Photo by: Ray Archer
Another great GP as Antonio Cairoli takes control of the MXGP class. Jeremy Seewer makes a little ground on Pauls Jonass in the MX2 class.
Antonio Cairoli: (1st in MXGP) “It always feels amazing to win. Last year here I did it with more technique because the track had more ruts so it was a bit slower. This year was nice, very good ground and another technical level but the speed was a bit higher. I was able to push the whole moto so I’m very happy with this GP win. I have a good feeling with this track. I’ve had some good races here and I remember well the Motocross of Nations. It is a special place for me and one of my favourite hard-packed tracks. I think the ground is a bit similar to my track at home.”
Jeffrey Herlings: (2nd in MXGP) “We have been very consistent the last couple of races and I feel like there are a lot of things possible in the world championship; I am not talking about the title but maybe to get some more positions towards the podium spots. I’ll keep working and keep charging. I feel like where I want to be. The speed is so high and you need to be focussed.”
Gautier Paulin: (3rd in MXGP) “Earning one more podium result is a good reward for the hard work all Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team members are putting in. Not getting a good start in moto one I had to push really hard taking some risks in the first few laps. Making some good passes I quickly found myself in third but Cairoli and Herlings had already created a small gap in the lead and it was impossible to battle with them. Then in moto two my start was a lot better. Getting a really good pace after the second half of the race I managed to get close to Herlings and we had a good battle for second. Losing a bit of time passing some lappers I ended up getting third again in moto two. I’m really happy with my speed and can’t thank all our team enough for their hard work and dedication.”
Jeremy Seewer: (1st in MX2) “I had such a good feeling all day” said Seewer, “I had good starts on my RM-Z250 which allowed me to fight for the win, and that’s what I did in the first moto. I had good speed and made no mistakes which allowed me to catch-up and pass Pauls Jonass despite him having quite a good lead at the beginning. In the second race I had a battle early-on in with Jorge Prado Garcia and he made it difficult and I even lost a few positions after a mistake. I fought back though and got up to fourth and that was good enough to win the GP. Hunter, being second, makes it even more amazing for the whole team and it gives everyone such a boost. It’s a long season but to have moments like this is great for everyone.”
Hunter Lawrence: (2nd in MX2) “It’s such an awesome feeling to go one and two for Suzuki and a great way to round off the weekend. In the first moto I was fourth and then second moto I was third so my best moto finishes; and of course my first podium. I’m so happy and I can’t wait to ride next weekend now. We finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together and it’s just a nice refresher for everyone in the Suzuki World team who all work so hard. When I crossed the line I had no idea what the points situation was and I was actually a little disappointed because I felt I could have even finished higher, but when Jeremy crossed the line and Harry Everts came up to us and told us, it was really cool, a really special moment.”
Pauls Jonass: (3rd in MX2) “I got two holeshots and led the first one until a tip-over. I lost a bit of confidence with the track and made some mistakes so to still finish second was really good. Teutschenthal is not my favourite track and doesn’t suit my style so well and I didn’t find the flow in that second moto. I tried to improve but was fighting the track a bit. Anyway third overall and only losing five points in the championship was not so bad. We’ll look forward to the next GP and getting those back.”
Max Anstie: (7th in MXGP) “It was a good GP for us. We worked hard to find a good setup during qualifying and my bike was running great during the final motos. In moto one I put myself in a good position right off the start. I quickly got a good race pace despite tough track conditions and managed to bring it home in eighth place. My start was good in moto two as well and I found myself racing in fifth place. I had a good battle with Romain Febvre and he got the best of me so I finished sixth. We’re in a good place right now. With this being my first season in the 450cc class I feel that I’m learning a lot and improving my performance in every GP.”
Clement Desalle: (4th in MXGP) “I have to say they did a good job with the track this weekend. I had some good starts which was really positive. I had a good rhythm and was just disappointed in the first moto that I couldn’t pass [Gautier] Paulin. A key mistake broke my flow in the second moto. It wasn’t such a nice race and two-three bad lines made the difference; I was pretty bad in one corner and lost a lot of time. Anyway, I hope to do better next weekend. We are analysing all the time, and each week we are looking where we can be better; even just a small detail can make the difference for the podium.”
Thomas Covington: (4th in MX2) “I’m really happy with the victory in moto two. We showed the speed was there this weekend and if we had a better result in moto one, we could have done even better in the overall. The GP started well for us. I got off to a good start in the qualifying moto and was leading it before a small crash dropped me to fifth. Taking advantage of my good gate pick I had a good start in moto one but soon after we got together in a corner with some other riders and I ended up on the ground. Quickly resuming the race I made many passes to cross the line in 14th. Things were a lot better in moto two. I got a good start and after spending some time behind Jonass I managed to find some good lines and pass him for the lead. The track was tough and it was really easy to make mistakes. Fortunately I kept it on two wheels and managed to get the win. We’re sixth now in the championship and our goal is to continue battling for race victories in every moto.”
Max Nagl: (8th in MXGP) “It was good to be racing in front of my home fans. With rain falling heavily before the GP, the track was very muddy during Saturday’s qualifying races. The weather was better on Sunday but the track was full of deep ruts and big bumps. In the opening moto I didn’t get a good start so I had to battle my way to 10th at the finish. Then in moto two I got a much better start and was racing in second behind Cairoli. I really wanted to get a good result I pushed too hard making one too many mistakes in the opening laps. Earning eighth for eighth overall at the GP is not a bad result but it’s not where I would want to be. My goal now is to work more with myself and manage to handle pressure more productively. The championship still has a long way to go and we’ll do our best to go even higher in the series’ standings.”
Arminas Jasikonis: (9th in MXGP) “The first moto was quite ok, not a great start but I had a good feeling on the track and that allowed me to come through into ninth place. Unfortunately, a bike issue meant that I dropped two positions near the end of the race but overall I felt good. In the second moto, I had a better start on my RM-Z450WS and I felt it was within my grasp to battle with the top guys. However, I didn’t ride with enough confidence on this track and I just couldn’t push as much as I should have. I finished ninth but I know I could have been up-front more, so I will keep working to make sure this doesn’t happen again. I want to fight with those guys like I did in Latvia so hopefully I can turn it around for next week in France.”
Bas Vaesson: (12th in MX2) “In the first race I had a really good start on my RM-Z250 to come from 25th gate-pick to get upside the top-15 or so. I passed a couple of guys and was running in 10th for a long time, but Julien Lieber passed me on the last lap which was a shame. I was still happy with how I was riding though. In the second race there was a crash off the start and a lot of carnage on the first lap so I had to work my way through which was difficult to do on this track, as he was hard to pass on. The results were OK, but I felt that I could have got a little bit more out of the weekend.”
Jorge Prado: (11th in MX2) “My starts were not the best today and in the first moto I had a problem with my goggles and had to stop for a new pair. I started to regain ground up until twelfth. I was a bit too slow on the first lap of the second moto and many riders passed me. It was difficult to find a rhythm and three laps before the end I had a small crash that cost me one or two places. I’m not too happy…but it was a good experience today and I feel like I learned a lot.”
strong>Glenn Coldenhoff: (9th in MXGP) “We are heading in the right direction. We have done some different kind of training recently and it looks like it is paying off. A 6-7 means a couple of solid results and the starts were quite good. I had a sketchy moment in the second race when I ran off the track and from then on I started thinking a little bit and rode a bit easier because I didn’t want to go down. I think we can be happy with the day.”
Thomas Kjer-Olsen: (5th in MX2) “Once again we showed the speed is there and I’m really happy with where we’re at right now. If I manage to remain more consistent and avoid mistakes, I know everything is possible in the remainder of the championship. I had a good start in the opening moto and my speed was quite good. Right before the halfway mark I made some passes for third and then retained third until the end of the moto. My start was good in the second moto too. I was riding well in fourth place but lost the front in a deep rut and ended up crashing. Quickly re-entering the race I soon had a second fall that dropped me to 12th at the chequered flag. Overall, I’m happy with our race pace. The goal now is to keep working hard to eliminate mistakes. I’m already looking forward to the following round in France.”
Michele Cervellin: (7th in MX2) “For sure today was alot better than the last GP in Latvia. We have improved and I had a good start today again and we can see a better result now. In the first race I started second and pushed hard for two or three laps and then I got arm pump and lost some positions to finish sixth which is not so bad. I am a little bit disappointed with my second Moto as I was sixth and then I stalled the bike and lost one position before the last corner. It is ok as I have got some good points for the championship and I hope I can do the same next week in France.“
Benoit Paturel: (10th in MX2) “The result is not there, but I have done my best. I won the Qualifying Race yesterday. I am really happy about that, and I was second place in the second race today too. That is also not so bad. In the first race I could not finish because of a small technical issue, but next weekend we go to France for my home grand prix, and I am really excited for that. I will give it everything and hopefully I will be on the box!”
Brent Van doninck: (9th in MX2) “The only positive thing I can take from this weekend is my speed in the second race, it was a little bit better than in the first race. I struggled a bit this weekend, I crashed yesterday and crashed again today. I didn’t feel good all weekend, so I am very disappointed. Hopefully next weekend I will be much better, so I hope to have some good training sessions this weekend and be back on the pace in France.”
Alvin Östlund: (21st in MX2) “This was a tough track. The Qualifying Race was not so bad, twelfth, so I had a good gate pick today. In the first race I got off to a good start, I was inside the top ten, but a guy crashed in front of me, and I fell and then I was too far behind. In the second race I got hit by another rider which cost me some time, but the riding was pretty good, I am happy about that, just not so happy about the result.”
Tim Gajser: (11th in MXGP) “Saturday I made a small mistake and crashed again and the bike fell on me. I hurt my back, and I didn’t finish the race. I have a lot of pain in my body and I will not give up and see what I can do. I just want to get a good start, but it will be hard I am on the outside. I will fight and try and do the best I can. This has been a tough weekend. Thinking about it, it has probably been one of the toughest weekends I have ever had. I have never ridden with so much pain before. I tried to take a good start, which was not easy to do in the position I was in. Then I just tried to pass as many guys as I can to take as many points as I can. At the end of the day I am quite happy that I took 12th and 10th riding with so much pain, at least I took some solid points. I want to be upfront so I will go home now and see my doctor and I hope I can be ready for France.”
Romain Febvre: (5th in MXGP) “Yes, it has been difficult from the beginning of the season. We made some changed to the bike that were not working for me, but we went back and I can play on the bike better now. I thought it was me, because I made the choice, but in the races I struggled with the changed and we went back and it was late, but everyone can see now it is going nice. “I got a bit stuck in the first race. I was faster than my result shows but I couldn’t make the pass I needed to make, so I was frustrated. In the second race I was riding pretty good but I caught my foot on a rut and hurt some ligaments in my ankle. I was in so much pain I thought my foot was broken, but I kept riding. Other than that, I feel much better on the bike and I am really happy with how things are going, I just hope my foot will be okay for next weekend.”
Darian Sanayei: (9th in MX2) “It was a pretty good weekend; the first practice session was not easy with the mud but it got better and better every session I rode. I had a decent lap time with a twelfth position for the qualifying race and I was holding thirteenth in this race until I crashed and had to come back from twenty-sixth to nineteenth. That didn’t give me such a good gate pick and that is so important here. In the first moto I had a pretty good start but I was on the outside and after the first corner I was only twenty-fifth but I quickly made some passes and raced from sixteenth to ninth at the finish. I was riding pretty well, indeed at one point of the race I had the speed to race at the front. In the next race I just followed the guys in the inside of turn one; I came out in the top twelve and again finished ninth for ninth overall on the day and in the series. We’re making advances every week, and we keep working positively.”
Seva Brylyakov: (19th in MX2) “It has been a strange weekend as we had to start from zero on Saturday. I’m effectively riding with one hand as some nerves and muscles in my shoulder are still paralysed. We have done a lot of checks and I have spent a lot of time with the doctors since Latvia but I made the decision to try to ride this weekend. During the timed practice session I was trying to post some good laps but I had three big crashes, as I couldn’t really react when the handlebars went sideways. I was riding quite well in both the qualifying race and the first moto but we had some issues as I was using the clutch a lot to compensate for my shoulder. But I had a pretty good finish to the weekend as I scored a top fifteen in the second moto with only one arm; I did my best and finished safe, now I’ll have more medical examinations on my shoulder before next weekend.”
Stephen Rubini: (23rd in MX2) “The results are not what I could expect, but I must say that it was a good weekend as I had a good feeling on the bike,” said Rubini. “In the qualifying race I had a good speed and came back to fourteenth after a bad start. My start was much better in the first GP moto and I was ninth but then I crashed; I was thirtieth after this crash but came back to seventeenth and once more I had a good speed and good feeling. This weekend I had my best starts since the beginning of the season and I was eleventh in race two, but then I stalled the engine and later broke the rear brake in a deep rut so I had to retire. But overall the feeling was good and I can say that I am now ready for my season to really take off.”
Morgan Lesiardo: (25th in MX2) “I was so excited to ride here, and it has been a good weekend as I had to learn the bike, the team and the world championship. It was not easy as the track was muddy for the first practice sessions after the rain on Friday, but we improved all weekend and my feeling was better and better to end the weekend with a 19th position in the second moto. I learnt a lot this weekend, and I will spend this week with the team in Belgium to train and learn even more as I want to defend my red plate in the European MX2 next weekend in France.”
Jeremy Van Horebeek: (10th in MXGP) “I don’t know what is going on. All weekend long I was inside the top five, but when I tried to step it up, I crashed really big and I just don’t know why. I am so smooth and consistent and I really want to win, so for this to happen it’s extremely frustrating.”
