Even though Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser had a 74-point lead heading into this weekend, he’s not the sort of guy that will go out and just race for points. He wants to be the fastest rider on the track each and every time he swings his leg over the machine. “It was one of the toughest races of my career” Gajser said at the end of the day, “Tony rode really good in the second race, it was good to see him ride so fast, but I was happy to pass him at the end of the race a make a slight gap for the finish.” Tim now leads the championship by 92 points

Seasons come and go, both in sport and in weather, which was something we thought of today with the hot weather indicating summer is well and truly here, while the likes of Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle, two riders who haven’t had the most ideal seasons, also made their presence known. After a rough day in the office yesterday, Paulin put in two fierce rides for second overall which is his best overall finish of the season, while Desalle also had his best result of the year with a second place finish in race one and fourth in race two to land on the box, in third, for the first time this season.

There’s a name for days like these with the blistering hot summer sun shining down on a rougher than rough track, they’re called the dog days which was fitting name as the gloves came off between Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli and Tim Gajser with their dog fight brawl for the win in the final race. Cairoli was faster in places while Gajser would inch back the gap in others, there was literally nothing in it from start to finish, giving the thousands of Italian and Slovenian fans that swarmed the venue, exactly what they came for.

TC222 was all heart today as he battled through the soreness of an injured wrist to put on an excellent show for the fans, and finish fourth overall. He has also moved up into second place in the championship standings with a 32 point lead over the defending champion Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre, who has now missed the last two rounds due to a concussion but should return to action at the next round which will take place at the end of July in the Czech Republic. Speaking of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing, Febvre’s teammate Jeremy Van Horebeek rounded out the top five in MXGP this weekend ahead of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff and the poleman, Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:01.739; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:04.460; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:07.423; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:11.147; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:16.639; 6. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:25.874; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:33.524; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:38.665; 9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:44.531; 10. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:48.997.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 35:17.922; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:09.544; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:17.480; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:25.145; 5. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:33.911; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:37.557; 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:38.142; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:54.421; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:59.148; 10. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:02.868.

MXGP Overall Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 42 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 40 p.; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 30 p.; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 29 p.; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 23 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 23 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten: 1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 532 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 440 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 408 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 401 p.; 5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 396 p.; 6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 351 p.; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 267 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 230 p.; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 212 p.; 10. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 210 p.

MXGP Manufacturers: 1. Honda, 540 points; 2. Yamaha, 482 p.; 3. KTM, 450 p.; 4. Husqvarna, 416 p.; 5. Kawasaki, 310 p.; 6. Suzuki, 242 p.

              

 

The speed and finesse Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings has in the sand is almost indescribable. It’s more of a seeing is believing type of thing, but in effort to try and put his incredible speed into perspective, Jeff’s laptime in Race 1 was 1:53.029 while Tim Gajser’s, in MXGP Race 1, was 1:54.866 and while you could argue that the track is rougher for the MXGP guys, The Bullet went out in Race 2 and nailed a lap of 1:54.455 which is still faster than the best time in MXGP Race 1. Take nothing away from Gajser; Herlings is just from another planet in the sand. The second best time in MX2 Race 2 was 1:58.461, which means The Bullet was a whopping 4 seconds a lap faster than the second fastest MX2 rider, Brian Bogers. “I did what I had to do when I had to do it, 23 out of 24 race wins is pretty good so now I am just looking forward to the Czech Republic.” Jeff said.

Everybody knows that the Belgian and Dutch riders are strong in the sand since they are all basically born in the stuff. HSF Logistics Motorsport’s Brian Bogers proved that it’s not just a stereotype with his impressive performance this weekend. Bogers hit a bunch of milestones with a career best race finish of second place in the opening race, and a third place in race two, which landed him on the second step of the podium. Up until today, Bogers hadn’t even cracked the top five, so it was a mega achievement for the Dutchman who was incredibly emotional at the end of the day when he dedicated his performance to his grandma who recently passed away.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis will be full to the brim after the amount of sand he ate this weekend. In race one, he binned it three times in the first eight laps but managed to regroup for third, which was a pretty amazing accomplishment and was proof that his speed was there. Race two wasn’t much cleaner either, but his hard charging never give up attitude saw him finish sixth which landed him on the third step of the podium.

Another rider tapping into the top five for the first time this year was Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Thomas Covington who looked the best we’ve seen all season. There’s nothing more powerful than a positive attitude and Covington seemed to be on it today with his fourth and fifth place finishes leaving him in fourth overall.

It was more of a day at a theme park for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass who was on a rollercoaster. The Latvian was on Struggle Street in the first race and only finished tenth but bounced back massively in the second race for an emphatic second place which saw him leapfrog his way into fifth overall.

Last but not least, a shout out has to be given to the young Italian rookie Michele Cervellin who finished ninth overall, while Italy’s early season breakout star TM Racing Factory Team’s Samuele Bernardini only managed to finish seventeenth.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:51.899; 2. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:29.676; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:35.149; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:37.324; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:48.411; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:48.831; 7. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:55.552; 8. Davy Pootjes (NED, KTM), +1:01.851; 9. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), +1:05.124; 10. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +1:07.501.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:08.731; 2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +1:13.556; 3. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:17.594; 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:20.819; 5. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +1:27.830; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:29.220; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:29.805; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Yamaha), +1:35.366; 9. Conrad Mewse (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:46.304; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:52.560.

MX2 Overall Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 35 p.; 4. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 34 p.; 5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 32 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 29 p.; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 22 p.; 9. Michele Cervellin (ITA, HON), 19 p.; 10. Conrad Mewse (GBR, HUS), 17 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 597 points; 2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 428 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 403 p.; 4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 325 p.; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 320 p.; 6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 308 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 274 p.; 8. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 253 p.; 9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 253 p.; 10. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS, KAW), 219 p.

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 597 points; 2. Kawasaki, 435 p.; 3. Suzuki, 428 p.; 4. Yamaha, 416 p.; 5. Husqvarna, 364 p.; 6. TM, 253 p.; 7. Honda, 227 p.

             

 

Not many American riders race the world's number one amateur series, the European Championship EMX250, so when one decides to take the plunge and give it a whirl, it’s exciting to see his progression and what he learns.

American Darian Sanayei took on the challenge this year and has been getting faster and stronger with each and every round. In race one yesterday, the youngster onboard a Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki took the holeshot ahead of the championship leader Bodo Schmidt Motosport’s Thomas Kjer Olsen. Olsen sat behind Sanayei for the first handful of laps before making a move for the lead. Sanayei said, “I got a good start but I wasn’t riding that good, I couldn’t see anyone’s lines so when Thomas passed me I just tried to follow him and see where he’s going.” Which is exactly what he did before finding his own set of good lines, and impressively passed the Red Plate holder back. After taking the lead, the 457 of Sanayei controlled the race for his fourth race win of the season. Olsen was second while Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen was third.

In race two this morning Bud Racing Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei timed the gate perfectly for his second holeshot of the weekend ahead of KTM Factory Juniors Josiah Natzke and Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen. Tip Top MP32 Yamaha’s Mathys Boisrame was in fourth before being knocked back to fifth by the championship leader Bodo Schmidt Motorsports Thomas Kjer Olsen who used him as a berm half of a lap in.

There was some real excitement, as Olsen took no prisoners on his way forward. He muscled Natzke out of the way for third and started chipping away at the 4-second gap of Vaessen who was in second.

Sanayei was looking super fast and super smooth out front before his bike locked up and chucked him off. When he tried to re-start it, it was seized solid, which was a devastating end to what should have been an awesome weekend. In contrast, Vaessen was in his element this weekend and actually pulled away from Kjer Olsen for a massive victory, his first of the season.

The Dutch are renowned for their sand riding skills, so while it was random to see Honda’s Ceriel Klein Kromhoffinish third, it possibly wasn’t THAT random. Swede Anton Gole managed to get Natzke on the last lap for fourth while the Kiwi, Natzke managed to hold on for fifth, which was by far his best result of this year.

Happy days for Team Suzuki World MX2’s Bas Vaessen who admitted “I finally was able to cross the line in first, I’m always there or close, but I did it today, so it’s good.” The Dutchman hit two milestones this weekend with his first race win and first overall victory of the season. Bodo Schmidt Motorsport’s Thomas Kjer Olsen has finished on the podium at every single round and kept that podium streak alive with a second place overall, while Anton Gole uncorked his second bottle of bubbles this season in third.

EMX250 Race 1 Top Ten: 1. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), 30:28.902; 2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:03.735; 3. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +0:06.541; 4. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +0:32.274; 5. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), +0:40.900; 6. Anton Gole (SWE, Husqvarna), +0:49.068; 7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Kawasaki), +0:51.610; 8. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:57.264; 9. Glen Meier (DEN, KTM), +0:59.190; 10. Jere Haavisto (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:59.945.

EMX250 Race 2 Top Ten: 1. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), 29:44.014; 2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:12.805; 3. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, Honda), +0:23.469; 4. Anton Gole (SWE, Husqvarna), +0:25.734; 5. Josiah Natzke (NZL, KTM), +0:26.791; 6. Alberto Forato (ITA, Honda), +0:27.654; 7. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), +0:37.537; 8. Mike Stender (GER, Suzuki), +0:41.197; 9. Jere Haavisto (FIN, Husqvarna), +0:44.731; 10. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), +0:49.544.

EMX250 Overall Top Ten: 1. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 45 points; 2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Anton Gole (SWE, HUS), 33 p.; 4. Alberto Forato (ITA, HON), 33 p.; 5. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 27 p.; 6. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 27 p.; 7. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, HON), 25 p.; 8. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 25 p.; 9. Jere Haavisto (FIN, HUS), 23 p.; 10. Mike Stender (GER, SUZ), 22 p.

EMX250 Championship Top Ten: 1. Bas Vaessen (NED, SUZ), 45 points; 2. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 44 p.; 3. Anton Gole (SWE, HUS), 33 p.; 4. Alberto Forato (ITA, HON), 33 p.; 5. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 27 p.; 6. Miro Sihvonen (FIN, KTM), 27 p.; 7. Ceriel Klein Kromhof (NED, HON), 25 p.; 8. Darian Sanayei (USA, KAW), 25 p.; 9. Jere Haavisto (FIN, HUS), 23 p.; 10. Mike Stender (GER, SUZ), 22 p.

Click here to obtain the complete result

All the photos of the FULLBACK MXGP of Lombardia - Italy will be available HERE

 

FULLBACK MXGP OF LOMBARDIA, ITALY – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1545m

Type of ground: Hard sand

Temperature: 32°C

Weather conditions: sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 27,000