LOMMEL (Belgium), 02 August 2015 - The track here in Lommel for the fourteenth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship was extremely gnarly. Quite possibly the gnarliest it has ever been in the last twenty-five years since it first hosted a round of the FIM Motocross World Championship back in 1990. While every rider struggled at one point or another, Hitachi Construction Machinery Revo KTM’s Shaun Simpson and Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie made it look a lot easier than it was with their double moto victories for the MXGP and MX2 overalls here at the MXGP of Belgium.
Everybody loves an underdog, which is why there was not one soul who watched MXGP this weekend who wasn’t happy for Hitachi Construction Machinery Revo KTM’s Shaun Simpson, who didn’t only dominate the most demanding race ever, but he did so as a privateer. “I maybe wasn’t the fastest guy, but I planned it and I knew I could do it. What wasn’t on the script was my crash, I just landed in some soft sand and high-sided, I don’t think I’ve ever got up and on the bike so quickly,” he said, “this is probably the roughest I’ve seen Lommel, but I would call this real motocross, plenty of bumps, a lot of places to pass and a great contrast to what we are used to. It was totally enjoyable,” he concluded.
Taking points on fellow Frenchman Romain Febvre was essential for Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin this weekend in order to remain in the MXGP title hunt, and although it wasn’t as easy as most would have predicted, since GP21 is one of the most proven sand riders in the class, he managed to do so with two second place finishes for second overall and a four point gain on the number 461.
Paulin said after race two, “the track was like nothing I have ever seen before, it was so rough,” which was a statement Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s championship leading rookie Romain Febvre could identify with since he binned it in both races. Despite his wee setbacks, the red plate holder bounced back for third on both occasions, third overall and his ninth consecutive bottle of bubbles.
Like most riders, Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev had a tough day fighting the track but still finished both races inside the top five for fourth overall while the Belgians Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos and Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Jeremy Van Horebeek tied on points for fifth.
MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 34:36.275; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:04.580; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:30.238; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:46.372; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:53.607; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), +0:59.721; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +1:15.111; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:26.047; 9. Gert Krestinov (EST, Honda), +1:36.244; 10. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, Honda), +1:39.797.
MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 35:02.032; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:06.005; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:24.685; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:54.696; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +1:22.952; 6. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:27.898; 7. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +1:53.573; 8. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:58.778; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +2:01.731; 10. Gert Krestinov (EST, Honda), +2:03.900.
MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 50 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 44 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 40 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 34 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 30 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 30 p.; 7. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 28 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 24 p.; 9. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KAW), 23 p.; 10. Gert Krestinov (EST, HON), 23 p.
MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 547 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 463 p.; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 423 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 416 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 360 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 356 p.; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 331 p.; 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 324 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, SUZ), 290 p.; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 287 p.
MXGP Manufacturer: 1. Yamaha, 555 points; 2. KTM, 547 p.; 3. Suzuki, 545 p.; 4. Honda, 529 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 517 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 334 p.; 7. TM, 93 p.
As predicted, it was a barnburner of a weekend for Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie who was absolutely unstoppable on his way to his second perfect grand prix of the season. “Latvia was my first 1 – 1 result, it felt a lot easier there than it did here. The track here was so physically demanding, but we managed to get the job done while searching for the right settings,” Anstie said. In regards to the climatic title chase he said: “the one thing I have learnt from this year is that you don’t have to win every race, you just have to be there every weekend to race and not throw things away.”
The red plate will remain inside the family at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing since their young Latvian ace Pauls Jonass rode beyond his years today for two unchallenged second place finishes, second overall and the championship lead. “I never expected to be holding the red plate in my hands this soon,” Jonass said, “I thought maybe in three years, but not now, so it is amazing.”
Another rider to hit a career milestone was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Petar Petrov who finally managed to raise the Bulgarian flag at an FIM Motocross World Championship grand prix with his solid and consistent performances for third overall.
Meanwhile Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube’s Julien Lieber made a quick recovery after high-siding through the waves to finish race two in third, which saw him wrap up fourth overall here at his home grand prix while Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s wildcard Harri Kullas put in another commendable performance for fifth.
In terms of the red plate contenders, Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser finished sixth in total while Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube’s Valentin Guillod lost a bunch of points with his DNF in race two after landing on Kemea Yamaha Yamalube’s Belgian Brent Van Doninck who had crashed on the blindside of a jump.
MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 34:55.901; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:24.619; 3. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +0:35.480; 4. Harri Kullas (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:38.503; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:41.961; 6. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:51.635; 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:57.168; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:08.248; 9. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:20.572; 10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:30.448.
MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 35:42.426; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:25.396; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, Yamaha), +0:51.575; 4. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:01.671; 5. Harri Kullas (FIN, Husqvarna), +1:04.599; 6. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +1:10.159; 7. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +1:16.493; 8. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:29.739; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:40.929; 10. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +1:49.133
MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 50 points; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 38 p.; 4. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 35 p.; 5. Harri Kullas (FIN, HUS), 34 p.; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 30 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 26 p.; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 23 p.; 9. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 23 p.; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 18 p.
MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 433 points; 2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 429 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 423 p.; 4. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 408 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 395 p.; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 393 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 387 p.; 8. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 340 p.; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 262 p.; 10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 259 p.
MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 613 points; 2. Kawasaki, 583 p.; 3. Yamaha, 495 p.; 4. Honda, 470 p.; 5. Suzuki, 395 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 348 p.; 7. TM, 67 p.;
Click here to obtain the complete results.
All the photos of the MXGP of Belgium will be available HERE
MXGP BELGIUM - QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1675 m
Type of ground: Sand
Temperature: 28°C
Weather conditions: sunny
Crowd Attendance: 24,200
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