MXGP

PIETRAMURATA (Trentino), 15 May 2016 – The MXGP of Trentino has just gone and highlighted why the FIM Motocross World Championship is so awesome. As a result of the thousands of screaming Slovenian’s that bound together on one hill, while the other hills were swarming with rowdy Italians and fans from other areas of the world, the eighth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship here at the scenic venue of Pietramurata had an amazing vibe which was magnified at the end of the day as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli topped the podium for the second time in a row.

Mix the huge and animated crowd with top-notch racing, great weather, and an amazing track, and you have the ingredients to make the tasty event that took place today where Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings was humbled by defeat in race one but bounced back in typical Jeffrey Herlings fashion in race two with a massive win for his fifty-fifth grand prix victory.

Eight rounds of hard-core motocross are in the bag and so far the first half of the season has provided no clues for the second half. We’re not sure if you would have guessed, but Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli is slowly starting to chip away at the point’s lead of the young-guns Gajser and Febvre. The legendary Italian won the MXGP of Germany last weekend and landed on top of the box again this weekend much to the delight of his screaming fans.

The speed of the MXGP class is an ever-rising constant, especially with the likes of Tim Gajser raising the bar, and the likes of Antonio Cairoli returning to form. These elements may be contributing to the mistakes Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre is making at the moment as he tries to defend his MXGP crown. Adding to the sight and spectacle of the MXGP championship, Febvre crashed on turn one in the first race and had to battle from last. He crashed again on his mission to the front and only finished sixth. In race two, the Frenchman bounced back. He didn’t get the greatest of starts but charged hard and capitalized on a mistake of the race leader, Cairoli, to win the final race of the day. Although he wishes the day could have been better, he said, “I’m happy to be on the podium in second place.”

Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser treated the powerful Slovenian fans that came out to support him with his mind-blowing speed and intensity. All you can do when you watch the 19-year-old rookie ride is shake off the Goosebumps and just admire his talent. This weekend Gajser had two massive crashes, one in each race.  Amazingly he bounced back from both and still managed to land on the podium with two fourth place finishes. The Slovenian still leads the championship by 4 points over Febvre, and is the only rider in MXGP to have finished on the podium at every round.

Meanwhile, Team Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl rounded out the top five. Strijbos was looking particularly good out here today and was only nudged off the podium on the last lap of the final moto when Gajser passed another rider for one more point. As for Max Nagl, it wasn’t quite the same experience of last year when won the grand prix, although he was very impressive in race one when he chased Cairoli and finished second. In race two, the German got himself into a bit of strife on the opening lap and only got back to eighth.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 33:50.549; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:01.934; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:03.076; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:05.585; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:07.778; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:42.411; 7. Ben Townley (NZL, Suzuki), +0:48.079; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), +0:52.426; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:57.919; 10. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:59.080.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 33:54.298; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:00.565; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:04.628; 4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:06.656; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:12.571; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:20.509; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:38.299; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:39.929; 9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:44.670; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:45.198.

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 40 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 36 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 35 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 35 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 32 p.; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 32 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 21 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, KTM), 20 p.; 10. Ben Townley (NZL, SUZ), 20 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 335 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 331 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 310 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 273 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 264 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 247 p.; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 204 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 189 p.; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 153 p.; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 146 p.

MXGP Manufacturer: 1. Honda, 343 points; 2. Yamaha, 339 p.; 3. KTM, 317 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 284 p.; 5. Suzuki, 227 p.; 6. Kawasaki, 173 p.

It’s no secret that Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings gets a kick out of breaking records, so even though he won the grand prix today, his eighth consecutive, his hope of winning every single race this season came to a halt when Dylan Ferrandis came out swinging for the win in race one. “Unfortunately I can’t be undefeated anymore,” The Bullet said, “but I won the GP and that’s what matters so I will try to win all of them.” He returned to his winning ways in race two with one of his patented + 30 second leads.

There has been a bull let loose in a china shop! Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis shattered Jeffrey’s hopes of remaining unbeaten in every race this season when he won the first MX2 race today. The super talented Frenchman has sat out half of this season after he dislocated his shoulder in Thailand. He didn’t crash in that instant, he had an on-going problem with that shoulder that had flared up. He opted at that moment to go back to France where he had his shoulder reconstructed. “Most people can’t believe I am riding already after my injury, normally it takes much longer to be better,” he said during the Press Conference in Germany. You would never have guessed that he had two months of the bike if you saw the speed and intensity he rode with this weekend which saw him dominate in the Qualifying Race yesterday and win race one today after bashing bars all race long with a desperate Jeffrey Herlings.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass shelved his acrobatic tricks this weekend and wound up on the podium for the third time this season. In case you didn’t know, the Latvian has been riding incredibly quick this year but has struggled to keep his KTM rubber-side down. This weekend he had his first steady day with minimal errors since the MXGP of Europe, which took place in Valkenswaard, The Netherlands, back in March. “I didn’t go out in warm-up this morning because I wasn’t feeling well” he said, “I wasn’t even sure I was going to race but I did and I am really happy to be on the podium on a track like this, it’s not my favorite but it was ok today.”

TM Racing Factory Team’s Samuele Bernardini had the chainless chainsaws going full gas on the fence lines as he ran up front in both races. The Italian has become ‘the cat among the pigeons’ as he tends to be an excellent starter and can foot it up front for the first half of the race. He is also difficult to pass, which upsets the pigeons that are battling for those top five places in the championship. While Bernardini does fade during the races, he clearly has the speed and skill to be something great as this weekend he set the TAG Heuer Fastest Lap in MX2.

Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer has had a lot of ‘Lovely Days’, as his butt patch reads, but unfortunately today wasn’t one of them. The Swiss rider broke his podium run today when he finished fourth in race one after a shabby start and then binned it in race two and only recovered for twelfth. Those two results left him in fifth over all for the MX2 round of Trentino.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 33:59.380; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:01.237; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:37.972; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:38.934; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:53.819; 6. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +0:58.659; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +1:03.247; 8. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +1:04.078; 9. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +1:20.672; 10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Yamaha), +1:28.973.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:18.604; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:35.162; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:38.335; 4. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:54.703; 5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:55.444; 6. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +1:06.849; 7. Roberts Justs (LAT, KTM), +1:10.390; 8. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, Kawasaki), +1:11.500; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:12.212; 10. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +1:12.833.

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 points; 2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 45 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 42 p.; 4. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 30 p.; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 27 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 25 p.; 7. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 25 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 24 p.; 9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 21 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 21 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 397 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 297 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 260 p.; 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 211 p.; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 210 p.; 6. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 202 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 183 p.; 8. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 182 p.; 9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 179 p.; 10. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 162 p.

MX2 Manufacturer: 1. KTM, 397 points; 2. Suzuki, 297 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 289 p.; 4. Yamaha, 273 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 239 p.; 6. TM, 179 p.; 7. Honda, 149 p.

Click here to obtain the complete results

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

MXGP OF TRENTINO – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1660m

Type of ground: Hard pack

Temperature: 24°C

Weather conditions: sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 29,000

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 ROUND

The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place in Talavera de la Reina, Spain, on May, the 29^th.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

MXGP of Trentino

Watch the race highlights from the MXGP of Trentino here: 

PIETRAMURATA (Trentino), 15 May 2016 – The atmosphere here in Pietramurata for the fourth round of the European Championship EMX250 and the second round of the European Championship EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing was completely off the hook as thousands upon thousands of motocross crazy fans packed into this awesome venue, situated at the base of the Dolomite Mountains, to watch the best dirt bike riders in the world do business.

Even though it poured with rain for the majority of the first races yesterday, it didn’t dampen the vibe. All it did was make for a diverse round of racing where the talented youngsters were faced with vastly different conditions in each race.

Yesterday Mother Nature went to town on the hilly hard-pack track, which made for a very wet and challenging day. Bodo Schmidt Motorsport’s Thomas Kjer Olsen muscled his way to the front to win the first race in the EMX250 class, while Sahkar KTM’s Jago Geerts took his third consecutive win of the season in the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing.

Meanwhile, it was a different story today as the Mother Nature came back to apologize, offering glorious blue skies and sunshine. On the firm and dry clay  Thomas Kjer Olsen proved he has a broad skillset and won the second moto too. In the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing class it wasn’t so straightforward as the early season dominator Jago Geerts got off to a shocker of a start and then crashed while mounting a comeback. KTM Silver Action’s Stephen Rubini capitalized and took his first race win of the season, which paired with his second place finish yesterday, landed him on the top step of the podium for the first time in his career.

KTM Factory Junior’s Jorge Prado nailed his second holeshot of the weekend in race two ahead of Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei and the defending EMX250 champion J-Tech Honda’s Nick Kouwenberg. The American, Sanayei, didn’t waste anytime in taking over the lead and instantly pulled a small gap.

Meanwhile, the race one winner and championship leader Bodo Schmidt Motorsport’s Thomas Kjer Olsen had his scrub game on point and carried a huge amount of speed into the waves to pass Kouwenberg for third. Next on the Dane’s hit list was Prado, but given Kjer Olsen is one of the most experienced riders in the classs and Prado is only a rookie, he beat the KTM youngster with experience and took over second place easily.

On a clear mission, Kjer Olsen continued on his rampage and took the lead from Sanayei around the half way mark and cruised home for a convincing win and the EMX250 round overall.

Sanayei finished second for second over all and his third consecutive podium performance while Prado put in a solid ride for third and third overall, which was his first podium appearance this season.

There are no short cuts to the front if you get a bad start, and that is something Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen has learned after picking off a decent amount of riders to round out the top five behind Nick Kouwenberg.

EMX250 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), 30:34.136; 2. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:03.346; 3. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), +0:04.099; 4. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:05.047; 5. Mike Stender (GER, Yamaha), +0:50.756; 6. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Honda), +0:56.410; 7. Natanael Bres (FRA, KTM), +0:58.895; 8. Anton Gole (SWE, Husqvarna), +1:00.045; 9. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, Yamaha), +1:10.410; 10. Cyril Genot (BEL, KTM), +1:11.640

EMX250 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), 29:32.668; 2. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), +0:04.536; 3. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:20.932; 4. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, Honda), +0:25.530; 5. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +0:29.773; 6. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:31.583; 7. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), +0:32.663; 8. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Kawasaki), +0:35.285; 9. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), +0:43.967; 10. Anton Gole (SWE, Husqvarna), +0:45.322

EMX250 Overall Top Ten: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 50 points; 2. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 42 p.; 3. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 42 p.; 4. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, HON), 33 p.; 5. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, KAW), 31 p.; 6. Karlis Sabulis (LAT, YAM), 27 p.; 7. Anton Gole (SWE, HUS), 24 p.; 8. Natanael Bres (FRA, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 21 p.; 10. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 20 p.

EMX250 Championship Top Ten: 1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 182 points; 2. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, KAW), 151 p.; 3. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 137 p.; 4. Kevin Wouts (BEL, KTM), 114 p.; 5. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 110 p.; 6. Nick Kouwenberg (NED, HON), 105 p.; 7. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 85 p.; 8. Anton Gole (SWE, HUS), 83 p.; 9. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 83 p.; 10. Nicolas Dercourt (FRA, KAW), 69 p.

EMX250 Manufacturers: 1. Husqvarna, 192 points; 2. Kawasaki, 168 p.; 3. KTM, 158 p.; 4. Suzuki, 121 p.; 5. Yamaha, 108 p.; 6. Honda, 106 p.

Gianluca Facchetti is a name that has been on the radar for a while. The young Italian was incredible on an 85cc and was once upon a time one of the most touted names in Europe. Since making the jump to the bigger bike, 125cc, he has taken his time to come to grips, but today in Pietramurata the KTM De Carli Racing Junior star reemerged.

Facchetti took a monster of a holeshot over KTM Silver Action’s Stephen Rubini and led the most part of the first race before he lost the front end in a corner at the bottom of a hill. Rubini inherited the lead while Facchetti fired his bike back up.

Pierre Goupillon was around fourth out of turn one and took over third almost instantly with a text book pass up the inside of IceOne Husqvarna Racing’s Mikkel Haarup. The Frenchman, Goupillon was running a solid pace and managed to take advantage of Facchetti who was trying to regroup after his spill.

In the final stages of the race, Haarup must have had a mouthful of hard charger syrup, and charged after Facchetti. The thousands of fans went mad for the ‘Cairoli-esque’ style of Facchetti as he held off the hasty Dane, Haarup.

At the checkers, Rubini lit the candles for the first time this season ahead of Goupillon, Facchetti, Haarup and Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Brian Moreau.

For the overall, KTM Silver Action’s Stephen Rubini hit a career milestone with his first ever EMX round win. KTM De Carli Junior’s Gianluca Facchetti had the crowd going mad as he stood on the second step while the early season dominator Sahkar KTM’s Jago Geerts rounded out the top three after a bad start and a mid-race tumble saw him only salvage sixth in the final race.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 29:06.002; 2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), +0:05.761; 3. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), +0:15.565; 4. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), +0:29.097; 5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Yamaha), +0:31.120; 6. Zachary Pichon (FRA, Yamaha), +0:34.318; 7. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), +0:41.024; 8. Yuri Quarti (ITA, KTM), +0:44.114; 9. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), +0:46.727; 10. Jakub Teresak (CZE, KTM), +0:47.964

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 29:02.173; 2. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), +0:11.507; 3. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), +0:18.506; 4. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:21.167; 5. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:48.620; 6. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), +0:53.793; 7. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Yamaha), +1:01.051; 8. Jakub Teresak (CZE, KTM), +1:11.257; 9. Yuri Quarti (ITA, KTM), +1:14.596; 10. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), +1:15.430

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Overall Top Ten: 1. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, YAM), 30 p.; 6. Yuri Quarti (ITA, KTM), 25 p.; 7. Jakub Teresak (CZE, KTM), 24 p.; 8. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 22 p.; 9. Brian Strubhart Moreau (FRA, KAW), 22 p.; 10. Isak Gifting (SWE, KTM), 18 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Championship Top Ten: 1. Jago Geerts (BEL, KTM), 90 points; 2. Stephen Rubini (FRA, KTM), 69 p.; 3. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, YAM), 68 p.; 4. Pierre Goupillon (FRA, KTM), 62 p.; 5. Zachary Pichon (FRA, YAM), 55 p.; 6. Gianluca Facchetti (ITA, KTM), 55 p.; 7. Andrea Zanotti (SMR, KTM), 40 p.; 8. Szymon Staszkiewicz (POL, KTM), 39 p.; 9. Kim Savaste (FIN, KAW), 37 p.; 10. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, HUS), 34 p.

EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 100 points; 2. Yamaha, 72 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 44 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 39 p.; 5. TM, 17 p.

Click here to obtain the complete results

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

MXGP OF TRENTINO – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1660m

Type of ground: Hard pack

Temperature: 24°C

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.

NEXT ROUND

The next rounds of the European Championships EMX250 and EMX125 Presented by FMF will take place in Talavera de la Reina, Spain, on May, the 29^th.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM Europe

MXGP of Trentino

Watch the official GoPro Lap of Pietramurata with James Dunn & Paul Coates here:

PIETRAMURATA (Trentino), 15 May 2016 - The Republic of San Marino has expressed interest in hosting a round of the FIM Motocross World Championship starting from 2017.

Yesterday, 14^th May, at the MXGP of Trentino in Pietramurata, Italy, San Marino’s State Secretary of Tourism Mr. Teodoro Lonfernini was onsite with a delegation from San Marino for a meeting with Youthstream President Mr. Giuseppe Luongo where they confirmed their intentions of hosting MXGP from 2017.

There will be a significant investment made to update the existing Motocross track and especially to improve the infrastructures and paddock.

LINKS

Youthstream

FIM

Picture: Mr. Giuseppe Luongo and Mr Teodoro Lonfernini

PIETRAMURATA (Trentino), 14 May 2016 - Come rain or shine, we race! And what would a motocross world championship be without a mudder throwing a spanner in the works. With rain hammering down on the hilly, pebbly, clay based track of Pietramurata, which is built at the base of the stunning Dolomite Mountains in one of the most beautiful areas of Italy, Trentino, Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis lit the candles in their respective qualifying races to lead the way into the main events tomorrow, round eight of the FIM Motocross World Championship.

The fourth round of the European Championship EMX250 also took place, as did the second round of the European Championship EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing. In the premier amateur class, EMX250, the red plate holder Bodo Schmidt Motorsport’s Thomas Kjer Olsen extended his points lead with his third race win of the season, while Sahkar Racing KTM’s Jago Geerts did the same in the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing class.

Whatever sprocket Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser had on that Honda of his, it was perfect for this venue. The all-new championship leader kept his red plate clean with a massive holeshot and check out performance for his fourth qualifying race win of the season. Chasing Gajser around turn one was last years MXGP of Trentino grand prix winner Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl and Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev who had company in the form of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli.

Egged on by the thousands of rowdy fans, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli plucked up the courage to hit an inside rut pinned and made an impressive pass on Bobryshev for third. Meanwhile, Nagl was ripping! He didn’t have anything for the rookie sensation, but nevertheless he managed to pull a healthy gap of 8 seconds on TC222.

Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev was chilling back in fourth before hearing a knock at the door. When he answered it was Team Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos who was there with friends in the form of the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing duo, Jeremy Van Horebeek and Romain Febvre. Bobryshev slammed the door in their faces and held on for fourth, which forced Strijbos to accept fifth.

Febvre, on the other hand, was cutting edge awesome on his way from outside the top 30 to pass his teammate, Van Horebeek, with two laps for go for sixth.

MXGP Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 25:00.430; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:08.075; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:13.720; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:16.367; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:17.067; 6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:18.274; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:19.752; 8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:48.489; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:52.694; 10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:55.004

As you know, Mother Nature added her five cents to the MXGP of Trentino today with generous lashings of rain that made everything a lot more difficult. Starts were essential out here on the hills of Pietramurata, as was tyre selection, tyre pressure, sprocket choice, mental strength, physical strength, balance, throttle control, line choice… let’s face it, everything had to be on point.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings are two of the hungriest riders on the line and long-time rivals, so when they went bar to bar into turn one, we knew we were in for a cracking race. Ferrandis took the holeshot with a slight advantage over Herlings who ran it in too hot, went wide and had to bounce off a bank to make the turn.

Herlings’ bank bouncing maneuver worked a treat, he didn’t even lose a spot and was able to charge up the inside of Ferrandis heading into the third corner. Herlings had the inside line and attempted to drive the Frenchman wide, but instead of braking and backing out of the challenge, Ferrandis just hammered the throttle and fought back immediately. There may have been a little bit of plastic exchanged between the two, of which Ferrandis will keep as a souvenir as Herlings went off line and into the bog.

HSF Logistics Motorsports Team’s Brian Bogers capitalized on Herlings bulldozing through the slop, as did Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer who had just finished barging past Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass.

Herlings isn’t really used to being pushed about, so it was interesting to see The Bullet’s response. Instead of going knackers to the wall, he just hung back in third and looked for some good lines. Meanwhile, Jonass quietly chipped at the gap of Herlings, while Ferrandis rode like a boss to pull a massive 8-second lead on Seewer.

Speaking of Seewer, the Swiss rider came into some trouble with a few laps to go when he committed to a 180-degree rut at the bottom of a hill only to hit a back marker who had crashed on the exit. He had to wheelie out of the rut and into the next rut, but it was occupied with yet another lapped rider, so he got wedged and dropped his bike. He had to hurry, but thankfully he managed to remount in time to maintain second place.

Herlings broke his perfect qualifying race win record when he crossed the line in third ahead of his teammate Jonass. Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha’s Aleksandr Tonkov and TM Racing Factory Team’s Samuele Bernardini inherited the fifth and sixth place positions after Anstie crashed on the last lap. Anstie came home in seventh.

MX2 Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 25:08.730; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:08.255; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:10.023; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:11.541; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +0:36.804; 6. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +0:45.476; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:48.567; 8. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Honda), +0:54.768; 9. Alvin Östlund (SWE, Yamaha), +0:57.905; 10. Simone Furlotti (ITA, Yamaha), +1:06.213

Click here to obtain the complete results

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

MXGP OF TRENTINO – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1660m

Type of ground: Hard pack

Temperature: 19°C

Weather conditions: changeable

TIMETABLE

Sunday: EMX125 Warm-up 08:50; EMX250 Warm-up 09:05; EMX125 Race 2 10:00; MX2 Warm up 10:40; MXGP Warm up 11:00; 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

MXGP of Trentino

Watch the MX2 and MXGP Qualifying Race Highlights from here in Trentino, round eight of the FIM Motocross World Championship:

MXGP Qualifying Race Highlights

MX2 Qualifying Race Highlights