Round number nine of the FIM Motocross World Championship from Teutschenthal is now history, and once again, the series produced some of the best racing ever witnessed. The German fans came out in droves to cheer on their two home country heros Teka/Red Bull/KTM riders Max Nagl (MX1) and Ken Roczen (MX2), and the fans would not leave disappointed. Both local heros battled from start to finish near the front in all four of the GP of Germany motos, and one left Teutschenthal with a red plate and another overall GP win. In the class that was not won by a German MX hero, the capacity crowd was treated to one of the best races of the year and a first-time Grand Prix winner. All in all, it was another banner weekend for motocross fans worldwide.
MX2 Moto 1
In the first moto of MX2, it was all Ken Roczen. The red plate holder told reporters early Sunday that he had come down with some sort of cold and was feeling under the weather, but that would not hold the German back in moto one. Ken holeshotted the first moto and, after an early race challenge from his teammate Jeffrey Herlings, was able to ride away for the first moto win. Jeffrey Herlings, after keeping Roczen honest for the first fifteen minutes of the moto, would fall back, but would still finish with a solid second place finish. It was another 1-2 finish for Teka/Red Bull/KTM in MX2.
Following home the two blistering fast teenagers were CLS/Monster/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle and the Monster Energy/Yamaha rider Gautier Paulin. The two would battle late in the moto, but in the end, Searle would be the man to grab the third spot in moto one. Paulin would cross the line with another consistent ride in fourth. Finishing fifth and sixth in moto one were the Bike-it/Cosworth/Wild Wolf/Yamaha riders Zach Osborne and Arnaud Tonus. Zach was recently diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, but didn’t let that stop him from hunting down his teammate late in the race for a solid top five performance.
MX2 Moto 2
In moto two, Roczen once again got off to a great start, but a first-lap tip over relegated him back to eleventh at the start of the moto. The man up front this time was the twenty-one year old Frenchman Gautier Paulin. Paulin, noticing a golden opportunity, sprinted away from the field for his first moto win of the year. With a solid 4-1 score on the day, Paulin finished second overall and recorded his sixth straight podium in 2011.
Behind Paulin was Tommy Searle. Tommy started moto two back in fifth, but was in the zone and aggressively made his around Jake Nicholls and Osborne. After a tough fight, he made his way around Herlings as well. Once in second, Tommy charged towards Paulin, but was never able to close the huge gap built up early on by Paulin. Searle’s 3-2 was good enough for the third spot on the box.
The man taking the overall GP win in Germany after a hard fought moto two was Ken Roczen. After his early race mistake, Ken sliced his way through the field until finding himself behind Searle and Herlings while in fourth. From there, Ken seemed to be in do-just-enough-to-win mode. Once Searle got up and around Ken’s teammate, Ken knew the overall win was right in front of him on the number eighty-four. On lap thirteen, Ken made his move, going around Herlings and riding it to the flag for the overall win; and once again, it was Ken Roczen–with a 1-3 score–standing on the top step of the box. With a 2-4 score, Jeffrey Herlings finished off the box in fourth, losing five crucial Championship points to his teammate.
Overall top 5 MX2: See the full results >>
1 Ken Roczen 2 Gautier Paulin 3 Tommy Searle 4 Jeffrey Herlings 5 Arnaud Tonus
Updated MX2 points after nine rounds. 1 94 Roczen, Ken GER 396 2 84 Herlings, J. NED 377 3 100 Searle, Tommy GBR 328 4 21 Paulin, G. FRA 319 5 338 Osborne, Z. USA 265 6 7 Tonus, Arnaud SUI 256 7 99 Anstie, Max GBR 215 8 151 Kullas, Harri FIN 197 9 131 Aubin, Nicolas FRA 192 10 430 Charlier, C. FRA 170
MX1 Moto 1
In the first moto of MX1, all eyes would be on Honda World’s Evgeny Bobryshev. After grabbing the holeshot, the big Russian would sprint off to a huge, early-race gap that could not be matched by anyone. By the mid-race point of the moto, Evgeny had built a handsome 12-second gap, and he would hold steady there for most of the race. In the past, the Russian has been known to fade at about the 25-minute mark, but this time, that would not be the case. He held on for his first-ever GP moto win and the first by a Russian in over twenty years.
Behind Evgeny, there was an intense battle for the last two podium spots. Early on, it was Antonio Cairoli in second, but a tip-over would push him back to fourth behind his Teka/Red Bull/KTM teammate Max Nagl and Monster Energy/Yamaha rider Steven Frossard. In the end, though, Cairoli’s late-race surge was too much for the other two men, and he would finish a distant second behind Bobryshev. Frossard was also able to make a last-lap charge to get around Max Nagl at the very end for third. The local MX1 hero Max Nagl would hold on for third with former red plate holder, Rockstar/Suzuki’s Clement Desalle, fifteen seconds back in fifth.
MX1 Moto 2
The action in the second moto of MX1 was one of the best races in a year filled with some of the best racing ever. Once again it was the lucky number 777 grabbing the early lead with the number 222 right behind in second position. Early on in the moto, Cairoli wanted to make a big statement to Evgeny Bobryshev by making an aggressive pass, but in the end, that statement caused Cairoli to take a dirt sample on his 350 KTM. Inheriting second place was Cairoli’s teammate Max Nagl with Bobryshev’s teammate Rui Goncalves inheriting third. Cairoli, after quickly remounting, would set back off after the GP win back in fourth with a rejuvenated Clement Desalle giving chase in fifth.
For the next five laps, Cairoli would spend his time dealing with Clement Desalle from behind while making moves to the front. By lap six, the Italian was up into second and trying to reel in the Russian, who had built a semi-comfortable, six-second gap. Behind Cairoli, Desalle made his way up to third, and Goncalves and LS Motors/Honda rider Ken deDycker had moved up and pushed Nagl back to sixth. All eyes, at this point of the race, were focused on the impending war about to be waged at the front between the big Russian and the ever-vigilant Italian.
With two laps to go, the battle had begun. Cairoli reeled Bobryshev, and his hooks were officially deep into him. With one lap to go, the gap was 1.1 seconds, but halfway through it, a lapper held up Cairoli, giving Bobryshev some space. Cairoli wasn’t quite done, though, and with two corners to go, he came in super hot on Bobryshev, and they hit. In the end, the Russian would keep it together and complete his first-ever GP win with a stellar 1-1 performance. Antonio finished 2-2 on the day for second, but with Clement Desalle finishing 5-3, Cairoli would extend his points-lead in the MX1 World Championship to eighteen points.
Overall top 5 MX1: See the full results >>
1 Evgeny Bobryshev 2 Antonio Cairoli 3 Clement Desalle 4 Rui Goncalves 5 Max Nagl
Updated MX1 points after nine rounds.
1 222 Cairoli, A. ITA 366 2 25 Desalle, C. BEL 348 3 183 Frossard, S. FRA 326 4 777 Bobryshev, E. RUS 294 5 2 Nagl, Max GER 282 6 19 Philippaerts,D. ITA 250 7 999 Goncalves, Rui POR 249 8 9 Barragan, J ESP 204 9 121 Boog, Xavier FRA 203 10 11 Ramon, Steve BEL 203
