Max Nagl won his third MXGP overall of 2015 and moved to within one point of Clement Desalle in the Championship points. Photo by: Acevedo J.P.
Max Nagl won his third MXGP overall of 2015 and moved to within one point of Clement Desalle in the Championship points. Photo by: Acevedo J.P.

Here is what most of the leading riders thought of their weekend in Italy. A big weekend for Husqvarna and Max Nagl and Honda and Tim Gajser.

Max Nagl: “It’s been a great weekend but honestly this win is the result of yet another big team effort. During Saturday we made a lot of progress with the setup and I felt much more comfortable on the track. My start was good for race one and I was second behind Antonio for the whole race. We were having a great battle – I did feel faster in places – but I didn’t want to take the risk necessary to make the pass stick. I was happy with second. When I got the holeshot in race two I decided it was my time to go. I gave it 100 per cent for the first 10 minutes and pulled a gap to win. I love riding at the minute and the team are working so hard for me – I can’t thank them enough. It was also special to have my son here watch me race for the first time. Today was perfect.”

Tony Cairoli: “The first race was very good but I would like to win the first GP for the Italians here. I tried to keep Max behind me but it was a very close race between four of us. I tried to get a good start in the second race but Max was quicker and he just pulled away in the first laps. I saw a lot of crashes during the race, the track was very sketchy and it was easy to crash so I didn’t really like it. It’s not one of my better tracks but I was better this year than last.’’

Clement Desalle: “I had a big crash in qualification and was happy not to be injured so after that – and all of today – it is good to be on the podium. I had quite good start in the first moto and we were riding wheel-to-wheel for a long time. I couldn’t really find any cool things to do or to make any passes happen. The second moto was not so bad at the start again but somehow my boot came completely open on the first lap and I had a big stone come inside. I was third and then made a mistake by myself and lost a position. It is not a bad result considering what happened yesterday and it was good to take points and be up there. The track was not so good and having more classes on it did not help. You had to take many risks to pass and the track needed to be fixed a bit more last night. Anyway we will get in the sand now and try to enjoy it next weekend.”

Desalle pushed his podium streak to four-straight, but he lost ground to Nagl and Cairoli in Italy.
Desalle pushed his podium streak to four-straight, but he lost ground to Nagl and Cairoli in Italy.

Tim Gajser: I can’t believe it, I want to thank all my sponsors, the team, my family and fans. I could feel Jeffrey was coming in that second moto and I just keep looking forward. I was so happy to cross the finish line for the win, but now I work hard for more success. I know I have the speed.

Jeffrey Herlings: “The start was not good in the second race but overall we had a good Sunday. We won the qualifying on Saturday and the fist moto pretty easy. I had a really bad start in the second moto but I worked my way up to the front then I had a stupid crash that was my fault. I picked up some points so I look forward to next weekend. I am not sure I would have caught Gajser. For sure I could have been close but obviously he did a great job. Hopefully I can take the win in Valkenswaard in front of my home crowd. I’ve already won there five times in a row. So that’s what we are hoping for.”

Jordi Tixier: “It’s great to be back on the podium after some difficult events. My family, my team and some other people helped me to recover after Thailand, but now I’m back and this weekend I proved with a podium result that I still have a strong motivation. For sure it could have been even better with two holeshots but this podium is a first step. We did some good testing with the team to improve our set-up; everyone worked hard and we got the reward with this podium. Third was my position this weekend; the grip is always strange here and I didn’t want to make any mistake.”

Ken de Dycker: “This week we made some changes to the suspension and the bike is now much easier for me to ride. I still have a problem with the start, but despite that I still had a good speed even though the track was very slippery.”

Tommy Searle: “Obviously I need to realize how seriously I was injured. I was in a brace for four weeks and I started to exercise one week, ride the bike and then come here with just two days on the bike. I’m happy to finish two races and have something to build on. The track was very difficult. I felt better than I thought I would and it’s nice to be here with the team.”

Glenn Coldenhoff: Some good signs this weekend. I was struggling a lot on Saturday and had a bad start and was not riding smooth enough. I turned it around today with two good starts and two good motos. The second moto was actually better and I was running fifth I think until I had a small crash and somehow got a nail in my foot. I had to come into the pit-lane and restarted from 30th or something. So, riding was good but the results not so much. This is a learning year and it was a rookie mistake. Onto Valkenswaard now and I’ve been riding a lot in the sand. I feel fit and good so I’m hoping for a positive weekend.”

Ken deDycker has not had the start to the season he had hoped for, but his 7th overall in Trentino was a big step in the right direction. Photo by: Ray Archer
Ken deDycker has not had the start to the season he had hoped for, but his 7th overall in Trentino was a big step in the right direction. Photo by: Ray Archer

Gautier Paulin: “The track was really tricky – rough and hard like concrete and difficult to pass on so the starts were really important. Yesterday I had a really good feel and a good start – into fourth and good rhythm to fight for the lead, but today I had two bad starts so we need really to keep working on that. If you don’t have a good start you pay for it so today wasn’t easy. Two top five, but I’m fighting at the start with riders I’m not normally fighting with so then you lose time. Because everyone is in the same second, the overall result from the first lap is pretty similar to the finish line. I had really good laptime but it’s not enough without the start so it was tough today.”

Dylan Ferrandis: “This weekend I was the fourth man on this track, one of the worst that I know. I had no fun riding here, and I just did my best to take good points and leave the track safe this evening. We have to find why my starts were so bad this weekend, and I also had a small crash in the first race but overall I only dropped thirteen points to Herlings. I knew that this weekend would be difficult, and next week it will be his home GP but I know that on a sandy track I can get some good results and we’ll go training in Holland this week with the team.”

Romain Febvre: “Good GP! At the beginning of the weekend I struggled a little bit with the track. It was really hard and very slippery. We’ve been here the past two years but I don’t remember it being this slippery. Saturday was pretty good in the qualification heat and then on Sunday we changed the bike with another rear tyre and the front fork setting after the first moto and I had more confidence. In the first moto I was fifth behind Desalle when I made a mistake and stopped the bike: I lost time, a position to Paulin and then I lost some rhythm. I wasn’t too pleased with that. I had a good start again in the second moto and I was right at the front from the beginning. I made some decent passes and I was behind Desalle for a long time until he made a mistake. I was then catching Cairoli and got so close; on some parts of the track I was faster on and others he was so it was hard to get near…although I got very near on the last lap! It has been a nice start to the season and I could not be happier.”

Jeremy Van Horebeek: “I don’t know how to explain what is happening. I’m not pushing over the limit…but still I’m crashing, and I have done more so in these first GPs than the last few years! I keep telling myself that things will turn around but I need it to happen soon because it takes so much out of you when you have to ride in pain all the time. I have a sore left foot and will have to try and heal up for next weekend.”

David Philippaerts: “I feel good and had a great second moto. I didn’t understand why my lap-times were so ‘off’ at the beginning of the first race so I pushed hard in the start of the second. I stayed in the top ten and passed Searle to reach eighth. I had a miserable GP here last year with three crashes and it is a special place: very hard. So, one moto not so good but the other much better and I’m so happy with the bike because it was working so well. My team and my mechanics have done a great job and we have worked a lot in the last two weeks. I want to concentrate on being the ‘rider’ instead of the ‘manager’ now because we need to improve the results and this weekend was better than Argentina for sure.”

Todd Waters has been consistently right around the top-10 all year. With a 12th overall in Trentino, the Australian sits 8th overall in the MXGP standings. Photo by: Acevedo J.P.
Todd Waters has been consistently right around the top-10 all year. With a 12th overall in Trentino, the Australian sits 8th overall in the MXGP standings. Photo by: Acevedo J.P.

Todd Waters: “It was a hard track to grasp. The conditions were very unforgiving and difficult to judge. In race two I got a great start – something we’ve worked hard to improve on – and it really helped. Even though I slipped back to 11th it was good to race in sixth for a few laps. I’d like to give a big thanks to my team, Antti and my mechanics Ryan and Antonio for all the hard work they’ve been putting in.”

Jeremy Seewer: “Everybody knows that Arco is a special track; I’m not sure if many people like it! For me it is quite nice because I grew up on this type of dirt and all the spectators create a nice atmosphere. My starts were not good this weekend and I don’t know why. They were fine in the first few races but not today so we will have to work on that. I had to fight back both times. My speed was not great in the beginning of the first moto but when I found my rhythm then the lap-times were very good. It was a bit messy with the lines at the beginning of the second and everyone was taking each other’s! I passed a lot of people when we got going and reached seventh place quite quickly…then it was a tough battle with Paturel and Ferrandis. I just lost the rear wheel before the finish jump. Anyway sixth overall; it was one place behind my goal for today.”

Brian Hsu: “For me it was totally new – the whole 250 experience – this weekend. I have been improving to the point where the 250 feels like a 125 and I can do what I want with it but it’s still not 100% because it’s heavier and stronger. Everything went good on Saturday but if you didn’t get a good start today then you were done! The first race was decent but I had some arm-pump after the first 10-minutes. I got closer to the third-placed guy in the last four laps. My start was not so good today and there were a lot of crashes. A lot of people fell in the 180 turn and me also. It slipped-out so fast there was nothing I could do. I had to keep going after that.”

Pauls Jonass: “I was struggling the whole weekend to find the rhythm and I didn’t feel very confident on this track because I had a crash yesterday when I lost the back wheel. I’m happy to be going home safe and I’m looking forward to Valkenswaard.”

Jorge Prado: “I’m really happy after this because I trained hard this winter to get the feel for the 125 bike so to be already on the podium means a lot to me. I will try to be like this all season. I though I could be near the front but not on the podium. There are a lot of good riders so I didn’t expect that.”

Pauls Jonass had an off day for 11th overall in Trentino, but is still 3rd overall in the MX2 Championship. Photo by: Ray Archer
Pauls Jonass had an off day for 11th overall in Trentino, but is still 3rd overall in the MX2 Championship. Photo by: Ray Archer

Josiah Natzke: “I struggled with qualifying so that’s something I have to learn. It was a bit up and down in the races but it ended okay. In the second race I was up to fifth or sixth and I made some good passes on the first lap. I’ve got a lot of things to work on for next weekend especially in the sand.”

Conrad Mewes: “We put in a lot of effort building up to this race. I wish I could have finished in a better position. The starts are the most important part of the race so if I can get that sorted I think my speed is enough to run with the top guys.”

Max Anstie: “We have worked hard and got the starts sorted now, but I need to settle into a rhythm quicker. It was the same in both the qualification race and the first moto. I was strong at the end and almost caught Jordi for third, but I had simply given myself too much to do after those early laps. My start was not so good in race two and I spent the entire race catching up to seventh.”

Thomas Covington: “I never had a feeling with this track; every time I tried to push in both motos I ended up crashing. I had a bad gate choice after the qualifying race, and had no chance to get a good start today. It’s a bad weekend, but I have already put it out of my mind and can focus on the next one in Valkenswaard. I like this track; it’s a good one and I did well there last year.”

Evgeny Bobryshev:  “Today was a tough day because we didn’t make good starts, which was so important today. I was struggling out of the gate and was out of the top twenty in the first corners, and then on this kind of track to get through the pack it’s so tough, and then the top guys are just gone. In the second race I had good speed, but unfortunately we lost it at the start. These aren’t the results we want, especially after yesterday when we saw what we can do, so we just need to keep working. All the guys are working so hard and we can see that it’s coming, but we need to keep working.”

Shaun Simpson: “It’s a case of finding a totally different track today. Yesterday I felt great, could reel in those front runners and the bike set-up worked really well. Today my feeling was very different and I think all the races and the lack of track prep meant that there was less grip. I couldn’t find my groove; no traction with the rear tyre. I tried a few things for the second race but there wasn’t too much improvement. I struggled to pass and maybe was not as aggressive as some of the other guys early on. I was lucky to finish tenth in the second one but I’ll take it. It wasn’t a disastrous day and especially compared with the nine points in Argentina. We moved up a slot in the championship and I’m looking forward to some tracks that will be a bit more to my liking.”

With Ryan Villopoto crashing and DNF'ing moto two in Trentino, these three riders have separated themselves as the class of the MXGP Championship. They are all three separated by just one point.
With Ryan Villopoto crashing and DNF’ing moto two in Trentino, these three riders have separated themselves as the class of the MXGP Championship. They are all three separated by just one point.

Tyla Rattray: “It’s been a very disappointing weekend for me. In the qualifying race I was in the top twelve when another rider hit me before the end of the first lap. I hit my head pretty strong, and together with the team it was decided to take it easy and not to race today as I had a strong headache Saturday evening. I’ll visit my doctor on Monday and, if everything is good, we’ll prepare for Valkenswaard.”

Ben Watson: “The weekend wasn’t amazing; some ups and downs. Qualification was pretty good but I had a mid-pack start in the first moto. I got a good few laps in and OK pace for sixteenth. I was away badly in the second moto and got boxed in around the first turn. The track was very technical and probably the roughest and most difficult so far. I felt on the edge in the last race and was not too comfortable on the bike. We struggled with set-up but came away safe with some more points.”

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