOX Holeshot in MXGP Race 1 and Race 2 respectively while in MX2 it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado who passed the Holeshot line at first in race one and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass who did in Race 2

Watch the FOX Holeshot Films

MXGP FOX Holeshot Film

MX2 FOX Holeshot Film

TAG Heuer has been the official timekeeper of the FIM Motocross World Championship since 2014 and together with MXGP are running the fastest lap competition across each season.

The way it works is: at each and every round of the MXGP season, the rider that sets the best lap time in each class, MXGP and MX2, will receive 1 point in the TAG Heuer competition. The rider that has set the fastest lap at the most rounds throughout the season in MXGP and MX2 classes, and has the most points, will be awarded.

At the MXGP of Russia held in Orlyonok Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli set the Tag Heuer best lap for the first time in 2018 while in MX2 it was the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Pauls Jonass who was fastest during the weekend.

Here below you have the details:

MXGP: Antonio Cairoli at Race 1 Lap 19 with 1.38:324

MX2: Pauls Jonass at Race 1 Lap 15 with 1.42:985

Check out MXGP.com home page for the the Top 3 TAG Heuer Best Lap competition’s ranking.

ORLYONOK (Russia) 01 May 2018 - The 2018 MXGP Season’s 6th round is complete from the Russian circuit of Orlyonok. The MXGP of Russia hosted the best riders of the FIM Motocross World Championship with great success for the second year in a row. Different conditions, improved weather, and a Monday-Tuesday schedule led to amazing racing.

For the first time in 2018 the MXGP class was won by a non KTM rider, the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team bike piloted by Clement Desalle took Russia by storm in 2017 and has repeated his performance again this year. Also returning to the top step of the podium in Russia with blistering speed was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass.

MXGP’s Race 1 was intense and another memorable battle between the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders of Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings. On the start Cairoli took the Fox Holeshot but Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing Team’s Clement Desalle was right alongside and Herlings just behind.

Desalle took the lead on the opening lap from Cairoli with better drive up one of the many steep hills of the Orlyonok Circuit. Behind Herlings in third was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Jeremy Van Horebeek ran in 5th the first 2 laps before Team HRC’s Tim Gajser took the position away from the Belgian. Back at the front Herlings, who had lost time from Cairoli early in the race, was charging in an attempt to pass Cairoli while Desalle sprinted away.

Herlings made several attempts at the Italian but was unable to make anything stick. On the final lap Cairoli closed gap to Desalle but for both him and Herlings it was a little too late. Desalle took the race win, the first of 2018 not by a KTM, with Cairoli 2nd and Herlings 3rd.

For Race 2 Herlings was determined to take the win and gain as many points as possible. When the gate dropped the #84 took the FOX Holeshot ahead of Desalle and Gajser. For Desalle all that was needed to secure the overall was second in race 2.

Cairoli, who started in 4th place, faced pressure from Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Romain Febvre but kept his focus on passing Gajser. On lap 10 Cairoli bobbled while trying to catch Gajser and lost traction before falling. The mistake from Cairoli cost him 1 position to Febvre as he remounted in 5th.

While Herlings and Desalle crossed the finish first and second Febvre took third from Gajser after a great battle for the position. In the overall Desalle had 47 points with 1-2 finishes, Herlings 45 points going 3-1, and Cairoli 38 after his 2-5 score. Meanwhile BOS GP’s Russian star Evgeny Bobryshev finished 14th overall at his home GP.

Clement Desalle after the races said: I feel good, today was really good for me… I wanted to take the GP step by step and actually to finish with a really good day and win. I am really happy about it, about my riding, about quite a few things, to finally have a green bike on the podium in first position with my team it is really nice.”

Jeffrey Herlings: “I took good starts which is important for me, we are getting better and better at that, more controlled. Yeah, in the first race we got third which messed up the overall but to come back swinging in the second race with a FOX Holeshot and then ride good without mistakes… I’m happy to go to Latvia in 2 weeks time, that is one of my favorite tracks on the calendar.”

Antonio Cairoli: “It is good that we made it to the podium because it has been my goal since the beginning of the season, to be on the podium every race…. so it is ok. It is also good that Clement now is getting back into form and that he can be in the mix, it is good for the championship.”

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), 33:30.843; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:01.512; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:03.489; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:25.944; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:34.132; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:39.081; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:44.279; 8. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:45.440; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:45.952; 10. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Honda), +0:55.876.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 33:53.627; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:05.066; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:15.098; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:17.458; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:19.176; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:20.912; 7. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:41.868; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:47.040; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:49.670; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), +0:50.771.

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 47 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 45 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 34 p.; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 33 p.; 7. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 27 p.; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 20 p.; 10. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HON), 19 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 286 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 263 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 212 p.; 4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 203 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 180 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 152 p.; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 150 p.; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 147 p.; 9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 135 p.; 10. Julien Lieber (BEL, KAW), 113 p.

MXGP Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 297 points; 2. Kawasaki, 223 p.; 3. Yamaha, 212 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 188 p.; 5. Honda, 162 p.; 6. TM, 104 p.; 7. Suzuki, 87 p.

After two difficult GPs at Trentino and Portugal Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass returned to his winning shape this week. Lining up to the gate first after winning Monday’s Qualifying Race Jonass came out if the first corner of race 1 in second.

Leading the way with the Fox Holeshot was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jorge Prado. Prado led his Latvian teammate the opening lap but just across the finish line jump Jonass keep his bike lower and was quicker to get the power back to the ground.

As the pair came up the hill and passed the mechanics area Jonass took the lead. Behind the KTM’s was Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 Team’s Ben Watson first followed by F&H Racing Kawasaki’s Adam Sterry and shortly after his Kemea teammate Jago Geerts.

Geerts who won the FIM Junior Motocross World Championship here in 2016 held 4th for 5 laps before crashing and eventually finishing 12th. Capitalizing on the error from Geerts was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen.

Olsen moved to 4th ahead of Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen but then, in a surprising ride from KTM Silver Action’s Stephen Rubini, Vlaanderen was passed. Rubini then charged to the back of Olsen but before making a pass spun out and lost his hard fought 5th back to Vlaanderen.

On the next to last lap Rubini, who was riding the track with more flow than most, took the spot back from Vlaanderen. Across the finish first was Jonass then Prado, Watson, Olsen, and Rubini.

Race 2 was again led by the KTM’s but the second time around it was a FOX Holeshot from Jonass as Prado pursued. Team Martin Honda Racing’s Michele Cervellin was third from the first lap and while Jonass and Prado pulled away he found himself with a comfortable cushion back to Olsen in 4th.

Ben Watson was 5th on lap one behind Olsen but lost positions to both STC Racing Husqvarna’s Henry Jacobi and Vlaanderen. On lap 3 Jacobi dropped to eight moving Watson back up and into 6th.

Watson had Vlaanderen just in front of him from lap 2 until lap 16 when the HRC rider passed Olsen for 4th. The pass on Olsen was important in the overall standings as it gave the final podium position to Watson.

On the last lap Prado charged to the inside of Jonass but wasn’t close enough to make a clean pass which resulted in Jonass taking the race win and the overall ahead of him. Cervellin held onto third with Vlaanderen and Olsen rounding out the top 5. Watson finished 6th but was unaware the result earned him a career first podium until riding up to his team manager who informed the young brit with much joy.

Pauls Jonass: “I really wanted to have two good races heading into my home GP and I did it, I had two good starts, first start I was second behind Jorge and I managed to pass him pretty quick so that was pretty good and in the second race I got a Holeshot and pulled a little gap. I am really happy going 1-1 again and really looking forward to my home GP.”

Jorge Prado: “The weekend was great… I am really happy with 2 second places and second overall especially on track that was difficult for me so I’m really happy.”

Ben Watson: “I honestly have no words for this weekend… I just gave it everything I had and I didn’t actually realize I was on the podium, I was actually gutted because I thought I finished 4th again. I came off the track and my team boss was there, I was just speechless.”

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 34:54.861; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:11.561; 3. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:31.861; 4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:36.859; 5. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), +0:39.204; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, Honda), +0:40.899; 7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:53.491; 8. Jed Beaton (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:58.912; 9. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:59.572; 10. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, Husqvarna), +1:10.071.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 34:38.909; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:01.630; 3. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:39.711; 4. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, Honda), +0:40.600; 5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:41.581; 6. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:43.440; 7. Jed Beaton (AUS, Kawasaki), +1:06.039; 8. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), +1:12.622; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +1:15.696; 10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Husqvarna), +1:20.876.

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 35 p.; 4. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 34 p.; 5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 34 p.; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, HON), 33 p.; 7. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 29 p.; 8. Jed Beaton (AUS, KAW), 27 p.; 9. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 21 p.; 10. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, HUS), 21 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 266 points; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 246 p.; 3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 219 p.; 4. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 176 p.; 5. Jed Beaton (AUS, KAW), 156 p.; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, HON), 130 p.; 7. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, YAM), 127 p.; 8. Conrad Mewse (GBR, KTM), 108 p.; 9. Henry Jacobi (GER, HUS), 104 p.; 10. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 102 p.

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 297 points; 2. Husqvarna, 241 p.; 3. Yamaha, 194 p.; 4. Honda, 192 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 186 p.; 6. TM, 66 p.

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Russia will be available HERE

MXGP RUSSIA – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1507m

Type of ground: Hard Pack

Temperature: 26°

Weather conditions: sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 35,000

MXGP was available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

NEXT STOP

MXGP will be back on May the 13th for the 7th stop of the 2018 FIM Motocross World Champinship series in Riga, for the MXGP of Latvia

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Russia

ORLYONOK (Russia) 30 April 2018 - The 2018 MXGP of Russia has seen its first day of racing at the Orlyonok circuit where the beautiful weather matched up with a perfect location for the event, just above the beaches of the Black Sea. Topping the field in the MXGP class was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and in MX2 it was the #1 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Pauls Jonass.

Joining the FIM Motocross World Championship riders was the FIM Europe Motocross Championship classes of EMX250 and EMX300 presented by FMF Racing. The first race of the day and weekend was EMX300 presented by FMF Racing where A1M Husqvarna’s Andero Lusbo held off the charges of both Verde Substance KTM’s Brad Anderson and Vaclav Kovar while in Race 1 of EMX250 Tom Vialle won in dominant fashion over Giuseppe Tropepe and ASTES4-TESAR Yamaha’s Nicholas Lapucci.

At the drop of the MXGP starting gate Team HRC’s Tim Gajser looked like he would have a great start just behind Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Romain Febvre. Gajser however ended up clipping the back of Herlings which sent the Slovenian to the dirt. Herlings was thrown off by the contact allowing Febvre to take the holeshot.

Febvre’s Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP teammate Jeremy Van Horebeek ran second and TM Factory Racing’s Max Nagl ran 3rd before being passed by Herlings and later Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle.

Meanwhile Desalle teammate, Monster Energy Kawasaki Factory Racing’s Julien Lieber was back in 17th. In the next laps Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli moved into fifth with a move on Nagl.

In the second half of the race Nagl battled with Wilvo Yamaha MXGP’s Jeremy Seewer but then both were passed by a charging Julien Lieber. The early leader, Febvre fell twice during the race sending him back to 12th where he would only gain back one position.

Back at the front Herlings found his way past Van Horebeek for the lead and Cairoli passed Desalle for third. Cairoli made a mistake in front of Desalle causing the Kawasaki rider to miss his line and allow his teammate, Lieber, into fourth.

Only moments later Cairoli lost the front end whilst closing in on Van Horebeek. The mistake allowed Lieber into third while Herlings took the win. Van Horebeek finished second ahead of the career best MXGP qualifying result from Lieber that made impressive passes finishing in third.

Jeffrey Herlings in the Qualifying Press Conference: “I had a long trip to get here but I made it just in time, in the time practice I struggled a bit as these guys were warming up in the morning while I was traveling. I still managed to get second in the time practice and I won the Qualifying, thus I eventually had a good day, so I hope to have also a good night of sleep and looking forward to tomorrow. Here the track is pretty fast and starts are the main thing, if you have a good start you can fight for the win and have good results.”

Clement Desalle continued: “Here I have a good souvenir from last year when I won the GP. I felt good today and I have a positive feeling for tomorrow. I will do my best to have good starts, I tried to make passes today but it was not that easy, even so I found some good lines for tomorrow.”

Russian MXGP hero Evgeny Bobryshev from BOS GP finished the qualification race in 15th after being involved in the start crash with Gajser. Bobryshev: “It’s always nice to race in Russia, I have good support from my family and a few friends. My qualifying race actually didn’t go very well. I had a crash at the start with Tim Gajser and some other riders and then had some issues with the bike so it was quite difficult to catch up with the other guys. I hope to get good results for tomorrow.”

MXGP Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 23:42.878; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:01.513; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:03.211; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:04.042; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:04.729; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:07.579; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, TM), +0:09.940; 8. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:12.027; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:13.161; 10. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:16.580

MX2 Qualifying kicked off with a Holeshot from Red KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass who was closely followed by the other Red Bull KTM of Jorge Prado. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen and Thomas Covington started 3rd and 4th but Covington was quickly moved back by Kemea Yamaha Official MX2 Team’s Jago Geerts, Team HRC’s Calvin Vlaanderen, and the F&H Racing Team Kawasaki’s of Jed Beaton and Adam Sterry.

Vlaanderen took over 4th from Geerts early in the race and set his sights on Olsen in third. Not long after Beaton also found his way past the Yamaha of Geerts. Olsen then fell at the end of the roller section and rejoined the race in 10th.

Jed Beaton also crashed and lost positions to many riders including Kemea Yamaha Official MX2’s Vsevolod Brylyakov. Both Olsen and Beaton finished the race in the same position as when the rejoined in 10th and 9th respectively.

Brylyakov moved his way into 4th in front of the home fans while Jonass minded his lead ahead of Prado. At the finish line Jonass took the qualifying win 6.5 seconds ahead of Prado with Vlaanderen 3rd. Brylyakov’s 4th was his best qualifying result of the season which positions him well for his first ever home GP tomorrow.

Pauls Jonass in the qualifying press conferene said: “I struggled a bit in the last races but in the past 2 weeks I worked a lot and I’ve started to feel good. As Jeffrey has said starts are really important here so I hope to have 2 good starts tomorrow and fight for the win. I feel it’s been a long time since I’m not on the top of the podium so it would be nice to get a GP win but my goal is to ride 2 consistence races, not make mistakes and stay healthy because the season is long and for sure I want to bring the number 1 plate into my home GP.”

Russian Hero Vsevolod Brylyakov said : “It is definitely great to be back and race at my home GP. This is my best qualifying race so far and I can’t be any happier now then to have it in front of my fans.”

MX2 Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 23:59.316; 2. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), +0:06.531; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA, Honda), +0:30.736; 4. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:35.865; 5. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), +0:41.673; 6. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:44.933; 7. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:49.497; 8. Adam Sterry (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:56.258; 9. Jed Beaton (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:59.625; 10. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:01.173

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Russia will be available HERE

MXGP RUSSIA – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1507m

Type of ground: Hard Pack

Temperature: 24°

Weather conditions: sunny

MXGP will be available across the board in high definition and is also globally available to view live and in HD on MXGP-TV.com. Click here for the complete list of countries and cooperating MXGP broadcasting networks.

TIMETABLE in Local Time (GMT+3)

Tuesday: EMX300 Race 2 09:45; MX2 Warm up 10:25; MXGP Warm up 10:45; EMX250 Race 2 11:30; MX2 Race 1 13:15; MXGP Race 1 14:15; MX2 Race 2 16:10; MXGP Race 2 17:10.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

FIM Europe

MXGP of Russia