GP of France - Saturday Review
FIM World MX 2013
Day one of the Grand Prix of France took place today in Ernée and a part from great racing there was already a huge crowd supporting the French riders and enjoying the comeback of Ernée to the FIM Motocross World Championship. The weather forecast was not looking promising today but in the end it did not rain for the qualifying races and Antonio Cairoli and Dean Ferris went out with the pole.
In MX1 Jeremy Van Horebeek and Xavier Boog were
second and third respectively, while Maxime Desprey and Dylan Ferrandis managed
to finish second and third in front of the passionate French crowd.
Jeffrey Herlings started third and he rode behind Ferris during most of the
race, but a lap after he had overtook him he suffered a tumble crash down the
hill. Fortunately, he was able to get back on his KTM, but he was only able to
cross the finish line in the twenty-seventh position.
MX1
Red Bull KTM Factory
Racing’s Antonio Cairoli had an excellent day today obtaining the fastest lap
time in the pre-qualifying practice and dominating the MX1 qualifying race
since the very beginning. The Italian rider admitted that having a good start
in Enrée is the key to obtain a good result and he hopes to be able to take the
holeshot again tomorrow in order to finish on the podium and obtain his first
victory in the French track with the 350cc machine.
Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jeremy Van Horebeek landed in France with a cold but it
did not stop him to make a fantastic performance today during the qualifying
race. The Belgian rider was fourth in the opening lap and he quickly passed
Evgeny Bobryshev and Xavier Boog. From then onwards the Kawasaki rider
succeeded in riding a solid race and he crossed the finish line second, which
is the best result for him since he is in the MX1 class.
ICE1Racing’s Xavier Boog was back today on his KTM after having missed two
Grand Prix due to an injury in his ankle and he could not have had a better
comeback; Boog had an excellent start and he managed to ride behind Cairoli for
a couple of laps until Van Horebeek overtook him. Boog did an incredible race
and he hold the third position until the chequered flag, which gives him not
only a good gate pick for tomorrow, but also a lot of motivation for tomorrow’s
races.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker did not have a good start, but he
made an incredible recovery from his initial tenth position to his final fourth
place. The Belgian rode behind Gonçalves during the first laps, but when the
Portuguese made a small mistake De Dycker took that opportunity to pass him and
gave chase to Evgeny Bobryshev who was racing fourth, and it was only in the
last lap that De Dycker made the move on the Russian.
Honda World Motocross’ Evgeny Bobryshev was back racing among the top five
riders today and after a really good start he managed to cross the finish line
in the fifth place. However, the Russian admitted that he is still suffering
from some pain on his leg, which is stopping him to race at his best.
Davide Guarneri had one of his best races of the season and he finished sixth
ahead of Tommy Searle, so the Italian is now looking forward to tomorrow’s
races to see if he can repeat such performance and finish among the top riders
of the MX1 class. Searle was fourteenth in the opening lap but he managed to overtake
several riders in the first turns of the qualifying heat and he was already
ninth behind Desalle in the second lap. The British managed to overtake the
Belgian and in the last lap he overtook Gonçalves and Searle obtained an
eventual seventh position.
Gonçalves was eighth and Clement Desalle and Max Nagl completed the top ten of
the MX1 qualifying race.
Home rider Gautier Paulin was fifteenth after the start but he overtook several
riders in the first corners and he rode tenth for several laps. When he was
about to overtake Searle he made a mistake and he lost two positions. In the
end Paulin finished eleventh but he is confident for tomorrow’s races.
MX1
Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA,
KTM), 24:26.604; 2. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:10.889; 3. Xavier
Boog (FRA, KTM), +0:15.996; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:18.043; 5. Evgeny
Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:20.889; 6. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), +0:24.450; 7.
Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:26.329; 8. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM),
+0:28.151; 9. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:29.277; 10. Maximilian Nagl
(GER, Honda), +0:30.235;
Click here to
obtain the complete results
Photos of the whole Grand Prix are available here
MX2
Monster Energy Yamaha’s
Dean Ferris, who arrived in France suffering from a stomach virus, achieved his
first pole of the season today in France after obtaining an eventual win in the
qualifying race. The Australian rider had a really good start and he rode
second until Jeffrey Herlings overtook him, but the Dutch rider suffered a big
crash so Ferris did not want to miss such opportunity and he gave it all in the
last laps of the race. His teammate Maxime Desprey was leading the heat, but in
the very last lap Ferris managed to make the move on the French rider and
crossed the finish first.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Maxime Desprey managed to take the holeshot of the
qualifying race and he was able to lead the race until the very last lap when
he could not stop Ferris to overtake him. The French rider was extremely happy
for his performance today and he was really motivated thanks to the huge crowd
that cheered for him since the beginning of the race.
Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Dylan Ferrandis started the qualifying race in
the sixth position and when he was really close to Alexander Tonkov, the
Russian made a mistake and Ferrandis moved up to fifth. When Herlings crashed
Ferrandis moved up to fourth and having three laps to go, he succeeded to
overtake his teammate Jason Clermont and obtained an eventual third place.
Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Jason Clermont, who has been replacing Valentin
Teillet since Portugal, rode really well today and he finished third in the
qualifying race. The French rider is from Britanie, so Ernée is a track that
really suits his riding style, so he may give a big surprise to all the MXGP
paddock tomorrow if he obtains a good start.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Christophe Charlier did not have a good start today,
but he succeeded to move from an initial ninth position to a final fifth place.
The French rider had a lot of support from the public today and he will
definitely have more tomorrow, so he is fully motivated to do well and
eventually finish on the podium in front of his home crowd.
Alexander Tonkov had a really good start and he rode fourth during the first
two laps until Clermont overtook him. The Russian could not stand Ferrandi’s
pressure and he made a mistake which cost him three positions. In the end
Tonkov finished sixth, ahead of Petar Petrov and Jake Nicholls.
Glenn Coldenhoff was ninth and Jordi Tixier, who was involved in a crash in the
opening lap and had to restart from the very last position, completed the top
ten. Romain Febvre is back this weekend after he broke his fibula some months
ago and he was able to finish eleventh in the qualifying race.
MX2
Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Dean Ferris (AUS,
Yamaha), 25:45.524; 2. Maxime Desprey (FRA, Yamaha), +0:00.820; 3. Dylan
Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:01.722; 4. Jason Clermont (FRA, Kawasaki),
+0:10.827; 5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:12.634; 6. Alexander Tonkov
(RUS, Honda), +0:24.350; 7. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +0:27.056; 8. Jake
Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:28.862; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:29.720; 10.
Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:31.382;
Click here to
obtain the complete results
Photos of the whole Grand Prix are available here
MXGP FRANCE – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1548m
Type of ground: hard pack
Click here for Jeffrey Herlings Big Crash, MX1 Qualifying Ernee & MX2 Qualifying Ernee
