Taking victory at the Casino Bonver GP of Czech Republic ( Loket) Clement Desalle conquered his first ever MX 1 GP success while in MX2 Gautier Paulin came back to victory after Italy GP.
It was a tough day for the leaders of both Championships Cairoli and Musquin. The first struggled with a severe cold and ended fourth overall while Musquin's bike had a problem in heat two, with the Frenchman pulling out with no points.
Nagl and Philippaerts completed the MX1 podium while Goncalves and Boog rounded off the MX2 rostrum.
MX1 CLASS
At 20 years of age Belgian Desalle made it to his first Grand Prix victory at the Casino Bonver Grand Prix of the Czech Republic. Desalle, who started from pole, was a distant second in moto one but he made the most of his chances in the final heat. Desalle started well and took the lead from holeshotter Philippaerts, then rode to a flawless victory to wrap up the overall.
Finishing second on the podium was Nagl of Red Bull KTM factory Racing. The German, who is still second in the Championship, won the first moto with a big advantage over Desalle though he struggled in the final heat to finish fourth.
Completing the podium was Philippaerts, as Loket unveiled to be again an important race for the Italian's Championship - last year Philippaerts got back the red plate in Loket with an overall win. This year though Philippaerts came back to the podium after his last appearance in France but Desalle's victory saw the Belgian chip away at the gap from the defending Champion. Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross' Philippaerts is still third in the Championship but Desalle is just two points away now.
Championship leader Cairoli finished fourth and missed the podium for the first time in six races but the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli man was suffering with a severe cold. Cairoli had a tough first moto, where he ran off the track at the start and then recovered to sixth. A much better start in moto two saw the two time World Champion finish in second after a dogfight with Philippaerts.
Other Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross rider Coppins completed the top five ahead of Swanepoel and De Dycker.
Neugebauer was the best placed home rider with 14th overall while TM Factory Racing rider Thain ended 22nd - he will now go back to the World Enduro series as he was just replacing an injured Aigar Leok.
Clement Desalle: "I am really pleased to win this GP, but at the same time I'm already hungry for more. I'm sure I can fight for the win in the last two GP's as well. After the first heat I felt that I had something to settle with myself. I chose to start from the outside of the gate, which wasn't easy. Nevertheless it didn't take long to get in the top three. Two small mistakes prevented me from closing the gap with Nagl. The second heat went according to my plan. This time out, I had a good start and found myself in the lead from the first lap on. Afterwards I was able to ride my own rhythm. I'm already looking forward to the next races. Next Saturday in Balen, I want to take over the lead in the Belgian Championship."
Max Nagl: "The first moto was very good because I took the holeshot then I managed to control the race and put in good lap times. Then I felt sick between the two motos and it was no fun to go out and race again. I did have a good start again but then I made a mistake at the first corner and I had to fight to get back into the race. Overall I am happy with the weekend because I managed to pick up some more points on Cairoli and put a bigger distance between me and David Philippaerts in third place. Looking forward to the next round in Lierop, I feel quite confident because I rode well there last year and I think I can get some more points so then I'll be ready for a big battle for the title in Brazil."
David Philippaerts: "I am happy with today. I like the track here at Loket and enjoyed the win last year. Since my last podium in France I have had some physical problems that took me one month to get rid of but now things are much better. It is hard to pass and I had good fight with Josh in the first moto, perhaps it went on longer than it should because I made a mistake. I had the same experience with Cairoli in the second race; any battle with Cairoli is always hard! He had some good lines and lap-times and looks as though he will be champion this year. This season has not been easy for me but we have two more GPs now and I want to get a top three position at least."
MX1 Race 1 top ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 39:02.888; ; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), +0:10.188; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:21.531; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:22.734; 5. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:23.854; 6. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:25.147; 7. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), +0:32.151; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:47.271; 9. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:51.509; 10. Manuel Priem (BEL, Aprilia), +0:55.829;
MX1 Race 2 top ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 39:40.072; ; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:16.564; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:24.609; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:29.833; 5. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:33.593; 6. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:40.831; 7. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:52.202; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +1:03.342; 9. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:11.859; 10. Loic Leonce (FRA, Aprilia), +1:19.504;
MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 503 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 458 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 428 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 426 p.; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 409 p.; 6. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 409 p.; 7. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), 347 p.; 8. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), 218 p.; 9. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 215 p.; 10. Manuel Priem (BEL, Aprilia), 178 p.;