FIM MX1/MX2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 06 SUNDAY MAY 5 AGUEDA, PORTUGAL
— Desalle takes first step to fourth Portuguese GP win
The sun was shinning in Agueda today to host the qualifying races that Clement Desalle and Jeffrey Herlings dominated with authority. In MX1 Gautier Paulin led the first laps, but he crossed the finish line second, followed by Ken De Dycker, while Antonio Cairoli finished fifth and Tanel Leok completed the top five. In the MX2 class, while Jeffrey Herlings was flying away with the victory, Jordi Tixier finished second and Christophe Charlier was third.
— MX1
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement Desalle started the Portuguese Grand Prix by being the fastest in the pre-qualifying practice and winning the qualifying race. The Belgian rider could not take the holeshot and he admitted that it took him a few laps to find a good rhythm, but once he took the lead from Gautier Paulin, he opened a comfortable gap with the French rider and obtained his first pole of the season.
Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin had a really good start and after a few corners he managed to take the lead, but Desalle was coming really fast from behind and Paulin could not keep the first position. Paulin decided to ride safe and he rode comfortably in second until the chequered flag.
The third position of the qualifying race went for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker who could not start with the front group, but he managed to move from his initial ninth position to third. The Belgian felt comfortable today, so he hopes to have good starts tomorrow and fight for a podium finish.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli had a good start in the qualifying race, but he crashed in the opening lap and he had to restart again from the twelfth position. The Italian recuperated his rhythm very quickly and lap after lap overtook several riders and in the end he managed to finish fifth, which will give him a good gate pick for tomorrow.
Tanel Leok succeeded in taking the holeshot, but he could not keep the lead, as Paulin and Desalle where much faster than him. However, the Estonian rode a solid moto and he finished sixth, followed by Max Nagl and Tommy Searle. Jeremy Van Horebeek ended eighth and Joel Roelants and David Philippaerts rounded of the top ten.
Evgeny Bobryshev was on his Honda today and even if he still felt some pain on his fractured fibula, he decided to take part in the qualifying race. The Russian did not have a good start and while trying to overtake some riders, he had a big crash over a triple jump, but fortunately he did not have any major injury. At the moment it has not been decided yet if Bobryshev will take part in the main races tomorrow.
MX1 Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 25:33.356; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:06.200; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:11.812; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:14.846; 5. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +0:18.185; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:21.329; 7. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:35.546; 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:42.963; 9. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +0:48.670; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), +0:51.683;
— MX2
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings obtained his third pole position of the season after wining the qualifying race with great authority. The Dutch rider succeeded in taking the holeshot and from then onwards Herlings had no rival. In the first lap he was already three seconds ahead of the second qualified and he finally crossed the finish line with almost forty seconds advantage over Tixier.
The second position in the qualifying race was for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier, who did not have a good start but managed to find a good rhythm to catch the front group in the early stages of the race. Once Tixier overtook José Butrón in the first lap, he quickly gave chase to Christophe Charlier and he passed him after three laps. Tixier felt really well today in the Portuguese track, so he is very positive to have a good result tomorrow.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Christophe Charlier had a really good start today and even if he could not keep his initial second position, he was very satisfied with the third place. The French rider had a good feeling on his Yamaha and he was also very satisfied with his speed, so he is looking forward to racing tomorrow to try to obtain his maiden podium of the season.
Standing Construct KTM’s Glenn Coldenhoff started down in the seventh position but he quickly found a good rhythm and he succeeded in moving up to the fourth place. The Dutch rider is looking forward to tomorrow’s races in order to try to do as good as today and try to fight for a podium finish.
The fifth position was for Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Dylan Ferrandis, who felt really comfortable on the Portuguese soil. The young French rider had a really good start and he rode sixth most of the race, but by the middle of the heat he managed to overtake Butrón and he crossed the finish line fifth.
Max Anstie was the third fastest rider in the pre-qualifying session, but another bad start in the qualifying race made him have to work hard to finish in the sixth position. The British rider was around eighth in the first corner, but he got a little bit stuck in the inside with all the other riders and he dropped down to thirteenth.
José Butrón started second behind Herlings but he struggled to find the good rhythm and he could not fight for the top three positions. In the end the Spanish rider finished seventh, but he is confident for tomorrow’s races. Alexander Tonkov finished eighth and Dean Ferris and Alessandro Lupino completed the top ten of the MX2 qualifying race.
MX2 Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 25:01.739; 2. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:38.458; 3. Christophe Charlier (FRA, Yamaha), +0:43.762; 4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:48.039; 5. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:51.505; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Suzuki), +0:52.491; 7. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:05.059; 8. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), +1:15.161; 9. Dean Ferris (AUS, Yamaha), +1:20.473; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +1:21.021;
