MXGP – Hat-trick for Desalle in Portugal

The Portuguese Grand Prix commenced with a rainy start, but the sun rose in Agueda, Portugal, for the second set of races and the crowd present were able to enjoy watching Clement Desalle and Jeffrey Herlings win the Portuguese GP.

Clement Desalle went 1-3 in the MX1 class, obtaining his third overall victory in a row in Portugal, while Gautier Paulin and Antonio Cairoli took out second and third respectively. Jeffrey Herlings was the overall winner in the MX2 class, but Tommy Searle managed to take victory in the second heat and scored the second step on the podium. Claiming third place was Jeremy Van Horebeek who is still struggling with his foot injury.

MX1

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1’s Clement Desalle obtained the first Grand Prix victory of the season (at a track where he has always won over the last three years). The Belgian rider won the first moto with more than a six second advantage over second classified Christophe Pourcel, but he could only manage third in the second race. The Belgian rider admitted that he was a bit disappointed with his performance in the second heat. He lost too much energy in the beginning, as he had a bad start, and had to push really hard to catch the leading group. The Belgian rider will travel to his home GP second in the point standings.

Second overall was Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin after finishing fourth in the first heat and winning the second moto from the likes of Cairoli. At the start of the first race Paulin contacted another ride and damaged the radiator, making his Kawasaki machine get really hot towards the middle of the race. The French rider was satisfied with the fourth position in the first moto and for being again on the podium thanks to the victory of the second heat.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli was third in the first moto and was close to winning the second heat, which would have given him the overall victory. The current leader of the series rode really close to Paulin during the last three laps of the second heat and in the very last lap the Italian managed to overtake Paulin. However, Cairoli could not keep the lead and had to settle with the second position, giving him the third overall place finish of the Grand Prix.

The fourth overall position was for CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Christophe Pourcel, who took the holeshot in both motos but was unable to win any of them. In the first heat the French rider finished second behind Desalle, and in the second race was able to lead the first half of the race before making a mistake causing him to go down to the third position. In the end Pourcel crossed the finish line fourth and finished fourth overall. The French rider is now fourth in the Championship, one point behind Gautier and four points behind Desalle.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker completed the top five thanks to scoring two fifth positions in today’s heats. The Belgian rider did really well considering he started from the very outside – he had the last gate pick today due to his DNF in the qualifying race yesterday.

Xavier Boog did not have an easy first moto, getting stuck behind a crash at the start and having to break hard in order not to crash. The French rider put in a lot of effort to move from sixteenth to seventh, and such an extra effort left him with no energy to battle in the second moto. Boog was eleventh in the second race and he finished sixth overall in the Grand Prix.

Home rider, Rui Gonçalves, leaves a little bit disappointed after not finishing on the podium. In the first moto the Portuguese got stuck behind Philippaerts and Leok’s crash at the start and he was only able to finish 14th. In the second race he got a better start and he crossed the finish line sixth, which gave him the overall seventh position.

Jonathan Barragán had a really good start in the first moto and he ended sixth, but he crashed in the second heat and ended fourteenth, eighth overall of the Grand Prix. Leok and Philippaerts completed the top ten.

Evgeny Bobryshev got a DNF in the first moto because his bike stopped while he was riding eleventh. In the second heat he finished seventh and he ended sixteenth in the Grand Prix.

MX1 Race 1 top ten:

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 40:04.024;
2. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:06.155;
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:16.903;
4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:23.550;
5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:41.323;
6. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Honda), +0:43.183;
7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:45.298;
8. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:13.177;
9. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +1:16.143;
10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:16.869;

MX1 Race 2 top ten:

1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 39:04.520;
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:00.484;
3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:25.785;
4. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:29.957;
5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:31.550;
6. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:33.435;
7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:38.248;
8. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), +0:43.679;
9. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:48.689;
10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:50.250;

MX1 Overall top ten:

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 45 points;
2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 43 p.;
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 42 p.;
4. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 40 p.;
5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 32 p.;
6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 24 p.;
7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 22 p.;
8. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Honda), 22 p.;
9. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), 21 p.;
10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 21 p.;

MX1 Championship top ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 295 points;
2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 258 p.;
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 255 p.;
4. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 254 p.;
5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 211 p.;
6. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 190 p.;
7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 185 p.;
8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 171 p.;
9. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 156 p.;
10. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), 142 p.;

MX2

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Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings obtained his fifth Grand Prix victory of the season after going 1-2 in today’s races. The Dutch rider had a really good start in the first moto, crossing the finish line with a comfortable 24 seconds advantage over his teammate, Van Horebeek. In the second race he had another good start and led most of the heat, but with just three laps to go he got stuck with a lapped rider and was down to second. Herlings was finally second, but he got the overall win of the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle admitted that the first moto was a nightmare for him; firstly it took him a while to find a good rhythm and by the time he was catching Van Horebeek he had a problem with the clutch adjuster. He admitted that he was trying to adjust his clutch the wrong way, frustration giving him the thought of getting off his bike and walking back. But he tried hard again and managed to finish third. In the second heat everything went better for the British rider, and although he rode second most of the heat, he overtook Herlings with just two laps to go and won the second race.

Third overall was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek thanks to his 2-6 result. Van Horebeek had a really good start in the first moto and he managed to keep his initial second position until the end. In the second race he didn’t have such a good start, but he rode fourth during the first laps. However, he twisted his ankle again and had to slow down his rhythm and settle with sixth place.

Honda’s Max Anstie finished tenth in the first moto, but managed an excellent second race finishing third behind Searle and Herlings. The British rider was able to start at the front in the second moto, basically just keeping his rhythm in front and rode a consistent race until the chequered flag.

KTM’s Jake Nicholls completed the top five after finishing sixth and fifth in today’s races being tight in points with Anstie. In the first heat he had a good start and rode a solid moto from beginning until the end, but in the second race he had to give all his best to go from eleventh to fifth.

Jordi Tixier had a really good start in the first race as he crossed the finish line fourth. However, in the second moto, not only did he have a bad start, but also made a mistake while he was riding sixth. The French rider finished the second race in eleventh position and obtained an overall sixth result.

Mel Pocock lined up again for Monster Energy Yamaha and he finished seventh overall after finishing eleventh and seventh in today’s races. The 2011 UEM EMX2 Champion, Romain Febvre, obtained his best result in the FIM MX2 World Championship this weekend being eighth overall, ahead of Glenn Coldenhoff.

Dylan Ferrandis had a tough first race; firstly, he had to enter the pitlane to change his goggles and later on got a stone stuck in his rear break forcing him pull out from the race. However, in the second race he took the holeshot and crossed the finish line fourth, which allowed him to finish tenth. His teammate Valentin Teillet finished fifth in the first race, but he got involved in a tangle at the start of the second moto and had to pull out with a broken collarbone.

Arnaud Tonus finished seventh in the first race, but he was also involved in the crash at the start of the second heat and he could only finish eighteenth after starting from the very last position.

It was also a difficult weekend for Belgian rider, Joel Roelants, after entering the pitlane to change his goggles in the first moto and having a crash in Moto 2.

MX2 Race 1 top ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:10.276;
2. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:24.395;
3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:34.653;
4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:38.290;
5. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:44.211;
6. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:50.077;
7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:58.699;
8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +1:02.894;
9. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:07.030;
10. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), +1:28.511;

MX2 Race 2 top ten:

1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 40:43.230;
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:20.811;
3. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), +1:14.010;
4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:22.077;
5. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +1:24.427;
6. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +1:55.160;
7. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), -1 lap(s);
8. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), -1 lap(s);
9. Harri Kullas (FIN, Suzuki), -1 lap(s);
10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s);

MX2 Overall top ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 points;
2. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 45 p.;
3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 37 p.;
4. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), 31 p.;
5. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 31 p.;
6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 28 p.;
7. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 24 p.;
8. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), 20 p.;
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 19 p.;
10. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 18 p.;

MX2 Championship top ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 317 points;
2. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 293 p.;
3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 268 p.;
4. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 204 p.;
5. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), 191 p.;
6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 187 p.;
7. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 175 p.;
8. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), 129 p.;
9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 126 p.;
10. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 125 p.;