Paulin - Back to Back Wins
MX GP Portugal
www.fullnoise.com.au By: Aaryn Minerds
The beautiful layout and challenging red dirt of Agueda hosted the
sixth Grand Prix of the 2013 FIM Motocross World Championship where
Gautier Paulin secured his second overall victory in a row and Jeffrey
Herlings dominated once again the MX2 class.
Kawasaki
Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin was satisfied after winning his second
Grand Prix in a row even, though he was not able to win both motos of
the Portuguese Grand Prix. The French rider started behind Antonio Cairoli
in the first race but he managed to overtake him in the early stages of
the heat and Paulin kept the lead until the chequered flag.
After another good start in the second race Paulin tried to make the
pass on Cairoli but was unable to complete the task at hand settling for
a second place moto finish and securing his second GP win in as many
rounds.
“Of course I'm delighted with this GP win, especially
after the great battle in the first moto with Antonio." Paulin stated.
"He wanted to win it as badly I did and for sure we both had a lot of
fun, but I was able to pass him and then stay in front.
"It’s great to win two GPs in a row; it’s the first time in my career
that I have achieved this and I want to thank all the people and
partners who are behind me. I had a good feeling on the bike all
weekend; now we must continue to work to stay in front as we have eleven
more GPs to race," he added.
|
 |
|||
|
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cairoli missed the overall victory for
only two points after finishing 3-1 in today’s races. The Italian took
the holeshot in both motos and while he succeeded in dominating the
second one from the beginning to the end, in the first one it was not
possible for the Italian re pass Paulin for the win.
Cairoli
pushed hard from the beginning to pass Paulin back and in the last lap,
closed in but suffered a big crash. Fortunately, Cairoli did not have
any major injury and even with his KTM’s front brake damaged, he managed
to finish the race in the third position. All in all the Italian was
satisfied with his weekend and he admitted that he really enjoyed riding
once again in the Portuguese track.
“Paulin was trying to
attack all the time but I was still able to win." Cairoli explained,
"It’s a shame it wasn’t enough to win the GP but it was still good for
the points and the championship.”
|
|
|||
|
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement Desalle started the
weekend well by wining the qualifying race, but things got complicated
for the Belgian rider even though he was able to finish third overall
for the round.
In the first race he started third but he
struggled to find his rhythm in order to give charge to Cairoli and
Paulin. In the end Desalle crossed the finish line second taking
advantage of Cairoli’s mistake.
Desalle had another good
start in the second moto and this time he rode third behind Paulin for
the majority of the race. However at the end of the moto, the Belgian
suffered a hefty crash. Desalle managed to get back on his Suzuki and
finished the race fifth with a lot of pain on his neck and back.
"What can I say, In the first moto I had good speed but I struggled
the whole heat." Desalle commented. "I wasn't relaxed and couldn't find
my rhythm. It was not so good, but also not so bad to finish third.
"In the next moto I was fourth at the start but it was the same thing:
I was stuck behind Paulin and found it really difficult to pass. I
couldn't find a way, and Cairoli was just ahead. In the last two laps I
said to myself 'it's now or never'.
"I did a good lap-time
and got really close to Paulin but had a big crash in the braking bumps
and now I have pain everywhere. I picked up the bike and could finish
the race but my neck and back is painful. I was in the medical centre
and they said I was OK but if tomorrow it is worse then I will go for a
scan on Tuesday.
"I just went into that jump a bit faster
than previous laps and the bumps kicked me over the top. I can't
remember if the bike hit me or not. It was a hard track but I liked it.
I'm disappointed because I felt like I could win the GP.
"The two guys were just in front of me. Anyway, I did my best and I can
only hope for some more fortune in the next races," he added.
|
|
|||
|
The fourth overall position was for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker who finished seventh and third in today’s races. It was not an easy weekend for CLS MX2 Kawasaki Monster Energy Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle but he rode really well both motos and finished fifth overall just one point behind De Dycker.
Max Nagl claimed sixth overall for the round ahead of Jeremy Van Hoarebeek in seventh, with David Philippaerts, Kevin Strijbos and home rider Rui Gonçalves completing the top ten overall positions.
MX2
|
|
|||
|
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings was very satisfied with
his starts this weekend after he rocketed to his first Get Athena
Holeshot after being the first rider to reach the first corner in moto
one.
Herlings dominated both motos from the get go, but in
the second one he made a couple of mistakes while he was leading.
However, Herlings had such a big advantage he was still able to cross
the finish line with over a minute between himself and Australian Dean
Ferris who finished second.
“This weekend I did my best and
I worked hard on my starts." Herlings stated. "I took the three hole
shots and was leading in every lap.
"The speed was unbelievable. I was as fast as the MX1 guys so I couldn’t ask for more,” Herlings added”
|
|
|||
|
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Ferris was back on the podium after finishing
sixth and second in the two moto format. The Australian rider succeeded
in having two great starts and rode next to Herlings during the first
few corners of both motos.
A mistake while in second place in
the opening moto dropped him down to the seventh place. Ferris put in a
consistent race in the second moto, racing to a solid second place
finish to secure second overall and returned to the MX2 podium for the
first time since round one.
“This actually feels better than
the first podium in Qatar because I was really sick there and couldn’t
really soak up what it meant." Ferris explained. This one is a bit more
special.
"I’ve been coming back from injury and battling
forward for the past six weeks and I’m pretty much fully fit now. I was
in a tough battle throughout that whole second moto and that is probably
the fittest I have ever felt in a Grand Prix.
"I actually
messed up my start in the first moto and somehow ‘made it happen’
through the first two turns to end up second behind Jeffrey. I had
broken away from third and had a few seconds over them when I had a
silly tip-off in the turn before the step-up. It took me a while to get
the bike up because the clutch lever was stuck in the ground.
"I was trying to keep it running. After that I couldn’t really get
forward any more because there were about seven riders all going the
same speed. I was pretty tough on myself afterwards because I had thrown
away a lot of points and could have been a comfortable second but moto
two was much better" he continued.
"The start helped and I
tried to push hard to break away but must have made a big mistake
somewhere because Tixier got very close for around fifteen to twenty
minutes and it was very cat-and-mouse. Near the end he started being a
bit defensive because Coldhenhoff was right with him and that gave me a
bit of a gap.
"I was chasing my lap-times and watching the
pit-board but I didn’t even know I was on the podium until I finished so
it was a nice surprise with a 6-2. In the off-season I knew I could be a
podium guy and hopefully now with some confidence I can establish
myself as a regular.” Ferris concluded.
|
|
|||
|
Silver Action KTM’s José Butrón raced to his third podium of
the season in front of loads of Spanish fans that had travelled from
Spain to support him. Butrón had a good start in the first race and he
kept his initial third position until the chequered flag, but in the
second heat he struggled to find his rhythm and he could only finish
sixth.
Butrón admitted that he was very happy for being on
the podium again but his main goal now is to finish second of the Grand
Prix.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier missed the podium this weekend by just one point, finishing fourth overall, while Monster Energy Yamaha’s Christophe Charlier rounded out the top five.
Australia's Joel Milesevic
lined up for the first European MX250 race for 2013, but unfortunately
was forced from his qualifying race on lap six and did no secure a
position in the final points paying race.
And if you wan to check out the crashes, click here (Desalle) and here (Cairoli).
FIM MXGP Round 6 Results: Portuguese Grand Prix
|
|
|||
|
MX1 Overall Top Ten
1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 47 points
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 45 points
3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 38 points
4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 34 points
5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 33 points
6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 32 points
7. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 31 points
8. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), 26 points
9. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 23 points
10. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 22 points
MX1 Championship Standings Top Ten:
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 280 points
2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 242 points
3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 227 points
4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 217 points
5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 183 points
6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 180 points
7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 132 points
8. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 131 points
9. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), 112 points
10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 109 points
|
|
|||
|
MX2 Overall Top Ten
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 37 points
3. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 35 points
4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 34 points
5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 34 points
6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 26 points
7. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 25 points
8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 25 points
9. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), 22 points
10. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 22 points
MX1 Championship Standings Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 300 points
2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 219 points
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 183 points
4. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 178 points
5. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), 171 points
6. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), 152 points
7. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), 150 points
8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 129 points
9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), 123 points
10. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 112 points
Top Image: Gautier Paulin secured his second straight MXGP win on the weekend
Credit: Kawasaki Racing
