Round number eleven of the Mx1 Motocross World Championship headed to Belgium for the Grand Prix of Limburg at the most famous sand track on the planet–Lommel. The Lommel circuit has gained fame for a variety of reasons throughout MX history, but it is most famous for brutalizing anyone that decides to race there. The sand at Lommel is about as close as you can get to a Grand Prix MX track on the beach, and because of that, riders are faced with a track that becomes a whoop section from start to finish with no time to rest. To win at Lommel, you first must be one of the best sand riders in the world, but even more important than that, you must have the fitness to endure 40 minutes on a 60 horsepower bucking bronco. Lommel is a true test of everything that makes a world-class motocross racer a world-class athlete.
MX1 – Moto 1
The man with the holeshot and early lead in moto one of the MX1 class has proven throughout 2011 that he can endure pain better than most. Rockstar/Suzuki pilot Clement Desalle–since suffering a separated shoulder a few weeks back–has been riding through the pain and, with just five rounds left, knew what he had to do in Lommel. The Belgian hard-pack lover sprinted out to the early lead with Teka/Red Bull/KTM’s Antonio Cairoli and Monster Energy/Yamaha’s Steven Frossard giving chase. Cairoli, after passing Frossard, began putting pressure on the number twenty-five, but on lap four, made a mistake that sent him down in the sand. With Cairoli relegated back to third after the crash, Frossard took over the job of pressuring Desalle, but Desalle held his ground against the Frenchman.
After remounting in third, Cairoli took seven laps to get back around Frossard and pick up where he left off in pressuring Desalle. Cairoli hounded Desalle for five laps before being able to make a pass stick on him. Desalle is a fighter, and with all that’s on the line, he gave Cairoli every defensive move he had. In the end, though, Cairoli and his incredible sand skills were just too much to stop. The two would go on to finish 1-2 in moto one.
Finishing with the last spot on the podium for moto one was a first for 2011 Rui Goncalves. The Honda World pilot has has a tough go of it since moving up to MX1 in 2010, but has never given up. Moto one in Lommel was a perfect example of that “never quit” attitude. Heading into the final lap, it looked like Frossard had Rui covered for third, but somehow, Rui got up to the back of Frossard and stole third place by .035 of a second at the flag. You could see the disappointment in Frossard as he crossed the line in fourth.
The best ride of moto one came from Goncalves’ Honda World teammate Evgeny Bobryshev. Early on in moto one, Evgeny tangled with a couple of riders and crossed the stripe after lap one in thirty-forth position. From there, the big Russian went to work. After 40 solid minutes on the job, he had moved all the way up from 34th to finish sixth. Bobryshev has never really been known to be an incredible sand rider, but right now, he has the confidence to race on ice if need be.
MX1 – Moto 2
When moto two hit the ground running, it looked like Cairoli may be looking for an easy wire-to-wire win. The Italian grabbed the holeshot and was quickly sprinting away from the field in the first few laps, but in the Lommel sand, anything can happen. After building up a five-second lead, a mistake by Cairoli would send him back to third place behind Evgeny Bobryshev and Max Nagl. Bobryshev took the gift and put on a sprint of his own, building a few seconds’ gap over the Teka/Red Bull/KTM of Nagl. Cairoli, back in third, took a couple of laps to get back around his teammate, but once around him, quickly began to close on the Russian for the top spot. On lap nine, Cairoli would make his last pass of the day and move into the lead past Bobryshev. Bobryshev would later get passed by Nagl and finish moto two in third with Nagl finishing moto two with a very solid second.
Back in fourth for much of the second moto was Clement Desalle. After a hard fought second in moto one, Clement didn’t appear to have the speed again in moto two. The number twenty-five had a great battle with the LS Motors Honda rider Ken deDycker that lasted close to ten laps and three passes before Ken made some mistakes and went backwards. The man on the move again in moto two was Rui Goncalves. After a sixth place start, Rui faded back to seventh, but somehow appeared to get stronger as the moto wore on. Rui–after making his way by Desalle for fourth–had locked down a solid third overall with a 3-4 score, but on the final lap, his Honda quit on him. It was a heart-wrenching ending to a great day for Rui. His unfortunate ending moved Desalle up to fourth and also boosted Tanel Leok into the top five. The Factory TM rider Leok had a good day with an 8-5 score for sixth overall.
In the end, though, it was another Championship day for Antonio Cairoli. The four-time Champ now sits fifty-two points ahead of Clement Desalle and sixty-three up on Frossard. With only four rounds left in the 2011 MX1 Motocross World Championship, it’s beginning to look like we may soon be referring to Cairoli as five-time.
Next stop, Loket!
MX1 top 10 results – Lommel. For full overall results click here.
1 222 Cairoli, Antonio 2 25 Desalle, Clement 3 2 Nagl, Maximilian 4 777 Bobryshev, Evgeny 5 183 Frossard, Steven 6 6 Leok, Tanel 7 999 Goncalves, Rui 8 19 Philippaerts, David 9 24 Simpson, Shaun 10 9 de Dycker, Ken
MX1 updated World Chapionship points
1 Cairoli 466 2 Desalle 414 3 Frossard 403 4 Bobryshev 369 5 Nagl 349 6 Goncalves 309 7 Philippaerts 308 8 de Dycker 250