VALKENSWAARD (THE NETHERLANDS) 25 April 2010 – Overwhelming victory of Tony Cairoli in the MX1 class also his team mate Jeffrey Herlings’ win in MX 2 his home GP.The defending world champion Tony Cairoli won heat one and made up for two crashes in the second heat by taking another win. Steve Ramon was second on the podium with David Philippaerts third as both clinched their first rostrum finish of 2010.In the MX2 class Jeffry Herlings took two stunning heat wins to wrap up the Grand Prix at only 15 years and 225 days of age – courtesy of his German GP win last year Ken Roczen remains the youngest GP winner ever at the age of 15 years and 53 days. The German was second on the podium and collected the red plate while Steven Frossard was third overall. Marvin Musquin struggled to end fifth overall.MX1 CLASS
Cairoli shined in the Netherlands today through two great moto wins on the deep Dutch sand of Valkenswaard. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Italian went on to dominate the first heat from the start to the flag and won again in the second heat despite two crashes.Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1’s Ramon took his first season podium with second overall. On the track where he injured his neck last year, the Belgian recovered to third in the first moto and just missed out on winning moto two when Cairoli moved past with just five laps to go.Also for Philippaerts it was the first season’s podium as the Italian of Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross completed the Dutch podium. A good second place in moto one was followed by a prudent fourth place in the final heat after Leok moved past him at the very last lap.The Estonian of LS Motors Honda rode strong to take fourth overall ahead of other Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX1 rider Nagl.It was a tough weekend for Desalle instead who saw his Grand Prix end in the first moto with a dislocated right shoulder caused by a crash. X-rays on Monday will reveal when the factory Suzuki rider will be fit to ride again.Eighth place for the US rider Jimmy Albertson ( Team Martin Honda) reward for an eventful but largely positive first sand track Grand Prix experience. Jimmy was eighth on both occasions and was unlucky not to have been able to capitalise on a brilliant start in Moto2 when a scare after catching his ankle caused him to lose ground. Defying discomfort he rallied and worked his way back into the top ten.
Tony Cairoli: “The second race, well I really liked it even though I crashed. I like it to be on the competition all the time. The first race was hard because I had some big leads and I tried to concentrate. The second heat was pretty exciting for the public and for everybody. I feel very satisfied about my riding so everything is going pretty good. The first moto I took the holeshot so I could ride my lines and my rhythm. In the second race I was riding with Philippaerts we were trying to pass each other all the time and then I caught his back wheel and I crashed”.
Steve Ramon: “ I am really happy with the results today, especially in front of the thousands of Belgian fans that turned up this weekend. I felt good all weekend, the bike was great, and I like the tough and technical circuit conditions. In moto 1 I had to work so hard to get through that I was pretty exhausted after that. Cairoli had a fairly easy first moto out front, so when he was chasing me down in that 2nd race, he just had that little more power in the closing stages. I made a few little mistakes and he got past. Anyway to stand 2nd on the podium today was a good improvement on the first 2 Grand Prix so I am really happy with the progress. Roll on Portugal!!”
David Philippaerts: “I am really happy today but I made mistakes in Bulgaria and Mantova so this should not have been my first podium of the season; mistakes are part of the sport and today things went well. In the second moto I was pleased to get the holeshot and lead at the start. I was riding good but the track was very difficult and bumpy. I did not want to crash so I was not pushing over the limit. Leok passed me on the last lap but it was OK; I still made it up on the podium.”Jimmy Albertson: “The first moto started pretty good. I burnt through the pack and went from like eighth to fourth but I was going like a maniac and was going to wear myself out fast. I got a bit tired in the middle of the moto but then started to find my rhythm and started working through the pack and some of the positions I had lost. I went over the finish line side-by-side with Bobryshev and got eighth; a top ten finish in my first sand GP and I felt that was a good start for me. The second moto was awesome. I got a fourth place-start, went for second and then came up with Philippaerts. I knew I could have got him but it would have meant touching him and we both could have gone down so I cut it sharp and dug my foot into the ground. For a second I thought ‘I’ve just broken my ankle’. I could not feel it at first but in the next corner it started to throb and I was going backwards. I decided just to ignore it and put my head down and ride. I managed to finish 8th again which was good and I got the ankle checked immediately afterwards and nothing serious has happened. Overall it was a good weekend and I’m glad we have next week off to heal-up.”MX1 Race 1: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 40:47.473; ; 2. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:14.059; 3. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:15.316; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:16.411; 5. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +0:20.301; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), +0:38.548; 7. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), +0:39.841; 8. Jimmy Albertson (USA, Honda), +0:39.852; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:44.176; 10. Marc de Reuver (NED, Suzuki), +1:23.255;MX1 Race 2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:16.455; ; 2. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:03.399; 3. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +0:05.667; 4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:08.087; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:09.800; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:10.960; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), +0:12.261; 8. Jimmy Albertson (USA, Honda), +0:34.354; 9. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Aprilia), +0:52.305; 10. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Honda), +1:12.818;MX1 Championship: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 138 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 120 p.; 3. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 101 p.; 4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 100 p.; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), 94 p.; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 79 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 70 p.; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 66 p.; 9. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 56 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), 56 p.;MX2 CLASS
This edition of the Dutch Grand Prix marked an historical home victory for 15 year old Jeffrey Herlings of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX2.Herlings grasped his first ever Grand Prix victory becoming the second youngest GP winner ever after Roczen 15 years and 225 days for Herlings and 15 years and 53 days for Roczen. The Dutch won in dominant style, leading both moto’s from the start to the flag, despite he started from the 14th position.Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2’s Ken Roczen took another second place, the third in three GP’s, but this time the young German clinched the red plate for the first time in his career just one week before turning 16 on April 29. Roczen rode steady in second place as he decided it was better to settle for second rather than risking to go chase Herlings.Kawasaki CLS’ Steven Frossard took third overall to celebrate his maiden podium finish on a sandy course, something the hard pack specialist from France was not so good at in the past seasons. After a couple of “so and so” starts Frossard managed to work his way through the top five in both heats.Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX2’s Shaun Simpson was a positive fourth overall meaning that the Scottish rider is on his way back to the top after a hand injury hampered the beginning of his season. Team mate Marvin Musquin ended an unlucky weekend, Marvin crashed yesterday in the qualifying moto- by taking fifth overall.The American Zach Osborne finish only 11th. The Bike it Cosworth Yamaha’s rider had been flying through Saturday, setting the 3rd fastest time in Pre-Qualification, taking 4th in the Qualification Heat and notching the 3rd best time in morning warm-up. Any designs on the podium were lost in the first minutes of both races as the 2009 Turkish GP winner made two costly mistakes that bumped him down the field and limited his options. He was 10th and 13th by the end of the afternoon.
Jeffrey Herlings: “It was an indescribable feeling, just amazing, I had two good starts from not a very good starting position. But one GP is not the whole season so I am just going to try to be consistent and take it one race at a time.Maybe it was that confidence that let me win my first GP”.
Ken Roczen: “Second place again but this is OK because I want to keep a cool head and keep on taking results like these. I am runner-up here but I have the red plate. There are some small things we still need to work on but nobody is perfect! My riding on the sand has ‘gotten better and we still have some races on this type of track to come. I am now the leader of the Championship but I want to keep on having fun on the bike. I am looking forward to Portugal and getting on the podium again.”Steven Frossard: “I did not achieve good results on sand tracks last year but I have flown several times between Marseilles and the Netherlands this winter to practice under the watchful eye of ex-GP rider Kees van der Ven and the team’s technical advisor Harry Nolte. Last week we trained at a track which is similar to Valkenswaard, and the positive tests helped me a lot to feel confident on this type of surface. I had a strong qualifying race which gave me third choice of gate today and I was able to finish 4th and 3rd in the two motos today after top ten starts in each. It’s the first time in my career that I have got in the podium at a sandy track and that confirms that the training we did during the winter is bringing its rewards.I really like the track at Agueda in Portugal where the next GP will take place and I am confident I can go for the win there to reduce the gap to the current points leaders.”Zach Osborne: “A huge missed opportunity. I was really good all weekend but ruined my chances on both first laps. In the first race I was top five at the start but just fell over in a turn and something similar happened in the second race; total mistakes on my part. I could not cut through the pack quick enough, and in the second moto the people ahead of me were a little bit more spread out so I could only come back to 13th. It is tough to swallow after good lap-times all weekend and a genuine chance of the podium but I will take the positives and that was some good starts and the improvement in my sand riding.”MX2 Race 1: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 40:38.808; ; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:11.538; 3. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:31.190; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:32.125; 5. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), +0:45.966; 6. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:55.075; 7. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +0:59.618; 8. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +1:10.331; 9. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +1:10.864; 10. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +1:26.462;MX2 Race 2: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:11.832; ; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:12.186; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:37.194; 4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:51.914; 5. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +1:05.231; 6. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +1:10.994; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:13.917; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:14.452; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), +1:27.641; 10. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +1:33.609;MX2 Championship: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 130 points; 2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 129 p.; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 122 p.; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 107 p.; 5. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), 90 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 87 p.; 7. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 80 p.; 8. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 78 p.; 9. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 61 p.; 10. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 60 p.;
