The FIM Motocross MX2 World Championship series is heading into Gaildorf, Germany for the penultimate round and the Grand Prix of Europe. Lets look at the top five in points from the MX2 class and review what they’ve accomplished in 2011 and where  they stand as the series comes heads into the final two rounds.

Arnaud Tonus - GP of Europe - 2011 FIM Motocross World Championship - Photo by Youthstream
Arnaud Tonus, in his first year with the Bike-it/Cosworth/Wild Wolf/Yamaha team, has really come alive. The young Swiss MX2 rider has fallen short of making the podium in 2011, but with six top five finishes overall, finds himself fifth in the points. With an eleven point lead over Max Anstie, his goal for the last two rounds will probably be to keep Max behind him and finish the series in fifth. Photo by Youthstream
Gautier Paulin - 2011 FIM mx2 Motocross World Championship - Photo by Youthstream
After missing the podium in the first three events of 2011, Gautier Paulin turned into a MX2 podium machine. With six-straight podiums between Brazil and Germany, the Monster Energy Yamaha rider moved up to fourth in the points and has held strong there ever since. Paulin, overall on the 2011 season, comes into Gaildorf with seven podiums, one moto win (Teutschenthal) and is all alone in fourth overall. With Paulin's size and riding style, we think the Frenchman will be in Championship contention next year in the MX1 class. Photo by Youthstream
Tommy Searle - 2011 FIM mx2 Motocross World Championship - Photo by Youthstream
Tommy Searle, in his first year back from contesting the AMA series in the States, sits in a solid third overall in the points. The CLS/Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki pilot has been very solid in 2011 with nine podiums and one overall GP win (France). While solid, we suspect that Tommy expected to be battling for the Championship and is disappointed with the season as a whole. Photo by Youthstream
Jeffrey Herlings - 2011 FIM mx2 Motocross World Championship - Photo by R. Archer
Jeffrey Herlings has been incredible in 2011. The Red Bull/Teka/KTM teenager has shown the World that he is by far the fastest man in the sand and, if not for his teammate Roczen, would probably be unstoppable on any soil. Overall in 2011, Herlings has had an incredible ten podiums and four overall GP wins, and sits 43 points behind Roczen. At this point, the only way Herlings will be the 2011 Champ is if something dramatic happens to Roczen over the last two races. Whether Herlings wins the Championship or not, though, he has a lot to be proud of for 2011 and a lot of momentum heading into 2012. Photo by R. Archer
Ken Roczen - 2011 FIM mx2 Motocross World Championship - Photo by R. Archer
The German Ken Roczen has been the beast of the MX2 class in 2011. While his speed has been untouchable, it's been his starts that have made him unbeatable in the World Championship. With eleven podiums and eight overall GP wins, Ken comes into the penultimate round of the World Championship in Gaildorf with a chance to clinch his first World Championship in front of his home country. Ken will have to outscore his Red Bull/Teka/KTM teammate by seven points on the day to get the job completed. Photo by Ray Archer

MX2 Top ten Points

Pos	Nr	Rider   	Nat.	Total
1	94	Roczen, Ken	GER 	590
2	84	Herlings, J.	NED 	547
3	100	Searle, Tommy	GBR 	479
4	21	Paulin, G.	FRA 	425
5	7	Tonus, Arnaud	SUI 	353
6	99	Anstie, Max	GBR 	342
7	338	Osborne, Zach	USA 	295
8	151	Kullas, Harri	FIN 	287
9	131     Aubin, Nicolas  FRA 	242
10	34      Roelants, Joel  BEL 	226
Author

Dan Lamb is a 12+ year journalist and the owner of MotoXAddicts.