Tony Cairoli Win In The Soft Sands Of Lommel, (Belgium GP) - Dirt Rider Magazine

Cobra's Sean Hilbert with an armful of talent! 2009 Cobra/Loretta's champions and podium placers (L to R): Michael Hicks, Jordan Bailey, Carter Halpain, Stilez Robertson, Gauge Keith and Ethan Mann

Tony Cairoli dominated both heats in the Limburg GP obtaining his fifth overall victory of the season and also being the fastest on yesterday's qualifying race.In MX2 it was Ken Roczen who went out victorious and it has been his so expected first Gran Prix win of the season.Max Nagl struggled a little bit on the Belgian track but he succeeded in being on the second step of the podium after his third and second place on today's races. Third was home rider Clement Desalle who finished third and fourth in the heats.Ken Roczen did not win both heats but his first and second places made him win his first GP of the season. Second of the MX2 class was race two winner Jeffrey Herlings and third was current Championship leader Marvin Musquin.MX1 CLASSRed Bull KTM Factory Racing MX1's Tony Cairoli was back at the top of the podium and proved that Lommel is like his second home GP - as mentioned in the back of his racing pants through the patch "I also live in Lommel".The Italian dominated both heats from beginning to end choosing the best lines of a track which is known as one the roughest of the Championship.Cairoli has now increased the advantage in the Championship with second classified Desalle being now 79 points behind the leader.The second step of the podium was for his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX1 teammate Nagl who recovered his confidence after a long time absence from the podium due to his collarbone injury from the French GP. The German took both holeshots of today's races and although he managed to follow Cairoli's lines and kept himself steady at the top, he admitted that he was riding on the edge.For third classified Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1's Desalle it was not the weekend he had expected, as he wanted to show his Belgian fans why he is second in the standings of the Championship. Once again the Belgian starred in a tight battle with Philippaerts both in heat one and two, with Desalle passing the Italian in both occasions to finish third and fourth.Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross' David Philippaerts could not keep the rhythm of his rivals and after starting third in both heats he could only finish fourth and fifth. However, he could have had the possibility of being on the podium if he had not crashed during the second race, but he had to settle down for a fourth position overall.Fifth classified was LS Motors Honda's Tanel Leok who missed the podium due to his numerous mistakes in race one, where he could only be 13. During the second moto he moved up from ninth to second showing everybody his speed and potential on the sand.Belgian Ken De Dycker was just sixth overall in his home GP, where last year succeeded in winning the race, and his compatriot Steve Ramon finished eighth in a race where he experienced many ups and downs. Ramon was fighting for the top three in both races but Lommel's ruts made him crash twice losing all his chances for being on his home GP podium.Rui Goncalves had to work really hard to finish seventh. The Portuguese did not have really good starts but recovered in both heats to take sixth and seventh.Kawasaki Racing was unlucky this weekend not having Boog on today's races due to his left leg injury during yesterday's qualifying race, Pourcel could finish neither of the heats and Barragan was 14th on his first race after his long absence.Jimmy Albertson of Honda Martin team did not compete after a heavy fall early in the first practice session on Saturday has led to suspected cracked ribs.Tony Cairoli: "It was a nice race. I like to ride in the sand and this is my favorite track. It's hard and rough and you have to be really technical. You also have to be very fit to win here. It proves my training is going well and my speed is good, also that my technical riding is good so I am pretty satisfied about the weekend and both wins here in Lommel."Max Nagl: "I'm very happy to be on the podium this weekend and I never expected that. I had some problems yesterday because I couldn't find my rhythm and I wasn't fast enough. Things haven't been going so well for me and I was having a few negative thoughts but last night I had a good talk with Stefan Everts and today everything was different. I got two holeshots and that was very important for me. In the first heat I was able to follow Tony and I could see I had the speed. Then I had a crash in the last lap of the second heat because that was because I was very tired more points. I still have a chance of finishing third in the championships and I will try to do it".Clement Desalle: "It was a difficult GP so I am happy I am on the podium and my shoulder was OK in the sandy conditions. Physically it was hard and I was not that happy with my riding today; I can be better than that. I'm pleased I did not crash or make a big mistake and had some more fun fighting with Philippaerts. Loket is next and I won there last year. It is a good track for me and I like the place a lot. As ever, I will go to the next GP hoping to do my best."Jimmy Albertson: "I managed a lap of Lommel before I had a big crash that squashed my chest and I think I might have cracked a few ribs. Looking at the track now there was no way I could have ridden without being in decent shape. Another setback, but I'll get checked out this week and see what we can do for Czech Republic."MX1 Moto 1: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 41:00.981; ; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:12.951; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:24.246; 4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:34.721; 5. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:41.527; 6. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +1:10.355; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), +1:22.494; 8. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Honda), +1:24.510; 9. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Aprilia), +1:25.710; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +1:39.053;MX1 Moto 2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:59.056; ; 2. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +0:34.683; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:40.531; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:54.689; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), +1:10.895; 6. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:15.116; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +1:18.419; 8. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Aprilia), +1:27.807; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:30.103; 10. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Honda), +1:32.359;MX1 Championship: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 484 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 405 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 364 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 348 p.; 5. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 341 p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), 299 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 276 p.; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 249 p.; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 244 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), 213 p.;

Cobra's Sean Hilbert with an armful of talent! 2009 Cobra/Loretta's champions and podium placers (L to R): Michael Hicks, Jordan Bailey, Carter Halpain, Stilez Robertson, Gauge Keith and Ethan Mann

MX2 CLASSTeka Suzuki's Ken Roczen succeeded in winning his first GP of the season and in showing his skills on the sand of Lommel. He overtook five riders in the first race to take the lead and open a consistent gap from his pursuers. After the day's first win, Roczen settled for second in the final heat. The German rider could not hide his happiness after winning the GP as he has been very close to the victory many times but misfortune has always been his biggest rival. At the moment he is still second in the Championship but he is 78 points behind red plate holder Musquin and 23 points ahead of third classified Frossard.Red Bull KTM's Jeffrey Herlings had a bittersweet ending with the second position obtained in one of his favourite sandy tracks. The Dutch led the first race for a couple of laps but a mistake in one of the deep ruts in the Lommel track made him lose the lead and could only finish third. However, the second race was dominated by the sand specialist, riding safely up to the checked flag and being able to clinch the second step of the podium.The rostrum was completed by Red Bull KTM's Marvin Musquin who struggled more than what he expected, and despite his usual outstanding starts on his KTM machine, he could not keep the rhythm of the frontrunners. He is still on the top of the MX2 standings but he will have to focus on next weekend's race in Loket, a track which has never brought him good results -a broken foot in 2008 and a technical problem in 2009- if he wants to reinforce his leadership.Nestaan JM Racing KTM's Joel Roelants finished fourth in his home Grand Prix with a fourth and fifth position in the races, which he got after two solid recoveries.Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross' Gautier Paulin completed the top five with a seventh and a fourth place and moved up two positions in the standings of the Championship. The French will now arrive eleventh at the next Grand Prix. Kullas finished right after Paulin and was tied in points with seventh placed Simpson.Steven Frossard finished eighth after winning his maiden GP in Sweden. The French rider knew that it would not be an easy weekend for him as he could not score any points in last year's GP. On the other hand, his teammate Jeremy Van Horebeek finished ninth overall.Yamaha's Zach Osborne had a disappointing day to take 12th. The American had sustained a concussion last Sunday in the fifth round of the British Championship and was not fully on-form for the harsh requirements of Lommel.

His best result was a 10th in Moto2.Ken Roczen: "This weekend was perfect for me. Saturday started things well and Sunday was even better! I have improved a lot in the sand and I am really happy about that because I remember when I rode here two years ago I was not that good at all! This feels special and we have spent a lot of time at Lommel so this is a race a bit different to the others. The first moto was really good and I had a fast rhythm in the second but I couldn't go as quickly as Jeffrey. We changed a lot on the bike during the week and it was working so well, especially on the starts."Jeffrey Herlings: "On Saturday I had my ups and downs and crashed a few times but I managed to get second in the qualifying heat for second on the grid. Then on Sunday I put down a really good start in the first heat. I was second then I got past Marvin after about two laps. I was in the lead and I tried to make a gap but then I had a little slide. I stayed in third place and also finished third. It wasn't great but it also wasn't that bad. I knew it would be hard to win the overall but in the second heat I tried to be as strong as I could. It felt great to win the moto and to feel strong again. Now I'm only eight points behind Steven Frossard in the standings and hope to go to the Czech Republic next week and do well there also."Marvin Musquin: "Today I finished second and third and in the second moto I could come back on Roczen towards the end of the race. I was not fast enough but for sure it is good for the championship even though I would like to have won. Next week in Loket the track will be hard pack - hard and slippery and that will be better for me. I would like to win there!"Zach Osborne: "It was a tough weekend for me. Coming from last weekend and a concussion but still winning a moto I think I deluded myself as to how much that crash in Britain had affected me, so I came here with big expectations and leave highly disappointed. I struggled with the track all weekend. I rolled the dice and went for it in the last race; gambling like that is not a good thing but it worked out for me and I was pleased to get tenth. Damage limitation was pretty good."MX2 Race Moto1: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 40:03.130; ; 2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:15.298; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:32.719; 4. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +0:37.586; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:49.812; 6. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +1:01.090; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +1:16.896; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), +1:30.922; 9. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:40.112; 10. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:54.227;MX2 Race Moto 2: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 41:49.178; ; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:07.430; 3. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:17.879; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:28.301; 5. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +0:37.546; 6. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +0:44.946; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:10.698; 8. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:24.977; 9. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:37.362; 10. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +1:48.602;MX2 Championship: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 480 points; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 402 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 379 p.; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 371 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 298 p.; 6. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 290 p.; 7. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 274 p.; 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 268 p.; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), 266 p.; 10. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 233 p.;