Cairoli in MX1 and Herlings in MX2: Valkenswaard MX GP Winners - Dirt Rider Magazine

VALKENSWAARD (THE NETHERLANDS), Antonio Cairoli was back on the top of the podium in Valkenswaard, while other KTM rider Jeffrey Herlings achieved a new victory at his home track. Steven Frossard is the new leader of the FIM MX1 World Championship and Ken Roczen kept the red plate after the second Grand Prix of the season.Valkenswaard got a completely different podium in the MX1 class in comparison with the one in Bulgaria, which shows how competitive the Championship is going to be this year. Antonio Cairoli had an outstanding weekend achieving the overall victory even still having problems with his left knee. Second overall was Max Nagl thanks to his 3-1 result, and the third overall position was for David Philippaerts whose last podium was back in 2010 at the Brazilian GP.In the MX2 class Jeffrey Herlings obtained a consistent victory winning both heats with superb authority, while his teammate Ken Roczen could not keep Herlings rhythm. Third overall was Tommy Searle with a solid 3-3 result and he is now in the third position of the Championship just two points away from Herlings.

Red Bull Teka Factory Racing MX1's Toni Cairoli obtained his first GP victory of the season after his ninth position in Bulgaria. Due to his knee injury, the Italian had not ridden for the last two weeks, but he felt really confortable on his KTM and managed to win both heats. Cairoli expressed his satisfaction for being back again on the top and he is looking forward to repeat such performance in the upcoming Grand Prix in the USA.Red Bull Teka KTM Factory Racing MX1's Max Nagl was second overall, but he admitted that if he had been mentally better during the first heat, he might have obtained the overall victory. The German felt much better on the second moto and took the lead after eight laps.Monster Energy Yamaha's David Philippaerts was on top of the podium after his 4-3 result. The Italian rode second most of the second moto, and eventually he managed to take the lead over Rui Goncalves. However, the Italian lost too much energy overtaking the Portuguese and had to settle down with a final third position.Monster Energy Yamaha's Steven Frossard was fourth overall tight in points with his teammate Philippaerts. The French hurt his collarbone yesterday during the qualifying race and had to cope with the pain during both GP races. Frossard started the first race being in the lead, but Cairoli overtook him during the eighth lap. Thanks to this weekend's results, Frossard has become the new leader of the MX1 class already on his second GP in the MX1 class.The fifth place was for Rui Goncalves from Honda World Motocross team with a 6-4 result. The Portuguese was just sixth in the first race, but he took the holeshot of race two and led it for six laps. Goncalves was too open on a corner and moved from first to fourth after being overtaken by Philippaerts, Nagl and Frossard.Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1's Clement Desalle lost the red plate after his performance in Valkenswaard. The Belgian started both races among the top group, but he could not keep the leader's rhythm and finished sixth and fifth respectively. Desalle is now third in the Championship, two points away from Nagl and seven points behind Championship leader Frossard.LS Honda Racing's Ken De Dycker could not show his riding skills on the sand this weekend and a 7-8 result made him finish with a seventh overall position.Evgeny Bobryshev did a really good start in the first race and got the lovemytime holeshot award. However, his bike stalled, he had a small crash and went down to the sixth position. The Russian struggled to keep the rhythm of the leading riders and he made another mistake by the end of the race, which made him finish tenth. On the second race he got a solid seventh position.Ninth was Tanel Leok and Steve Ramon completed the top ten.On his first appearance in the Championship, Ben Townley took only part in the first race and he finished 19th. The New Zealander was very tired after the first moto and he decided not to race and keep some energies for the third Grand Prix of the season.Jonathan Barragan, who was third in Bulgaria, had to settle down with a twelfth overall position. The Spanish rider was involved in a tangle at the start of race 1 and he kept on making mistakes throughout both heats. At the moment, he is placed seventh in the championship standings.Home rider Marc De Reuver finished fifteenth after being eleventh in race one and getting a DNF due to a crash in race two.Antonio Cairoli: "I am happy that this is the third time I have won in MX1 here but I did struggle a bit today. Normally this track is a lot of fun to ride but today I tried to be more careful with my injured knee and I tried not to put it on the ground so much. Today we could also close the gap in the championship points and I hope it's not too long before we get the red plate back again."Max Nagl: "Then in the second heat I changed my strategy. I was leading after about 15 minutes so I was able to find my rhythm and find some nice lines on the track. That makes it easier."David Philippaerts: "I'm really happy to get the red plate, especially because after the crash yesterday I had a lot of pain in my collarbone and it was difficult to ride; the warm-up was impossible this morning. I spent time with my doctor and trainer and with some massage and strapping I was ready to try the races. I had a really good start in the first moto and it was quite easy to stay focussed after that. My goal was to stay in fourth in the next heat and make the podium but my hand slipped off the handlebar after a jump and I crashed. I could still manage fifth and it feels great to have the red plate after a Grand Prix in the sand. For me it was easier to ride the 450 here. I could play with the bike and I felt really good on my race-bike today."MX1 Race 1 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 40:49.442; 2. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:06.303; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:10.631; 4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:34.320; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:43.305; 6. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:43.485; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +0:57.195; 8. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:59.698; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +1:02.322; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:23.387;MX1 Race 2 top ten: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 39:21.653; ; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:14.447; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:22.047; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:27.150; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:44.569; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:53.640; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:09.411; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +1:15.250; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +1:21.478; 10. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), +1:25.000;MX1 Overall top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 45 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 38 p.; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 38 p.; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 33 p.; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 31 p.; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), 27 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 25 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 24 p.; 10. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 22 p.;MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 85 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 80 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 78 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 72 p.; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 63 p.; 6. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 62 p.; 7. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 53 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 52 p.; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Kawasaki), 45 p.; 10. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 42 p.;

Red Bull Teka Factory Racing MX2's Jeffrey Herlings obtained his second overall victory at his home soil. In the first race, Herlings had to stand Roczen's pressure when the German was closing the gap, but Roczen made a mistake and Herlings took the lead until the chequered flag. In the second heat, it was Herlings who crashed at the opening lap, but he recuperated the lead already on the lap two.Second overall was his teammate Ken Roczen after two solid second places. The German confessed that he had changed his training habits and he felt much more tired on the bike. However, Roczen is still the leader of the MX2 class and he is looking forward to win in Glen Helen in two weeks time.CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit's Tommy Searle completed the third step of the podium after finishing third in both heats. The British rider confessed that it was difficult for him to get good starts on the sand and had to fight really hard to climbed up from the seventh and sixth position.Arnaud Tonus from Bike-it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamaha had an excellent weekend in Valkenswaard and he missed the podium only for four points. The Swiss rider showed how much talent he has, by starring in different battles with several riders like Gautier Pauline in race one or Tommy Searle in race two. Tonus has improved two positions in the point standings and he is now fourth behind Tommy Searle.Fifth was Monster Energy Yamaha's Gautier Pauline, who did not manage to find a good rhythm in the sandy track of Valkenswaard and he could only be fifth and sixth respectively.The sixth overall position was for Joel Roelants from Nestaan JM Racing KTM team, who had a very tight battle with Gautier Pauline during the second race. Roelants succeeded in overtaking the French and finished in a solid fifth position.Monster Energy Yamaha's Harri Kullas finished seventh in the first race, but he got an excellent start in the second heat and he was placed third in the opening lap. The Finish rider tried to keep the rhythm but he was finally seventh by the end of the race.American Zach Osborne struggled the whole weekend trying to find good lines and catch the leading riders, and his 6th and 8th positions only let them be eighth overall.Max Anstie did not finish the weekend as he had expected and had to settle down with a final ninth position, while Nikolaj Larsen got a decent 10th place.Jeffrey Herlings: "I am very happy I felt very comfortable on the bike and today I was the fastest guy out there on the track. And I'm pretty satisfied that I came away with two wins and it's also good for the championship. Now I'm only eight points behind my team-mate Kenny."Ken Roczen: "I did expect a bit more today but Jeffrey was going really fast and it was okay, also for the championship points".Tommy Searle: "My starts were not so good and that cost me. You need a very different technique on a sandy surface and they just don't have tracks like this in America where I have raced for the last two years. The second start was better than the first but then another rider dislodged a hay bale right into my path at turn 2. By the time I got to third place, the first two were already long gone, so I knew that was the best I could hope for. The track was really rough by the end of the day and you had to ride smart. Tonus was pushing really hard in race two, so I let him pass me; I would have passed him back anyway before the end, but he saved me the trouble when he made a mistake. Now I head back to California for a couple of weeks before the US GP; I have a house there, so I can chill out at home and relax for a week before preparing for the race. I'm only 10 points from the championship pace and, with 13 GPs to go, there's still plenty to play for."Zach Osborne: "It was a pretty good result considering my past history on the sand. It was nothing brilliant but it was a solid day of riding. For me this was the hard one out of the way until we get to Lommel. We can keep on trucking and build some momentum going into America. My fitness is really good and in that second race I must have passed twenty guys. Overall this is something solid to lean on. My sand riding is getting better and I know more about what I need for my set-up on the bike now."MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:55.351; ; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), +0:37.452; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:45.031; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:47.152; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +1:01.981; 6. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +1:19.739; 7. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +1:22.253; 8. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +1:24.197; 9. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, KTM), +1:29.839; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s);MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 41:04.993; ; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), +0:11.010; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:31.875; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:42.303; 5. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +0:58.448; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +1:09.328; 7. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +1:18.048; 8. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +1:46.443; 9. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:50.253; 10. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +2:00.631;MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), 94 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 86 p.; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 84 p.; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), 67 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), 65 p.; 6. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 60 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 51 p.; 8. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 48 p.; 9. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 46 p.; 10. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, KTM), 36 p.;MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), 94 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 86 p.; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 84 p.; 4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), 67 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), 65 p.; 6. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 60 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 51 p.; 8. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 48 p.; 9. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 46 p.; 10. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, KTM), 36 p.;