Photos by: Ray Archer
He’s back! After two years of struggling with one injury after the next and nearly written off as an aging former world champion, Red Bull / KTM’s Antonio Cairoli is back on form in 2017. The former eight time world champion would not be denied at the opening round of the 2017 MXGP Motocross World Championship series at the Losail circuit in Qatar.
The #222 got the start and went wire-to-wire in the opening moto—winning by nine seconds over Clement Desalle. In moto two, the stage was set when the defending MXGP world champ, Tim Gasjer, got the holeshot with Antonio in tow. For twenty-seven minutes the Italian shadowed the Slovenian from a distance before reeling him in and making the pass stick on the young champion with just two laps to go. It was a vintage Antonio Cairoli win and something that Gasjer and the other MXGP riders were hoping was a thing of the past.
After going 1-1 at the 2017 MXGP of Qatar, Antonio sat down with the press and MotoXAddicts’ MXGP connection over at MXLarge, Geoff Meyer, was there to record it for us.
How is did you feel about the weekend?
It was for sure a great weekend. I am happy. It’s my 13th season in the world championship and happy to reach this goal. Not many riders have done it, and I have won a GP every year. The season started good with no injuries in the winter, so I could train better for the winter. I was looking forward to this GP. This week I was sick with flu and I took medication until Thursday. I didn’t know how my reaction would be during the racing, but I enjoyed the racing. The track was pretty good and technical, so I managed to make some good lines in some places. We saved some energy and I could push until the end of both motos. I am looking forward to the next one and we can have a good week of training. Even if we are not with the bike, we can do physical training.
What about the second moto?
The first moto I had the holeshot and everything is easy when you have the holeshot, so that made it a little easier. I made a good rhythm and made a gap. The second moto was also a good start and I tried to get close to Tim [Gasjer], but we made contact at the start and I thought I had broken my spokes. I was thinking I broke some spokes because I kept hearing some noise, but it was just a stone on the disc. I started making better lines, but Tim was riding well and got away. Near the end I found some better lines and was able to get him again. In the end, I made the pass. It was a spectacular race and nice to race with Tim like this. I hope we have more races like this, because it’s good for our sport.
How is your injury from last year?
My elbow [injury from 2016] is ok now. Actually, it was a nerve that gave me problems all last year, and I didn’t have any feeling in my thumb. Also, less power than normal. I wasn’t riding well on the bike. We did some tests with the shocks and the power, and I feel good on the bike again.
Your first victory here. How does it feel?
The first time we came here, I only won the Super-Final and Clement won the MXGP moto. It’s a first time for me to win here. I hope it isn’t the last time. It’s a great facility, and I hope we can come back.
What about the depth of this MXGP class?
This class is tough. Maybe one of the toughest ever. We only had like 20 riders, but they were all good and that is great for the sport. We have all the GP winners. It’s the most competitive class for a long time. We can mix up the season and the points, and it’s good to have so many good riders on the star grid.
