🎥 MXGP: RD 9 Highlights – France

For the second year in a row the MXGP of France in Saint Jean d’Angely was filled with the always enthusiastic French fans to create an amazing atmosphere. Warm weather and sunshine lit the hillside circuit with its deep ruts and challenging conditions. Aside from the traditional high-speed racing this weekend also provided some unexpected results and championship shake ups.
Here’s the official news from MXGP…

MXGP Race 1 started with a Fox Holeshot for Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP’s Arnaud Tonusjust ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli. The top MXGP Qualifier, Team HRC’s Tim Gajser, dove to the inside of Cairoli on the first lap to get into second early. A lap after passing Cairoli the Slovenian made it past Tonus for the lead in almost the exact same spot. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Romain Febvre was off to a good start of fourth in his home round and watched as Cairoli made it past Tonus for 2nd.

Tonus’ Monster Energy Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP teammate Gautier Paulin struggled off the start and fell from 11th back to 18th in the third lap. Meanwhile Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle made his way past Gebben Van Venrooy Kawasaki’s Alessandro Lupino and Febvre before making an assertive pass on Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Jeremy Seewer for 4th. The pass from Desalle didn’t last though as both Seewer and Febvre were back by before the end of the lap. At the finish it was a dominating win for Gajser ahead of Cairoli who held off the charges of Tonus throughout the race while Seewer, Febvre, and Desalle rounded out the top five.

MXGP Race 2 was off to a dramatic start as Cairoli jumped his gate and Febvre took the Fox Holeshot creating a massive roar from the crowd. As Cairoli charged to catch up with the field Febvre led Tonus, Paulin, and Honda SR Motoblouz’s Jeremy Van Horebeek. Desalle passed both Van Horebeek and Paulin to quickly get into 3rd while Gajser was closing in from 5th position. Meanwhile the bad luck continued for Cairoli as he went down while 14th only to get up and have his bike punted away by Standing Construct KTM’s Ivo Monticelli.

Cairoli got back on the bike on 25th and got up to 17th before stalling, losing a spot, and then regaining it all over again. At the front Gajser had made his way past Desalle before banging bars with Tonus to take second and eventually the lead from Febvre. Gajser pulled away to take his second 1-1 victory in two weeks and his first back to back overall GP win since the MXGP’s of Patagonia Argentina and Leon, Mexico in 2017. Febvre took second in the race ahead of Tonus, Desalle, and Paulin. Tonus’ 3-3 finishes gave him his best ever MXGP overall result of 2nd only one week after his long-awaited return to podium form in Portugal while Febvre’s 5-2 result put him on the podium in front of the home fans.

The 17th place result of Cairoli in race 2 put the points leader 7th overall but dropped his championship lead to only 10 points over Gajser as the series heads to the Black Sea bordering venue of Orlyonok in 2 weeks’ time for the 2019 Patron MXGP of Russia.

Tim Gajser: “I’m really happy how both days went. I was having fun on the track. I enjoy how things are going at the moment and I hope to continue this momentum into Russia.”

Arnaud Tonus: “To be honest I’m not sure what to expect anymore. I was so happy last week, I felt like I was riding good, making some passes, and had some good starts and I was able to do the same this weekend. I’m just going to try to keep going this way.”

Romain Febvre: “It has been a long road, I didn’t have much time on the bike yet and I feel like I can do much better. It is a really good performance for how I feel right now. Coming down to the start line there is so many fans… it is really good, and I am really happy to have my first podium of the year here.”

Antonio Cairoli: “We are looking for the next race now. We need to keep focused. This was not the best race of the season but we learn from the mistakes, I’m still learning at almost 34 years old and I will try to be on the podium again at the next race.”