Photos by: Ray Archer

Take a look at what he riders thought of their weekend in Italy. The new era once again took over with youngsters Tim Gajser and Jeffrey Herlings dominating the MXGP and MX2 motos.

Tim Gajser: (1st in MXGP) “It’s just been an amazing day today. In the first race I made life easy for myself with the holeshot and then I could make a little gap and control the race. In the second race it was different. Toni was pushing really hard until the finish and I think we were both so tired at the end because we both really wanted to win in front of our fans. Every time I made a move he came back at me and I was almost ready to settle for second, but I thought ‘give it one more try’ and that time I could make it stick and pull away enough. I’m so happy to have taken that win and the overall victory here. It feels like a home GP again because of all the fans and all the support here, and I’m so thankful that motocross in Slovenia is growing and more and more people are getting interested in it. I want to thank the team for the job they did this weekend because it was incredible. We’ve been dreaming of races like this and now it’s all coming true. It’s a special win that I will remember. I really want to watch it back on the TV now to see how exciting it was for everyone else!”

 

Jeffrey Herlings: (1st in MX2) “We made a very good weekend. We were fastest in the time practice and although I had a bad start in the qualifying I managed to work my way to the front for the win to have a good gate pick for today. I had an average start in the first moto but I was in the lead after 10 minutes and won the race by around 30 seconds. Then I was second at the start of the second moto but I was in the lead after two turns and from then on we dominated.”

 

Gautier Paulin: (2nd in MXGP) “Yesterday I was struggling a little bit in qualifying but we made some adjustments overnight and it worked much better today. From the warm-up I improved a lot. In both races I had pretty good starts, and this weekend to get third and second means we did a good job. I am definitely happy about the weekend. Now it was really hot, and in Matterley I said I wanted to work hard to better in some areas that I missed with injury, so to be on the podium here and in these conditions actually I can’t believe. I’m really happy for me and for the team, and after a hard time earlier in the season it’s just such a good feeling.”

MX2 Overall Podium.
MX2 Overall Podium.

Clement Desalle: (3rd in MXGP) “It’s a first step to get this podium result; I have been waiting for it for a few weeks! The weekend didn’t start so well on Saturday, but with the team we were able to do better today, and that’s good to get this podium before the summer break. This weekend I got two decent starts and that makes life easier. It was not an easy weekend with the heat and such a rough track, but I never gave up to get this podium. We have three free weeks before Loket; we’ll continue to work with the team to be even better in the next races. We know what we have to do for that.”

 

Dylan Ferrandis: (3rd in MX2) “I was happy with my results on Saturday even though I crashed while leading, as a lapper didn’t move. But Sunday was not as good, and it is difficult to understand why. In the first moto my start was average but I had a good first lap and passed Herlings, but then I crashed twice; I came back and passed Pootjes but he took me out! I was happy to come back to third. In the second race the gate moved but didn’t fall and I hit it, so I was late into the first corner. I passed almost the entire field to finish sixth; I had good lines and was one of the fastest riders on the track to get this overall podium.”

 

Pauls Jonass: (5th in MX2) “Today I had a pretty okay start in the first race then a rider crashed in front of me in the second corner and I had nowhere to go. I crashed into him and had to start again from last and went on to finish tenth. I got a better start in the second race and I think I was fourth in the first laps. I quickly came back to second and went on to finish in second. I got some good points so that’s a good way to go into a three-week break.”

 

Thomas Covington: (4th in MX2) “We had a great GP here in Mantova. On Saturday I struggled a little bit. The track was rough and difficult and I couldn’t find a good rhythm. We spoke a lot with my team manager on Saturday night and along with our WP engineer we made a lot of changes in our suspension set-up. I felt better straight away on Sunday. In the first moto I got a big holeshot and rode in front for a few laps before eventually falling back in fourth. Then in the second moto there was a problem with the gate. I think I was 15th in the first lap and had to battle my way to fifth place. I missed the overall podium by one-point and it’s a bit of a bummer but I’m really happy with how I raced. I’m getting better every weekend and I think the top five in MX2 is where I belong.”

American Thomas Covington #64 was on point in Mantova. The Husky rider finished with a seasons best 4th.
American Thomas Covington #64 was on point in Mantova. The Husky rider finished with a seasons best 4th.

Max Nagl: (10th in MXGP) “The weekend started well for us. I got a good start in qualifying and raced to third position. On Sunday I think it was close to 40 degrees and that made it really difficult to retain a good race pace. I didn’t get a good start in the first race but somehow I managed to be second in the first turn. I did my best and closely followed Tim Gajser for the first 22 minutes of the race, but then I felt the heat getting on me. I finished fourth which wasn’t so bad. In the second moto I had a bad start so I started riding aggressively. Unfortunately I had three small crashes during the race and ended up finishing 16th. It was a disappointing result for the team and me as we could have been on the podium again. I’m still fourth in the championship standings but I think a third or even a second position is within my reach. We’ll keep on working with that goal in our minds.”

 

Christophe Charlier: (12th in MXGP) “We really struggled with the heat during the whole weekend. In the qualifying race I crashed right after the start so couldn’t do anything better than 19th. Then in the final races I had bad starts in both motos and that made my job a lot harder. Once again I showed I have the speed to battle for the top in my class but unfortunately without getting good starts it’s impossible to make it happen. We now have a small break in the series. My plan for the following GPs is to continue battling for the top 10 in my class. If my starts are good, I know I can do even better than that.”

 

Max Anstie: (11th in MX2) “My riding was good this weekend. I had a good pace from the start of the GP but crashed in the qualifying race. My starting position for the final races wasn’t ideal but I still felt good on the track. In the first race I made a good start inside the top six but went on to make a couple of mistakes. I finished fifth but I know it could have been much better. For the second race I was motivated to go again and do well. On the start the gate went a little bit down before hitting the ground so I hit it. It took me some time to get going and I was in the middle of everyone. Then someone crashed in front of me and hit my leg with his bike. I was in 24th at that time and felt pain in my leg so I decided to pull out. Luckily I’m fine now and motivated to get back to work for better results in the next rounds.”

 

Adam Sterry: (14th in MX2) “Progress was made again this weekend. My speed was good all weekend with a fourth, fifth and ninth in the timed sessions. I’m just waiting for some luck to fall my way. The first race was solid, but I just rode too cautious and my lines were not very good. In race two there was a malfunction with the gates and there should have been a red flag, but there was not. I had a terrible start then had a pretty big crash that ended my race. I just need the two motos to come together and we will have a good overall result.”

Everyone is trying to keep up with #243 Tim Gasjer, but nobody has been successful.
Everyone is trying to keep up with #243 Tim Gasjer, but nobody has been successful.

Conrad Mewse: (10th in MX2) “I struggled a lot with the conditions this weekend but still I’m happy I got away with another top 10 result in my class. The heat got to me and I wasn’t really used to it. I got an OK gate pick finishing 20th in qualifying. In the first race I didn’t take a very good start and struggled a lot to come back so I finished 16th. Then in the second race I actually got a much better start and I finished ninth. It was a very difficult race and I was very tired after the second moto. It’s really nice to get another top 10 result and hopefully we can go on from here and look for even better results.”

 

Glenn Coldenhoff: (6th in MXGP) “I never like riding in such hot conditions. I had a good start in the first moto but I dropped back a bit but with my eighth place I was able to stay in the top 10. My start wasn’t quite as good in the second race and I had to come back from seventh to fourth. I rode a good race but in the end Desalle passed me and I finished fifth. Also my riding was a bit tight in both motos.”

 

Davy Pootjes: (13th in MX2) “I rode the whole first moto in fifth although I dropped back to eighth at the end. But I’m happy with my riding. I just need more bike time after all my injuries and to be fit again.”

 

Petar Petrov: (15th in MX2) “This weekend was not really good with the results, but we learnt a lot so I want to take the positives away with me. That will be important for the rest of the season; now we have one month off and we know what we have to do to be stronger in Loket and the following GPs. I had such a bad gate after my big crash during the qualifying race that it was impossible to get decent starts; I wasn’t even sure to race as I had crashed on my head. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season now.”

Davy Pootjes has been super inconsistent in '16.
Davy Pootjes has been super inconsistent in ’16.

Vsevolod Brylyakov: (16th in MX2) “I came back from injuries with a lot of expectations, but this weekend didn’t go as I would have like. I have not been able to do much during the last few weeks as I was recovering from injuries but the weekend went wrong from the word go with a crash in the qualifying race. In the first moto I crashed at the start, came back in the points but then had to pull out. In the second race I had a better start and got as high as sixth but with this heat it was impossible to keep the rhythm; the last ten minutes were very difficult for me with the heat and I lost several positions. I’m not really happy but it is what it is, now we have three weeks to come back stronger.”

 

Jordi Tixier: (11th in MXGP) “Everyone knows that when the temperatures are so high I have troubles with my body, so we worked on that and today I’m pretty happy with the results. Saturday was really good with a seventh position in the qualifying race, but in the first race I had a bad rhythm for the entire race. Then I had a bad start in the second moto, and I also had stomach cramps in the last ten minutes so I just tried to survive. We continue to work and learn each weekend; now we have three weekends to prepare the next GPs.”

 

Tommy Searle: (17th in MXGP) “It was a terrible GP for me, again a tough weekend. In the qualifying race I got caught up in a crash at the start and the bike was damaged so I was forced to retire and got a bad gate for the races. In the first race I managed to come back to twelfth, but they disqualified me. Another rider took me out of the track; I came back on the track and clearly didn’t take any advantage but they wouldn’t listen to me. I was disappointed, especially as it’s never easy to come back from nearly last to twelfth in these conditions. Then the second start was similar, and I had to come back from last to fourteenth. I am always fast on the track, but it never transforms into good results so far.”

 

Evgeny Bobryshev: (7th in MXGP) “Today just didn’t go as well as yesterday did. The starts were not so strong and I got boxed in a bit, but the feeling just didn’t flow as well today. I came back well through the field from the starts and could gain some places, and even we had the fastest lap early on in race one, but just couldn’t hold the pace ‘til the end. It’s a shame after the performance yesterday, but that’s just the way it goes.”

Jeremy has been a consistent podium finisher, but crashes and mistakes got the better of him in Mantova.
Jeremy has been a consistent podium finisher, but crashes and mistakes got the better of him in Mantova.

Jeremy Seewer: (7th in MX2) “That was one of the most disappointing races of the year. In terms of lap-times and rhythm I was one of the fastest guys behind Jeffrey. I didn’t have the best start in the first race but then Bernardini closed the line and I almost went down. I had to come back to seventh and then crashed and finally made sixth. For the second I don’t have much to say…it is just ridiculous that they didn’t restart the race because everyone saw that the gate didn’t drop. I did everything I could but made a mistake near the end and that’s how it is when you take a lot of risks to pass those riders; it wasn’t easy on that track. I made the best of things today. I’m not happy and it is not fair for anyone. I have a few more points over Pauls but there are still a lot of races to go and it is not my goal just to race against him. I want to be upfront and doing my best.”

 

Brian Hsu: (23rd in MX2) “I had such good starts! In the first moto I was almost third but it just slipped away; both times in fact. The heat was really sucking my potential today but the second race was pretty good as I came back from last to 17th. I rode well but I was just suffering and it was pretty tough…even if I learned a lot. I just need to get used to pushing the full 35 minutes; I missed a full winter, pre-season races and of course GP motos. I’m happy with how things are going and we are on the right way.”

 

Bas Vaessen: (1st in EMX) “I’m really happy with my first overall win. I’ve been close a few times to a moto win and today I made it all happen. I moved up to third in the first moto but my start was better in the second and I was in second place quite quickly. We were going really fast and then Darian made a mistake and I had the lead. I had good lap-times and wasn’t too far away from the MX2 guys so I was really pleased with that. I enjoyed the last lap and had some fun on the jumps. It was a huge relief to get that moto win and the overall. We have been training a lot and working very hard and I was always ‘almost’ there but something would always happen. Anyway I worked hard with Stefan and Harry to minimize the mistakes and today I had two races without hardly any errors or issues and could take the win because of it.”

 

Jorge Zaragoza: (24th in MX2) “I got two good starts today, especially in the second race when I was right at the front. That was a good race at the beginning as I was third fastest, and I was able to pass Tonkov for third place on-track. Unfortunately, then I injured my finger and I couldn’t ride the way I wanted to, and with the pain I couldn’t finish the race so it was a really disappointing way to end this weekend. Now we need to focus in the break on Loket and coming back strongly there.”

Author