MX2 Class
Red Bull KTM factory Racing's Rui Goncalves took his maiden Grand Prix win today at the Eurocircuit as team mate Shaun Simpson was second on the podium. The factory KTM duo dominated both motos with heat one going to Simpson and heat two to Goncalves. The Scottish, who hurt his shoulder in the week of the Turkish GP, felt the lack of bike time in heat two finishing in third as Goncalves pulled away with the lead.
All three men on today's podium entered the top three overall for the first time this season with Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross' Nicolas Aubin completing the rostrum. The Frenchman, who started from pole, crashed in heat one, finishing fifth, but fought for the win in heat two before settling for second.
Aubin's team mate Guarneri was a positive fourth overall, a much better result compared to last year's eleventh, while Championship leader Gautier Paulin was fifth overall ahead of Zach Osborne and Marvin Musquin.
Despite two great starts home rider Klein Kromhof dropped down to 28th overall.
Rui Goncalves
"This is the first time I have won a GP since joining the factory team. Last year I was close but I didn't manage it. This is a big reward for all of our work. I made some mistakes in the middle of race one, but I finished second and that gave me confidence for the second moto. I managed to win the second race by a good margin and you can't ask better than that. Now we go to Portugal where I will have the support of all my friends and family. It will be awesome if I can get the same result there".
Shaun Simpson
"I could feel on Tuesday and Wednesday that my shoulder was feeling much better. Now I miss some training so that is probably why I got tired in the second moto. Now it's important to go for more podiums, train hard and get good results. If I can be consistent we can make it and we can fight with the leaders."
MX2 Moto 1: 1. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM) 2. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM) 3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha) 4. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha) 5. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha) 6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki) 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki) 8. Marvin Musquin (FRA, Honda) 9. Matiss Karro (LAT, Suzuki) 10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, KTM)
MX2 Moto 2 1. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM) 2. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha) 3. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM) 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki) 5. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM) 6. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM) 7. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha) 8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha) 9. Loic Larrieu (FRA, Yamaha) 10. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM)
MX2 Championship 1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 140 points; 2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, Honda), 125 p.; 3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 111 p.; 4. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 100 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 97 p.; 6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 94 p.; 7. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 85 p.; 8. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 78 p.; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 63 p.; 10. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), 55 p.;