MXGP – Desalle grabs the MX1 red plate in Sweden

The rain was once again present in Uddevalla this weekend, making the Swedish Grand Prix tougher and more demanding than usual. However, Clement Desalle and Tommy Searle once again proved their potential as they reached the top of the podium.

Christophe Pourcel obtained the second overall place in the MX1 class, while Kevin Strijbos was for the second time this season on the third step of the podium. Antonio Cairoli and Evgeny Bobryshev got two DNF’s and David Philippaerts crashed in the first moto, walking away with suspected fractures in both wrists. In the MX2 class, Jeffrey Herlings had a difficult second race and claimed second overall, while Dylan Ferrandis completed the top three.

MX1

Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Clement Desalle was satisfied with his riding, after obtaining a double heat victory and taking home the red plate. It was actually in Uddevalla when the Belgian lost the red plate from the likes of Cairoli last year, so Desalle will now focus on racing well and keeping the red plate in his possession until the end of the season.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Christophe Pourcel was second overall this weekend but it was not an easy Grand Prix for the French rider. Pourcel was not able to take part in the warm up this morning because he had stomach problems, but felt much better later and was ready to race the main heats. In the first race, he started in the lead, but he had some problems with his goggles and dropped down to second. Later, trying to catch Desalle, his boot broke and got stuck in the foot peg of his bike, causing him to settle for second place. In the second moto Pourcel took the holeshot again, but Desalle was faster and the Frenchman crossed the finish line second again.

Kevin Strijbos obtained his second podium finish of the season, coming third thanks to his 5-3 result. The Belgian rider admitted that he is feeling really good on his bike and he is improving week after week. Strijbos didn’t have a really good start in the first race, but was able to move from fifteenth to fifth in a track where a lot of the riders had problems overtaking.

The fourth overall position was for Sebastian Pourcel, who managed to finish third in the first heat and sixth in the second. The CP377 Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit rider missed the podium by just one point, but was still satisfied finishing fourth.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Shaun Simpson obtained one of his best results of the season in Uddevalla, completing the top five with a 4-5 result. The British rider didn’t have a good start in the first heat, but in the second race managed to overtake Leok during the first lap and rode third for a few laps. However, Simpson made a mistake and crashed, and had to settle with the place.

It was one of the best weekends of the season for Tanel Leok, who succeeded in finishing sixth and fourth in today’s races. The Estonian didn’t have a good start in the first moto, but he moved from eleventh to sixth. In the second race he started third and rode a solid moto, finishing fourth.

Gautier Paulin couldn’t find his rhythm today either and he could only finish seventh overall, followed by his teammate Xavier Boog. Ken De Dycker crashed at the start of both motos and made a great effort to finish eleventh in both races, which gave him the overall ninth position. Mark De Reuver completed the top ten.

Antonio Cairoli lost the red plate because he got two DNF’s today. In the first moto, the Italian got a stone stuck in the front sprocket and the back wheel of his KTM was completely blocked. In the second race, he made the mistake of getting his KTM stuck in mud. Both occasions saw Cairoli spending a lot of time trying to get his KTM back on the track, but unfortunately had to surrender.

MX1 Race 1 top ten:

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 40:52.302;
2. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.870;
3. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:28.388;
4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:31.762;
5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:38.980;
6. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), +1:13.721;
7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:17.195;
8. Cedric Soubeyras (FRA, Honda), +1:22.736;
9. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:24.085;
10. Mark de Reuver (NED, Kawasaki), +1:35.661;

MX1 Race 2 top ten:

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 39:05.450;
2. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:04.445;
3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:07.064;
4. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), +0:23.936;
5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:37.011;
6. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:40.893;
7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:52.511;
8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:53.034;
9. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:16.098;
10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), +1:21.824;

MX1 Overall top ten:

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 50 points;
2. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 44 p.;
3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 36 p.;
4. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 35 p.;
5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), 34 p.;
6. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), 33 p.;
7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 26 p.;
8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 25 p.;
9. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 20 p.;
10. Mark de Reuver (NED, Kawasaki), 20 p.;

MX1 Championship top ten:

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 348 points;
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 345 p.;
3. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 336 p.;
4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 315 p.;
5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 257 p.;
6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 243 p.;
7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 236 p.;
8. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 212 p.;
9. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), 201 p.;
10. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 183 p.;

MX2

Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle obtained his fourth Grand Prix win of the season and is now sixteen points behind Jeffrey Herlings in the point standings. The British rider was really satisfied with his performance and he admitted that he felt really comfortable on his bike today. He is very confident that he will continue to win races. Searle started at the front in both motos. He was able to win the second moto with no issues, but in the first he had to settle for second place, due to having to enter the pitlane to change goggles while leading the race.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings claimed second overall, coming first and seventh at today’s races. The Dutch rider rode second for most of the first heat, but was able to take the lead at the end of the race when Searle entered the pitlane to change his goggles. In the second race Herlings made a mistake in the opening lap and later in the race he crashed again, causing the seventh place finish.

Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Dylan Ferrandis obtained his podium position this weekend in Uddevalla thanks to his 4-3 result. The eighteen-year-old rider took the holeshot in both motos and managed to keep his rhythm until the end of both races. He is now looking forward to racing the next Grand Prix, wanting to prove he is able to repeat such a result.

The fourth overall position went to Nestaan JM Racing KTM’s Jake Nicholls, who succeeded in starting at the front in both motos, and was able to ride two consistent races from beginning to end. The British rider started eighth in the first moto and finished sixth, whereas in the second heat he was third during the opening lap and he crossed the finish line fourth.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Zach Osborne completed the top five of the Swedish Grand Prix on his first appearance in the FIM Motocross World Championship this season after his injury on his right shoulder. The American didn’t have a really good start in the first race, but was able to move from eighth to fifth. In the second moto, he crashed with Charlier while they were both fighting for the fourth position, causing Osborne to settle with the fifth place.

The sixth overall position was for Jordi Tixier, who struggled a little bit with his starts this weekend. In the end the French rider was able to finish eighth in both motos. Joel Roelants had a really good first race and he was able to finish third, but in the second moto crashed at the start of the race and had to fight from the 22nd position to finish 16th. In the end, Roelants finished seventh overall.

Jeremy Van Horebeek was very unlucky in the first, with his KTM breaking while he was riding third. However, the Belgian did a superb second moto, starting from sixth place and moving up to second in the middle of the heat. Glen Coldenhoff was ninth overall and José Butrón completed the top ten.

MX2 Race 1 top ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:51.669;
2. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:03.017;
3. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:53.378;
4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:05.289;
5. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +1:17.557;
6. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +1:22.205;
7. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), +1:40.416;
8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:41.138;
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), -1 lap(s);
10. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s);

MX2 Race 2 top ten:

1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 40:12.526;
2. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:18.574;
3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:27.266;
4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:29.925;
5. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:51.319;
6. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:05.434;
7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +1:19.931;
8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:23.237;
9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:24.264;
10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), +1:34.735;

MX2 Overall top ten:

1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 47 points;
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39 p.;
3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 38 p.;
4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 33 p.;
5. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 32 p.;
6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 26 p.;
7. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 25 p.;
8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 22 p.;
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 21 p.;
10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 18 p.;

MX2 Championship top ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 403 points;
2. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 387 p.;
3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 330 p.;
4. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 263 p.;
5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 243 p.;
6. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 237 p.;
7. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), 199 p.;
8. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 177 p.;
9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 168 p.;
10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), 163 p.;