Wow, you could watch last weekend Grand Prix if Trentino and just keep saying it. Even with the fastest man on the planet, Jeffrey Herlings out injured, the MXGP still shines like never before. While Tim Gajser got the GP win, how about a hand for the legend, Antonio Cairoli. Always in there, giving it 100%, and at time even more. It is hard to not place Cairoli already as the greatest GP rider of all time, even with less titles and GP wins that the great Stefan Everts.

Anyway, more on that later, but for now, here are the rider comments. Get full MXGP of Trentino results here.

Tim Gajser: “It is unbelievable. It’s my first win in over a year and it’s just such a great feeling. To do it here at Arco di Trento is especially special because of all the Slovenian fans that made the trip to come and support me. I had two great battles today, we were both riding so fast but I think the fans gave me that extra boost I needed to take this victory. Every lap I could hear them and it was amazing to win in front of them, just to repay them for their energy that they gave me. I am also so happy for all of the members of Team HRC who work so hard to get me to this level, they all deserve a lot of praise for the effort they put in every week, so a big thanks to them too. Now, there is a bit of a break until the next race but we are heading in the right direction and I can’t wait to try and put this Honda CRF450RW on the top step of the podium again.”

Tony Cairoli: “It is a positive weekend overall but I’m not happy with my second moto because I took a risk and crashed when I should have had the GP. A crash is always possible in motocross but we should take care not to get injured and it was close today. I’m disappointed by that but I’m happy to make the podium again: that’s four this season with three wins and a second place so it is difficult to be negative about how it has gone.”

Jorge Prado: “Three years racing in MX2 here and three victories: there must be something at this track for me! I felt comfortable and we have been training hard after the time-off with the injury and a bit more riding time. I was happy coming here. The qualification heat gave me confidence and two very good starts today was really important on this track because it is tough to pass. Good riding and a good result. I’ll just try to keep on doing what I’m doing and avoid the mistakes.”

Tom Vialle: “A second podium in four GPs is unbelievable. When they called me to come in after the finish line I thought they had made a mistake! I was a bit disappointed a few moments before because I thought I’d lost it. I was so happy to learn I was third and was actually happy with my riding the whole weekend considering this was my first visit to this circuit. I love trying new tracks and new ground and it played into my favour today.”

Gautier Paulin: “It always feels good to be on the podium, and I am happy to be on the box. I know I have some work to do to step up and challenge the leaders because I want to join the battle for the lead. As a racer it’s nice to battle hard for a position and it’s cool to listen to the crowd go crazy. I could hear them this weekend and that was pretty special. Now we will go back to work to make the bike better, to make myself better, and hopefully be in that battle in Mantova.”

Jago Geerts: “It was a really good weekend for me, even yesterday was really good with second place in the Qualifying Race. Today went the same. I had two good starts and moved to second place and finished second place. I had really good speed and really enjoyed the track this year as it was really rough, especially in the second heat and I like that. Now I just want to work hard in this small break that we have, and try to be on the box again in Mantova.”

Thomas Kjer-Olsen: “It’s not been the perfect weekend here, but I’m still leading the MX2 championship and I think I showed some good speed. Everyone knows this track is really difficult to pass on and I experienced that in the first moto. The second race was better, but after running third for so many laps it’s tough not getting a top three result. But finishing 5-4 gives me good championship points. I’ll keep working hard during the weeks off to be 100% ready for the next GP.”

Ben Watson: “I am happy with my riding. I’ve been working hard the last few weeks and I am happy with where I am at, there are just a few small things that are stopping me from achieving the results I know I am capable of. My main issue is the start. I have to come from so far behind, but I was content with the way I rode. I had consistently fast laps in the second race and managed to get back to third position, which is finally a result that I am somewhat happy with. We still have a lot to work on to get to where I want to be.”

Arnaud Tonus: “It’s hard to explain how I feel after the struggle I have been faced with over the last week. It’s pretty unbelievable. I am so happy I was able to fight through it and find some inside strength. I didn’t tell anyone I was unwell because I didn’t want it to affect me mentally. 4 – 4 this weekend is absolutely amazing after the struggle, so I am just very thankful to the team who have stuck behind me through my hardest times, so I can not thank them enough. It has given me a lot of motivation going into the next races.”

Alessandro Lupino: “I’m pretty happy with this weekend even though I know my riding could be even better. I scored good points, my best GP so far, and this seventh position is good for everyone in the team. We have now five weeks before Mantova to be even stronger. I know that I can be in the top ten regularly, and that is what we will work for. I have an Italian race next week, then I will spend one week with my physical trainer in Belgium and join the team to do more testing.”

Tommy Searle: “It’s good to finish the weekend on a positive note in the top ten with an eighth position before the five-week break. Now we need to use this time wisely to work together so that I can come to Mantova a lot stronger. The start was important here. I have worked a lot on that at home this week; I feel we moved forward this weekend and hopefully it will pay off at the next GPs.”

Julien Lieber: “It was a tough weekend; both races were difficult as my starts, especially the first one, were not that great. It was difficult to pass on this track due to the rain earlier in the week but my physical fitness gained some positions in the last ten minutes of each race. My second start was better but two riders crashed in front of me in a corner on the opening lap and I lost a lot of time; I was a long way back but I came back to twelfth which was not so bad.”

Benoit Paturel: “It’s never easy to be back racing after missing several GPs but I regrouped after my crash in the free practice session on Saturday to have a better Sunday. I got two decent starts; in the first moto I was in the top ten for the first fifteen minutes but then it was tough physically as I have only been back on the bike for two weeks. The second race was better and I have now five weeks to improve my condition. I want to thank the team for their support and belief in me.”

Brian Bogers: “The first race I didn’t have the best start and I also crashed, taking too long to get back going because I got stuck under the bike. This left me a long way behind, but I got to work and despite this being a difficult track to pass on, I worked my way back inside the top 20, ending up 19th. Obviously I knew that I needed to improve my start and that’s exactly what happened in the second moto. I rounded the first few turns inside the top 10 and that’s where I was able to finish. You could see that if I can fight with those riders, I can finish in these good positions, so that was another step in the right direction. I improved my season best result with this ninth place but I know I need to keep working and that’s what we are going to do in this break.”

Mitchell Evans: “I’ve not raced at Trentino before but it’s a cool track. It just took me a while to learn it. I tweeked my knee in the qualifying race and that made it a struggle to come through the pack as it was a little one-line out there. But no excuses, I know what I need to do to improve. For the races, I strapped up my knee and pushed through the pain and got good starts. From 24th in the qualifying race to seventh overall today, I couldn’t be any happier and really pleased with how Sunday went.”

Jeremy Seewer: “It was a tough weekend for me. I struggled a bit with the track. I really like it here, I just seem to struggle, I don’t know what it is. Today I felt pretty good with eighth after wheel-spin on the start and having to come from so far behind. I had a much better start in the second moto but had a big crash on the first lap. Lucky I managed to come away with some points. My focus for the next couple of weeks is to come back stronger in Mantova.”

Jed Beaton: “I feel like it’s been an ok weekend for me. Things started off a little slow on Saturday and certainly not how I wanted it to go. But Sunday was much better. Two poor starts held me back in both motos though. I felt like my riding was good, but I have to get out the gate better. We have a good break now in the championship, so it gives me plenty of time to keep working and to focus on improving ahead of the re-start of the series.”

Arminas Jasikonis: “To come away from this GP sixth overall and now also up to fourth in the championship is great. It’s certainly not one of my favourite tracks, being so slippery and hard to pass makes it really difficult, so I’m really happy with my results, and also my riding this weekend. In the first race it was just difficult for me to make passes. I managed to improve a few places during the early laps, my riding was ok, but once I got into ninth I couldn’t get any further ahead. Not the best result but also not a disaster. The second race was better. I was further ahead from the start but again it was tough to make passes. But it was a good way to finish the GP. So far things have been very positive – I’ve finished inside the top 10 in all motos we’ve had. Some results have been better than others, but the consistency has been there, which is good. There’s still a long way to go but fourth in the championship is very positive.”

Pauls Jonass: “I guess it’s been a mixed weekend for me, not really what I’d hoped for. Timed training and my qualification race went well, but today’s races weren’t what I’d hoped for. I got a pretty good start in the opening race but then I made a mistake trying to pass Shaun Simpson. It’s hard to pass here so I got 11th. I didn’t get a great start in the second moto and then I fell, so that was that really. I wanted to be inside the top 10 but I couldn’t make it happen in race two. In terms of results, or course I want more, to be finishing higher. But if I take the positives from these first GPs in the MXGP class it’s that I’ve learned a lot. I will work hard during the break we have now and push hard to make the next steps in the MXGP class.”

Henry Jacobi: “We had a tough start to the weekend on Saturday but we turned things around on Sunday with two top five finishes. I’m happy with these results but of course I’m a little frustrated to miss another podium by one single point! Even with a bad start in the first race and a crash in the second I scored a fourth and a fifth position; now I’m looking  forward to taking a short rest as I have been a little sick this week.”

Adam Sterry: “I struggled to start with on this track but we changed a few things on the bike for Sunday and my starts were good in both motos; I feel I was still missing a little race speed but two times top eight is something to move forward from.”

Darian Sanayei: “It’s coming a little better with the virus, but it’s taking a long time. I’ve just been riding on talent, going from race to race with no training during the week, but we now have five weeks to the next GP so I’m optimistic I can get back to my regular schedule for the rest of the series.”

Vsevolod Brylyakov: “I have been racing sand since I have got back riding this year, so this really was my first hard-pack race in ten months. Yesterday’s qualifying did not go too great when a stone got caught under my clutch cable, resulting in me going over the bars in qualifying. First race I lost my back brake but managed to come through to twenty-second, but second moto was my highlight of the weekend. After starting slow I managed to come through to claim a hard-fought fifteenth and just tried to make no mistakes. I have so much to learn with this being a new bike and new class. The priority is to get bike time, stay upright and keep improving.”

Anton Gole: “This weekend was a mix of highs and lows. Saturday could not have ended any better for me, with the Yamaha pulling so great out of the gate and leaving me fourth in turn one. I lost a couple of positions towards the end, but I felt good and tried to keep pushing with the riders around me. I was really pleased with my tenth position… It was a lot easier than having to come through the pack! Sunday just did not go to plan at all and, although the starts were okay, I made a couple of mistakes in both races that resulted in a DNF each time. We have two Swedish rounds coming up that I am looking forward to, so we will work hard and bounce back.”

Zachary Pichon: “Some positive things this weekend. I had a pretty good qualifying day, with a tenth in time practice and eighteenth in the qualification race with a broken shifter. Sunday should have been much better, but I did not ride as I wanted in the first moto. In the second moto I had a good jump off the gate, but a guy crashed just in front of me and I could not avoid it. I started dead last and finished twenty-first. I cannot wait for the next one.”

Bavo Swijgers image

Author

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