With 2-1 Tony Cairoli and KTM won the Brazilian Grand Prix and the MX1 world championship. Roczen took victory in the MX2 class after two battles with series leader Marvin Musquin, ending second overall. Cairoli topped the podium from Italy fellow rider David Philippaerts, ending level in points with the eventual Champion after winning heat one. Max Nagl completed the podium as Clement Desalle encountered a mechanical problem while he was on route to win the second heat and the Grand Prix – his DNF handing Cairoli the MX1 Title.
In the MX2 class Roczen topped the podium from Championship leader Musquin, the two battling it out for victory in each moto. Completing the podium was Jeremy Van Horebeek, performing strong in the final heat to take third.
MX1 CLASS
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX1’s Cairoli made the most of this first Grand Prix of Brazil held in Campo Grande, which saw the Italian’s fourth World Championship win at the end of an eventful day. Cairoli recovered form a bad start in the first moto to take an eventual second through a last lap move on Desalle – the duo was too far from heat one winner Philippaerts. In the final moto Cairoli started better and placed himself in the runner up position behind leader Desalle but crashed and dropped back to fourth. Another recovery followed with Cairoli taking the second place back. Three laps to go leader Desalle, who was too far to be caught by Cairoli, bumped into a technical issue and his bike stopped. A dramatic win was handed Cairoli, who managed to top the podium from runner up Philippaerts and at the same time take also the Title at his debut season with KTM – the manufacturer returning to victory in the top class after their last success from 1985.
Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross’ Philippaerts was back onto the podium after his third place from Teutschenthal. The Italian took pole yesterday and made the most of it by winning the opening moto. The second heat though was a different story, as he ended second behind Cairoli and dropped down to second on the podium despite ending level in points with the Sicilian. Philippaerts was the first racer to congratulate Cairoli on his Title victory as he went to shake hands with his countryman right after he crossed the finish line.
Third on the podium was Cairoli’s Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX1 team mate Nagl, who was also surprised about being inside the top three. The German raced to fourth in the first moto and took third in moto two –where he got the holeshot- despite a crash. Nagl said this was a special podium as he found his team mate on top and could join him and the whole team for the World Title celebrations.
Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1’s Desalle instead had a day to forget at Campo Grande. The Belgian was in second place when Cairoli attacked him and moved past in the last lap of moto one. After taking third, Desalle was on route to win moto two and the overall but his bike stopped due to a technical issue, marking an early end to Desalle’s Brazilian GP – which he won in 2009.
Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1 team mate Ramon’s fourth place was a good consolation for the Geboers managed squad, with the racer combining a seventh and a fourth place in the heats.
Gonçalves ended the top five, making it a big day for the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX1 team. Guarneri took sixth overall ahead of Coppins. Leok, Desalle and Albertson completed the top ten ahead of Balbi, who was the best placed Brazilian in Campo Grande.
American rider Jimmy Albertson finish in Moto 1 . After a bad start, the Honda rider was languishing in 18th place but he did not stay there for long as he made pass after pass to scythe his way into 9th position.
Tony Cairoli: "I didn't expect to win here but its always nice to be world champion as soon as possible, I didn't take any risks and I was also a bit lucky that Desalle stopped, but that is racing. for sure I am happy with the new bike. I never had to stop for any technical problem and that is really important if you want to be constant. I love this bike and the whole team, they have helped me a lot!"
David Philippaerts: "I am really happy with the bike and the team are working really hard and our efforts showed in the first moto which was pretty much perfect. All the time it seems that we make a step forwards. After Loket we tried a new suspension set-up with a softer front end and it worked well for me. I was fast both days here in Brazil. I expected more from the second moto but today is very hot and the track was difficult. I wanted to win but I am content with second place. The conditions were better for me in Brazil this year. I could sleep well and the track overall was more to my liking. We go to Lierop now and I really like this circuit and then we have our home Grand Prix so we will push hard to finish as high as we can in the championship."
Jimmy Albertson: "I am really happy with the first moto, I was riding really well and just riding my own race. I had a bad start but cut through the field and caught up to the main group. The track suited me really well but it was a shame that I just ran out of energy in the second moto after a good start. I went 10-9 for 10th overall so I am pumped with that and will try to carry the momentum into the next race in Lierop."
MX1 Race 1 top ten: 1. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 41:20.839; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.791; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:13.112; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:20.864; 5. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), +0:46.909; 6. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:54.816; 7. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +1:13.946; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +1:21.489; 9. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Aprilia), +1:23.814; 10. Jimmy Albertson (USA, Honda), +1:25.132;
MX1 Race 2 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 41:15.746; 2. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:08.278; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:16.775; 4. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:29.866; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:43.882; 6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:58.480; 7. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Aprilia), +1:03.281; 8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), +1:08.317; 9. Jimmy Albertson (USA, Honda), +1:09.895; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +2:03.205;
MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 578 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 471 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 441 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 420 p.; 5. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 408 p.; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 314 p.; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), 309 p.; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 291 p.; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 270 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), 242 p.;
MX2 CLASS
Taking his second Grand Prix victory in three GP’s, Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2’s Roczen did make up for the troubled qualifying race of yesterday. The 16 year old German went on to win both heats for the first time in 2010 and topped the podium from Championship leader Musquin. The duo made it a hard fought MX2 Grand Prix as they battled tooth and nail for victory in both occasions, passing each other several times until Roczen would eventually pull away to take victory.
Musquin instead could not take the World Title as team mate Cairoli did in the MX1 class. Losing six points on runner up Roczen was not a big deal for Musquin, who still has a 72 point advantage with 100 points still up for grabs. Taking second overall, the French mounted on the podium for the tenth time in 2010 and looks forward to the next round in Lierop where he hopes to celebrate the Championship win.
Someone who had never seen the podium before Campo Grande instead was Kawasaki CLS’ Van Horebeek, completing the top three today. The Belgian rode with a twisted knee to take sixth in race one after a bad start and third in moto two, where he charged hard to pass Paulin and settle for an eventual top three finish.
Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2’s Tonus was fourth overall, taking third in moto one and sixth in the final heat.
Roelants was sixth ahead of Frossard, the latter having a tough day in Brazil but still holding the third place in the Championship. Paulin also had a tough day with race one affecting his Brazilian outing. The French and Simpson came together in race one and the contact damaged Paulin’s bike, forcing him to pull out. In the crash Simpson dislocated his left shoulder and did not take part in heat two.
The American Zach Osborne rode to fourth in Moto1 and rediscovered his sharpness after some indecision on Saturday. The Yamaha rider was easily able to twist, steer and manhandle the agile and manoeuvrable 2010 YZ250F around the elevations. Moto2 saw the 20 year old lethargic in the second half of the 35 minutes and 2 laps and he placed ninth.
Ken Roczen: "This was an amazing day for me. I have really improved my starts and that is something I really needed at this track. We had two hard fights with Marvin and I am so happy to take two wins. After the first moto I thought the second one would be really difficult but my condition was good and I could push right to the end; it was enough. It was a perfect race for the fans and they had an entertaining show! We have two more GPs now and I want another win before the end of the season."
Zach Osborne: "It wasn't the best day of the year but it wasn't the worst. I think I need to work on my second moto fitness a little bit. Not being able to train after the concussion has set me back a little. I didn't have a good feeling on Saturday but I was fastest Sunday morning and that helped my confidence. I had a decent start in the first moto and just hung-it-out-there. I didn't really get tired at all but after about seven or eight laps of the second I felt flat and was going through the motions. I made a silly mistake which cost me eighth. I will see what I can do to get back to my full potential before Lierop and have a few good rides before the end of the season."
MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 39:52.656; 2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:23.697; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), +0:53.952; 4. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +1:01.715; 5. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +1:06.236; 6. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:10.772; 7. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +1:16.108; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:46.335; 9. Michael Leib (USA, Kawasaki), +1:56.549; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Yamaha), +2:01.833;
MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 41:22.126; 2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:18.016; 3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:25.375; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:32.532; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:36.430; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), +0:38.248; 7. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +0:38.531; 8. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +1:24.599; 9. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +1:29.587; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Yamaha), +1:32.968;
MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 571 points; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 499 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 430 p.; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 391 p.; 5. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 343 p.; 6. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 337 p.; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 329 p.; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), 328 p.; 9. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 326 p.; 10. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 280 p.;