MXGP

The Fox Holeshot award runs across the entire MXGP season. The way it works is 1 point is awarded for each race holeshot. He, who has the most points in MXGP at the end of the season will win the grand prize of €10,000 while he with the most points in MX2 will win the grand prize of €5,000.

At the 6th round of the 2017 FIM Motocross World Championship which was held in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands GP Winner Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli took the FOX Holeshot in MXGP Class race a and race 2 respectively.  

Meanwhile in MX2 it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Duo Pauls Jonass and Jorge Prado got it in Race and Race 2.

Watch the MXGP of Europe ‘Fox Holeshot’ films here below.    

MXGP of Europe FOX Holeshot MXGP Film

MXGP of Europe FOX Holeshot MX2 Film

Suzuki World MXGP rider Kevin Strijbos will be sitting-out the next few rounds of the MXGP season due to an elbow injury that he sustained at the MXGP of Trentino. After consultations with Dr Claes and Dr De Schrijver, it was decided that Strijbos would undergo surgery yesterday morning, with initial reports suggesting that the operation to repair the tear in the tendon and remove the inflammation in his elbow being a success. 

At Valkenswaard, Strijbos was only able to complete half of the first moto before the pain became too much and he had to pull off the track, which meant he was then unable to line up for the second race. 

The disappointed Belgian had this to say about his injury: “Sunday night I was in so much pain, so I knew we had to do the operation. Dr De Schrijver who has operated on me before performed the surgery and he said it went well. The tear has been fixed and the inflammation removed. Now I am in a cast for a week or 10 days, with the plan then to remove it and see how the recovery is going. If all goes well, I’ll replace the cast with a brace so I can start to do some more things with it. From then on, we have to see how it goes before I can give a real estimate for my next race. Prior to the operation, they said it’d be around four weeks before I can start mountain biking and then six weeks before I can be back riding motocross, only if everything goes really, really well. 

“I prefer to take it week by week though and see how it’s progressing because I don’t want to come back too early and have the inflammation return. I’m going to rest-up for now and try to let it heal as much as possible before this next check-up. Then we’ll have a bit more of an idea about my recovery period.” 

“We’re extremely disappointed to lose Kevin for these upcoming races” said General Manager Stefan Everts, “but unfortunately injuries are a big part of our sport. Of course everyone here wishes him the best with his recovery and that we’ll see him at the races soon.” 

Obviously this is a big blow to Strijbos and to the Suzuki World MXGP team, who will now have Arminas Jasikonis as their sole representative on the RM-Z450WS for the next few rounds.

Copyright: Photo: suzuki-racing.com

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

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 Europe which was taking place in Valkenswaard this weekend the Dutch hero Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings, who also was on the Podium for the first time this season in MXGP, and LRT KTM’s Julien Lieber set the fastest lap time for the weekend in MXGP and MX2 respectively.

Please find here below the details for both riders:

Jeffrey Herlings: 1:50:068 at Race 1 Lap 8

Julien Lieber: 1:51:000 at Race 1 Lap 6

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

(VALKENSWAARD) Netherlands, 23 April 2017- The FIM Motocross World Championship raced on the sandy and demanding track at Valkenswaard this weekend. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass were the two riders who met the demands and took the overall victories.

This weekend belongs to Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin who won the first Race after grabbing the important Fox Holeshot and leading the entire time. It was the first race victory for Paulin since Teutschental 2015. In race 2 Paulin finished second securing the overall, 2 years after doing the same here in 2015, it was the first Valkenswaard overall for Husqvarna in history. Paulin in the press conference said, “Being back on the podium and on the first step feels really good, it has been over a year. It is great to be racing like this, the ride with Jeffrey was awesome! The Dutch fans were cheering for Jeffrey so hard and I felt the track was getting smaller, I was really pushing hard to keep him from passing me. I will have good memories from today!”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings had his best result of the season today when he scored second overall. The Dutch rider had fought his way through both races, where he didn’t have the starts he’d hoped for. In race 2 on his way to the front he battled with the former champions, Tim Gajser and Romain Febvre passing both before catching Paulin in 2nd and though Herlings was close he wasn’t able to make it past the Frenchman. Herlings during the press conference said, “In MXGP it is like all out war from the moment the gate drops until the finish flag and that’s something I’m not used to, but we will get there. We are getting the speed and I think there is one thing left and that’s the starts. I felt like I was close today, I was really close to the win and that’s good.”

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek scored his second podium of the season today with 3rd overall. Van Horebeek had a great ride in race one where held of the hard charges of Jeffrey Herlings and finished 2nd. In race he finished 5th after battling for the top 3 most of the race before falling on the last lap. In the press conference Van Horebeek said: “It’s been a really good weekend…I think that the fans enjoyed our racing and it’s a tough class, we have to fight for every position. I’m really happy to be on the podium and be consistent every weekend.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli had a bad start in race 1, he was 14th on lap one. Cairoli consistently worked his forward over the first few laps before settling into 9th. For race 2 you could tell he wanted the win as he started with the Fox Holeshot and he returned to winning form. Cairoli finished 4th overall and continues to narrow the points gap, he is now 14 points behind in the championship.

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser had a good weekend finishing 6-4 for 5th overall and though it wasn’t the dominant form like we’ve seen lately he holds on to the championship lead now nearly a third of the way through the season. Gajser in the press conference said: “I’m quite happy, the speed was there. I just made some small mistakes, in the first race I crashed and in the second one I didn’t have the best start. It’s really tough actually, many guys are close together, their speed is there, you really just have to be focused 100%.”

Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev was second for several laps in race 1 where he finished 4th and in race 2 he was in second, right in tow with Cairoli, the first 12 laps, but eventually dropped to 8th. His 6th overall and 31 points from the weekend have him 5th in the championship standings going into Latvia.

Team Suzuki World MXGP’s Arminas Jasikonis achieved his best result today when he went 5-6 for 7th overall. He excelled on the technical and rough circuit, Jasikonis will undoubtably gain confidence from the result and will look forward to the next round at his home GP in Latvia.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff finished 9th overall in front of his home crowd. The Dutch rider lives a mere 20 minutes from Valkenswaard. Coldenhoff was visibly at home on the track as he held off his hard charging team mate Cairoli he finished 8th in race 1 and 10th in race 2.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), 35:24.915; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:00.950; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:04.824; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:05.634; 5. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +0:05.963; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:19.448; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:27.218; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:28.967; 9. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:37.452; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:38.425.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35:26.367; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:02.258; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:02.617; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:08.230; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:12.606; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:14.957; 7. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +0:18.880; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:28.120; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:33.895; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:34.136.

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 47 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 37 p.; 5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 33 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 31 p.; 7. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, SUZ), 30 p.; 8. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 24 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 21 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 234 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 220 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 192 p.; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 182 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 176 p.; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 172 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 131 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 124 p.; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 120 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 116 p.

MXGP Manufacturers: 1. Honda, 237 points; 2. KTM, 232 p.; 3. Yamaha, 211 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 200 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 172 p.; 6. Suzuki, 130 p.

In MX2 class Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass completed the perfect weekend again this season going pole in Saturday’s qualifying race and following it up with 2 race wins. He achieved the race wins after two good starts including the FOX Holeshot in race 1 and leading the field every time the finish line was crossed. Jonass in the press conference said: “I felt pretty good all weekend, we made some improvements since yesterday and just kept improving all weekend with the bike. I enjoyed the track today…it was nice to ride, in the second race I got a good start, pulled a gap then just cruised around for the win. I really enjoy riding here and to go home with a 1-1 is good. The next GP is my home GP and I’m really looking forward to it.

Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer finished 19th in qualifying yesterday and responded well to the challenge today of 19th gate pick. Seewer was in 7th in race and 5th in race 2’s first lap, both races he made passes getting himself to 4th and 2nd for 2nd overall on his 4th podium this season. In the press conference Seewer said, “I made the best out of today, both races I started between 10th and 15th and I had to make a lot of passes, I’m happy that I did. Especially in the second moto I did all that I could, to beat Pauls you need to be there on the start to battle him. I think we can look forward, I’m pretty positive now.”

Kemea Yamaha Official MX Team’s Brent Van doninck reached the podium today which is something that has evaded him in the past. Van doninck had a fifth in race one and a 3rd in race 2 which was good for 3rd overall. He had a bad start in race 1 and he had to push hard to get to the well deserved 5th while in race 2, his better start helped him to get near the back of Seewer but the physical demands took hold as he wasn’t able to find the extra energy needed to get past #91 Suzuki. Van doninck in the press conference said, “I was coming close to Seewer but he had another gear and I was quite tired…I knew I was on the podium and I didn’t want to throw it away with a crash or something. I’m happy, I’m looking forward to Latvia and I just want to keep the consistency like I’m doing now.”

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen looked comfortable on the bike and the track all weekend but went down in race 1 before completing the first lap while trying to make a pass. This mistake set him in 30th the first time across the finish, he would impressively climb his way back to 9th by the finish. The 9th combined with 4th in the second race resulted in 4th overall and he also 4th in the championship standings.

HSF Logistics Motorsport’s Calvin Vlaanderen finished out the top 5 overall today in 5th at what is his home GP after a 6th in race 1 and 7th in race 2.

Kemea Yamaha Official MX Team’s Benoit Paturel is really struggling with starts and it is a shame because if he was in the front during the early stages of racing he almost certainly would stay there. Paturel 7th and 9th in today’s races were enough for the 6th overall and he is 5th in the championship standings 69 points off the leader.

Suzuki World MX2’s Hunter Lawerence had a breakthrough performance in race 2 finishing fifth, that together with the Australian’s 10th in race 1 got him a 6th overall.

The consistent #33 LRT KTM of Julien Lieber had his first major issue of the season when he had to pull out of race 2 with a mechanical issue. The Belgian howover still took 9th overall thanks to his season best second in race 1. Lieber remains third in the championship points standings and he will continue to pursue his first win at the next round on the again soft soil of Latvia.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 35:37.548; 2. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:03.476; 3. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:36.928; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:44.764; 5. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:51.128; 6. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +0:56.409; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:03.528; 8. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +1:07.900; 9. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +1:12.565; 10. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki), +1:15.317.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 34:09.329; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:04.491; 3. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +0:09.510; 4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:13.352; 5. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki), +0:24.378; 6. Brian Hsu (GER, Husqvarna), +0:28.694; 7. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +0:31.049; 8. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +0:36.142; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:36.387; 10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:47.690.

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 40 p.; 3. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 36 p.; 4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 30 p.; 5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, SUZ), 27 p.; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 26 p.; 8. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 22 p.; 9. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 20 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 242 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 223 p.; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 197 p.; 4. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 188 p.; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 173 p.; 6. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 159 p.; 7. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 133 p.; 8. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 123 p.; 9. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 121 p.; 10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 109 p.

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 284 points; 2. Suzuki, 223 p.; 3. Husqvarna, 216 p.; 4. Yamaha, 204 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 164 p.; 6. Honda, 111 p.; 7. TM, 98 p.

NEXT ROUND

The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will be held in 2 week time in Kegums, for the MXGP of Latvia

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Europe will be available here

MXGP of Europe – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1550m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 14°C

Weather conditions: varied

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 26,000

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.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Europe

(VALKENSWAARD) Netherlands, 23 April 2017 - The first round of the European Championship EMX125 presented by FMF Racing and the second round of the European Championship EMX250 finished up this morning on the dark sand of Valkenswaard. With over 170 entries between the two classes, KTM DIGA Junior Racing’s Miro Sihvonen was the best rider on the track in EMX250 and Ice One Racing Husqvarna’s Mikkel Haarup was by far the fastest of the 125cc riders, both scored the overall with 1-1 results.

One week after his third place podium finish in Trentino KTM DIGA Junior Racing’s Miro Sihvonen started race 1 in 6th but he made several passes including the most important one on F&H Racing Team’s Ruben Fernandez for the lead with only two laps remaining, Fernandez kept Sihvonen in sight but he finished 2nd. In Race 2 Sihvonen won again but Fernandez finished 25th scoring no championship points and placing 8th overall.

Dutch rider Nick Kouwenberg placed 3rd in Race 1 after starting in 7th passing several riders including Round of Trentino’s Race 2 winner, Morgan Lesiardo. Race 2 started slightly better for Kouwenberg, he was 5th on the first lap and again he made some passes to get himself to 3rd. Kouwenberg’s impressive 3-3 were consistent enough for second overall in front of his home crowd.

Morgan Lesiardo’s 4th in race 1 was his better finish of the two races with a 10th in race 2. The 4-10 surprisingly secured him the podium being the third best results in the class.

Nichlas Bjerregaard and iFly JK Racing’s Ken Bengtson were another example of how consistency pays off. The two didn’t necessarily have any remarkable race performances but their ability to place in the top ten twice in one weekend is proving to be a feat of its own. Bengtson’s 6th and 9th put him 4th overall and Bjerregaard’s 10-7 achieved the 5th overall.

Last week’s winner Yamaha SM Action’s Simone Furlotti is now third in the points after finishing 11th overall going 18-6 here at Valkenswaard.

Another member of the top 5 riders in the championship is ASTES4-Tesar Yamaha’s Karlis Sabulis. Sabulis was 5th in race 1 but he had issues in race 2 where he scored no points and finished 22nd.

Last year’s EMX 300 Presented by FMF Racing Champion, GL12 Racing’s Mike Kras also struggled scoring a consistent result. The two-stroke rider placed a disappointing 20th in Race 1 before his impressive rebound in race 2 to 5th for 12th overall.

Sahkar KTM Racing’s Belgian rider, Jago Geerts, had scored only 1 point after the first 3 races until he flew into a 2nd place in Race 2 scoring 22 points and putting himself into 14th in the championship.

EMX250 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 30:39.344; 2. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:03.333; 3. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Yamaha), +0:11.367; 4. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), +0:16.290; 5. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:18.776; 6. Ken Bengtson (SWE, Yamaha), +0:20.638; 7. Mel Pocock (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:35.202; 8. Jere Haavisto (FIN, KTM), +0:37.629; 9. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +0:39.798; 10. Nichlas Bjerregaard (DEN, Yamaha), +0:46.678.

EMX250 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 29:26.087; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), +0:03.837; 3. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Yamaha), +0:05.257; 4. Michael Eccles (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:15.062; 5. Mike Kras (NED, KTM), +0:22.491; 6. Simone Furlotti (ITA, Yamaha), +0:24.651; 7. Nichlas Bjerregaard (DEN, Yamaha), +0:25.054; 8. Marshal Weltin (USA, Kawasaki), +0:28.402; 9. Ken Bengtson (SWE, Yamaha), +0:31.777; 10. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), +0:40.587

EMX250 Overall Top 10: 1. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 50 points; 2. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, YAM), 40 p.; 3. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), 29 p.; 4. Ken Bengtson (SWE, YAM), 27 p.; 5. Nichlas Bjerregaard (DEN, YAM), 25 p.; 6. Mel Pocock (GBR, HUS), 23 p.; 7. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, KAW), 22 p.; 9. Marshal Weltin (USA, KAW), 21 p.; 10. Michael Eccles (GBR, KAW), 18 p.

EMX250 Championship Top 10: 1. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 90 points; 2. Morgan Lesiardo (ITA, KTM), 70 p.; 3. Simone Furlotti (ITA, YAM), 63 p.; 4. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, YAM), 63 p.; 5. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, YAM), 54 p.; 6. Ken Bengtson (SWE, YAM), 43 p.; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, KAW), 40 p.; 8. Nichlas Bjerregaard (DEN, YAM), 34 p.; 9. Alberto Forato (ITA, HON), 32 p.; 10. Mel Pocock (GBR, HUS), 31 p.

EMX250 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 93 points; 2. Yamaha, 85 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 73 p.; 4. Honda, 50 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 42 p.; 6. Suzuki, 14 p

At the first round of the European Championship EMX125 presented by FMF Racing, Ice One Racing Husqvarna’s Mikkel Haarup had two impressive races over the two days, with a pair of decent starts he moved into the lead quickly during both races. He won race 1 on Saturday by over 13 seconds and on Sunday doubled his gap to win by 26 seconds.

Behind Haarup in race 1 it was Tim Edberg who battled with BUD Racing Monster Energy’s Brian Strubhart Moreau in which Edberg came out ahead.

Sunday was not as fortunate for Edberg though as he would instead battle for 6th with Alessandro Manucci all the way to the finish. Manucci finished 7th over but ended up holding off Edberg and denying him of the final spot on the podium which would instead go to Jesyk Racing Team’s Sergi Notario.

Moreau however improved his 3rd place finish from Saturday to a hard fought 2nd today. Moreau was in a race of his own for second the first half of Race 2 but was later pressured by Creymert Racing’s Kevin Horgmo, the battle for second was fierce but Horgmo couldn’t find a way past and eventually he finished 3rd, combined with his 10th on Saturday Horgmo rounded out the top 5 with 5th overall.

Last year Gianluca Facchetti finished 4th in the championship, he now leaves this weekend with a 6 overall result after 6th Saturday and 5th today. Facchetti was 5th on the first lap of race 2 before being passed by Horgmo, he later found his way back into the top 5 when he got fellow Italian Manucci on lap 6.

2016 EMX85cc Champion Rene Hofer finished 9th in Race 1 and looked like he was going to improve on the result in race 2 as he had a strong ride and battled for 7th. Hofer made an error and went down where he struggled to get going again, he eventually picked himself up in 12th before fighting his back to a 10th place finish, good enough for 9th overall.

2016 Honda EMX150 Champion and now JTECH Suzuki Valenti rider Emil Weckmann didn’t have the weekend he was hoping for, the 125cc rookie finished a decent 13th in Race 1 but his 21st place today put him 17th overall.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), 28:55.139; 2. Tim Edberg (SWE, Yamaha), +0:13.601; 3. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:22.108; 4. Sergi Notario (ESP, KTM), +0:31.050; 5. Alessandro Manucci (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:34.445; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:35.091; 7. Jeremy Sydow (GER, KTM), +0:35.641; 8. Paolo Lugana (ITA, TM), +0:43.808; 9. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +0:45.507; 10. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:45.908.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), 29:55.247; 2. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:26.081; 3. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), +0:30.995; 4. Sergi Notario (ESP, KTM), +0:46.842; 5. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:59.415; 6. Alessandro Manucci (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:03.178; 7. Tim Edberg (SWE, Yamaha), +1:03.595; 8. Paolo Lugana (ITA, TM), +1:09.768; 9. Viking Lindstrom (SWE, KTM), +1:10.503; 10. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), +1:11.884.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Overall Top 10: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 50 points; 2. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 42 p.; 3. Sergi Notario (ESP, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, HUS), 31 p.; 7. Alessandro Manucci (ITA, HUS), 31 p.; 8. Paolo Lugana (ITA, TM), 26 p.; 9. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Viking Lindstrom (SWE, KTM), 22 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Championship Top 10: 1. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 50 points; 2. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 42 p.; 3. Sergi Notario (ESP, KTM), 36 p.; 4. Tim Edberg (SWE, YAM), 36 p.; 5. Kevin Horgmo (NOR, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, HUS), 31 p.; 7. Alessandro Manucci (ITA, HUS), 31 p.; 8. Paolo Lugana (ITA, TM), 26 p.; 9. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Viking Lindstrom (SWE, KTM), 22 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Manufacturers: 1. Husqvarna, 50 points; 2. Kawasaki, 42 p.; 3. KTM, 38 p.; 4. Yamaha, 36 p.; 5. TM, 26 p.; 6. Suzuki, 8 p.

NEXT ROUND

The next round of the European Championships EMX250 as well as the the second round of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing will be held in 2 week time in Kegums, for the MXGP of Latvia

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Europe will be available here

MXGP of EUROPE – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1550m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 14°C

Weather conditions: varied

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 26,000

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.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

MXGP of Europe

(VALKENSWAARD) The Netherlands, 22 April 2017 - The MXGP of Europe played host to the 6th round of the 2017 FIM Motocross World Championship this weekend and it all started today. On the sandy and technical circuit of Valkenswaard it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and Pauls Jonass whose top notch riding in their respective qualifying races put them into pole position for Sunday.

We also saw the second round of the European Championship EMX250 start today with 88 entries, 8 of which were two strokes. KTM DIGA Junior Racing’s Miro Sihvonen wins Race 1, one week after his third position on the podium in Trentino. Behind Sihvonen it was F&H Racing Team’s Ruben Fernandez and the Dutch rider Nick Kouwenberg.

Alongside the EMX250 race 1, we had the first gate drop of the European Championship EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing. After the field was narrowed down from 85 entries, the 40 fastest 125CC 2t racers in Europe battled for 25 minutes and 2 laps. IceOne Racing Husqvarna’s Mikkel Haarup took the lead on lap 3 and never looked back winning race 1 followed by the battle for second between Tim Edberg and BUD Racing Monster Energy’s Brian Strubhart Moreau.

It was smooth sailing for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli today when he grabbed the Holeshot, lead every lap, and finished 12.6 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Cairoli looked well prepared and most of all smooth on the way to his qualifying win, only one week after the comeback of ages. In the press conference Cairoli said, “I like this kind of Valkenswaard, it’s very technical. Last weekend was a good race and it went well for me. It is great for the future motocross to have such hype in the media, it doesn’t matter if it was me or someone else.”

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek is no stranger to soft soil and it showed, the Belgian was on a mission in qualifying race today, taking no prisoners, while making passes left and right on his way to second place. Van Horebeek is looking fit and determined to make it on to the podium here in Valkenswaard.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin was another rider making passes, after starting in fifth he battled with several riders before landing the third gate pick for Sunday’s racing.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings tied his best result of the season so far with a 4th place in qualifying session. Not only is Herlings literally home in Valkenswaard, his form looks at home too. After a risky gate choice, the far inside, didn’t pay off for him, he came from back in 8th to 4th. The Dutch native has never lost here and with good starts tomorrow he is contention to keep it that way this weekend. Herlings in the press conference said, “There is a lot of good guys and a lot of potential in this class, everything needs to be 100%. I’m very surprised actually in both classes how everyone is on the same level and how fast things go. It’s been a lot of years back that I think the competition was so strong and in each time practice everyone is so close, there are many potential winners. I think it’s great for our sport but it’s hard for us riders, every detail counts!”

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle has the starts down seeing he was right up front from the beginning of qualifying, something he has done many times this year. Desalle started in 2nd and he stayed there until lap 6 where he was passed by Van Horebeek, afterward he also lost spots to Paulin and Herlings. If the Belgian can step up his pace in the second half of the races he could battle for the win here on the sandy surface.

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser is a rider whose name often comes up when talking of which rider want to pass, the thing is very few seem to do so, unfortunately for him today a few did. After a good start Gajser struggled and would drop from 3rd to 7th before finishing in 6th. Perhaps Gajser was less concerned with the gate pick this weekend as it is uncommon for him to fade in race. Either way, you can count on the #243 to drop the hammer when it counts, don’t be swayed by his unfitting result in qualifying race as he will almost certainly be in the battle for the podium tomorrow.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff only lives 20 minutes from Valkenswaard track making this truly a home GP. In today’s qualifying Coldenhoff rode well from 9th on lap one, he worked his way up to 7th before a mistake by Bobryshev took them both down. Coldenhoff qualified 10th but looks to place higher in the points counting races of Sunday. The Dutch rider said in the press conference, “It’s always great to race here, I’m feeling really good this year and I must say that I feel much better than the years before. My starts are very good lately and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow, I’m really motivated!

MXGP Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 25:05.071; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:12.637; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:18.723; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:26.515; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:28.163; 6. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:29.398; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:31.629; 8. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +0:32.296; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:46.199; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:48.128.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass was the best of the MX2 riders in today’s qualifying race. Jonass crossed the Fox holeshot line in second and made it passed Julien Lieber on lap 2 for the lead. Jonass has mentioned his sand training recently appears to be working, he stayed in the lead all the way till the checkered flag and made his way through lapped riders better than anyone else. In the qualifying press conference Jonass said, “I got into the lead and controlled the race. We can still improve for tomorrow and I think we will be much better, I look forward to it”.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Kjer Olsen was the main challenger to Jonass today, Olsen was nipping at the #41’s back tire throughout the race. If Olsen can get the Holeshot and ride consistent tomorrow he has the necessary speed to win.

LRT KTM’s Julien Lieber lead lap one of qualifying but as he was trying to gap the competition, he made a mistake and lost his spot to Jonass. Lieber’s error seemed to cause him to momentarily loose his focus as he was passed by Olsen the following lap. Lieber did have a resurgence later in the race but in the end he stayed in 3rd.

Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Vsevolod Brylyakov came into the day by putting in the fastest lap of Free Practice. The Russian followed it up by placing 4th in qualifying, his 4th gate pick is the best he’s had all season and seeing how comfortable he looks on the Valkenswaard circuit we may see his first podium this season.

Husqvarna Maurer-gép Racing Team’s Brian Hsu had the fastest lap in qualifying today with a 1:47.788 and it help propelled him to a 5th place finish today. The German looks good on the bike and with the top 5 qualifying result to match now he looks to do the same tomorrow.

For HRC MX2’s Lars Van Berkel this is not only a home GP but as a fill in rider for the HRC MX2 squad it the chance of a lifetime. Van Berkel impressed today, after only riding the bike twice before, with an 11th place. In the qualifying press conference he said, “It’s a very cool opportunity, I’ve ridden the bike twice this week and felt at home from the second corner, everything is really good, the bike is really good, the team is very professional, and it’s my home GP. I hope to have a better start tomorrow and we will see what happens from there.”

Riding for Team Ausio Yamaha in her MX2 debut this weekend is Kiara Fontanesi, she finished 39th in qualifying and in the press conference said, “I’m really happy about the opportunity I have, it’s really nice and it’s been my dream to one day race MX2. I really enjoy riding on the sand here and I can gain a lot of experience. I gained a lot of experience already today and will get more tomorrow. I think it was a good decision, it’s helping me to grow mentally and on the bike.”

Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer struggled today to say the least, after starting 8th he fell and found himself in 35th on lap 3. The Swiss rider didn’t give into to the misfortune though, he fought throughout the race eventually found his way up to 19th.

MX2 Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 25:27.062; 2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:00.944; 3. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), +0:01.734; 4. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +0:12.005; 5. Brian Hsu (GER, Husqvarna), +0:17.556; 6. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:27.509; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:30.093; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:30.422; 9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:32.812; 10. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), +0:33.216.

Click here to obtain the complete results

All the photos of the MXGP of Europe will be available here

MXGP of Europe – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1550m

Type of ground: Sand

Temperature: 12°C

Weather conditions: cloudy

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

Sunday: EMX125 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

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FIM

FIM Europe

MXGP of Europe