Antonio Cairoli makes it two in a row at the MXGP of Trentino while Jeffrey Herlings makes it eight straight in MX2–although not perfectly.
Red Bull KTM’s Antonio Cairoli proved that he is back to contend for another MXGP World Championship title when he claimed his second MXGP win in a row at the MXGP of Trentino, while teammate Jeffrey Herlings finally lost an MX2 moto but still prevailed in the final standings for his eighth MX2 overall win.
Cairoli looked strong from the start as he grabbed the holeshot in the first MXGP moto while the man who dethroned him, reigning MXGP World Champion Romain Febvre hit the deck in turn two right after the start of the race. Cairoli immediately began to build a lead over Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Max Nagl and Suzuki World MXGP’s Kevin Strijbos. Series points leader Tim Gasjer would eventually stick his Honda Gariboldi machine into fifth place before crashing, but the Slovenian rookie quickly recovered and eventually made his way to fourth place. Cairoli took the win ahead of Nagl and Strijbos. Monster Energy Yamaha’s Jeremy Van Horebeek was fifth, with his champion teammate, Febvre making it to sixth place before the checkered flag fell.
Gasjer was anxious to get back in the win column, and he pulled the holeshot to start the second moto, with Cairoli and returning Team HRC rider Gautier Paulin running second and third. Marchetti Racing KTM’s Jose Butron shot past Paulin to take over third place on the opening lap. Gasjer was looking strong as he pulled away from the field, but his moto came undone when he hooked a rut in a berm and was spit over the handlebars on lap nine. Gasjer dropped to sixth place but fought his way back up to fourth place by the end of the moto.
That handed the lead to Cairoli, but Febvre had gotten off to a much better start in the second moto, and the Frenchman, who had moved up to third but then inherited second when Gasjer crashed, began to put the pressure on Cairoli late in the race. Cairoli wasn’t going to just give it away, however, and he kept Fevbre at bay for several laps before finally making a mistake upon which Febvre could capitalize. When Cairoli went wide just before a downhill jump, Febvre managed to outbrake the Italian at the bottom of the hill and move into the lead. Febvre went on to take the win, followed by Cairoli and Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev.
Even so, Cairoli did more than enough to net his second overall win of the season by finishing second in the moto. Febvre’s 6-1 scored moved him past Gasjer for second overall. Gasjer was third overall via 4-4 scores. And those finishes seriously tightened the MXGP series standings. Gasjer, who had begun to build a decent points lead, now sees his advantage whittled down to just four points over Febvre, 335-331, while Cairoli has moved closer to them with 310.
In MX2, Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Dylan Ferrandis would be the man to put a temporary stop to Herlings’ pummeling of the class. It happened in the first moto, as the Frenchman pulled the holeshot ahead of TM Factory Racing’s Samuele Bernardini with Herlings slotting into third place after being pushed wide through the first turn. Herlings got it together and slowly reeled-in the flying Bernardini, who was driving the partisan Italian fans into a frenzy with his early-moto performance. Herlings made a clean pass for second place by railing the outside line in the right-hander berm after the downhill section.
Herlings then caught Ferrandis and briefly took the lead, only to be stuffed by the clearly aggressive Ferrandis, who retook the lead just before the finish line jump. Herlings would make one more pass attempt just before the finish line on the last lap, but Ferrandis held on for the win, halting Herlings’ 2016 moto win streak at 14. Red Bull KTM’s Rauls Jonass finished third, followed by Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer and Kemea Yamaha’s Benoit Paturel. Bernardini still gave his countrymen plenty to cheer about by finishing sixth.
Despite the loss ending any hope he had of a perfect season, Herlings got right back to his winning ways in the second MX2 moto, quickly taking the lead from HSF Logistics Motorsports KTM’s Robert Justs and running away from the field to win by over 35 seconds. Ferrandis, meanwhile, got off to an eighth-place start and had to work his way up to podium contention, finishing third behind Jonass to claim second overall just ahead of the Red Bull KTM rider, who went 3-2. Seewer crashed in the moto and ended up 12th, which was still good enough for fifth overall, behind Bernardini, whose 6-6 moto scores were good enough for fourth overall.
Even though he is no longer perfect, Herlings still enjoys a massive 100-point lead over second-placed Seewer in the MX2 series points standings.
“Unfortunately I can’t be undefeated anymore,” Herlings said afterward. “But I won the GP, and that’s what matters, so I will try to win all of them.”
2016 FIM Motocross World Championship
MXGP of Trentino
Crossodrome “Ciclamino”
Pietramurata, Italy
Results: May 15, 2016 (Round 8 of 18)
MXGP Overall
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA)-KTM/1-2
2. Romain Febvre (FRA)-Yam/6-1
3. Tim Gajser (SLO)-Hon/4-4
4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL)-Suz/3-6
5. Max Nagl (GER)-Hus/2-8
6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS)-Hon/9-3
7. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL)-Yam/5-5
8. Shaun Simpson (GBR)-KTM/11-10
9. Tanel Leok (EST)-KTM)/8-14
10. Ben Townley (NZL)-Suz/7-15
2016 FIM MXGP World Championship Series Points Standings (after 8 of 18 rounds)
1. Tim Gajser-335/4 wins
2. Romain Febvre-331/2 wins
3. Antonio Cairoli-310/2 wins
4. Maximilian Nagl-273
5. Evgeny Bobryshev-264
6. Jeremy Van Horebeek-247
7. Kevin Strijbos-204
8. Shaun Simpson-189
9. Valentin Guillod-153
10. Glenn Coldenhoff-146
MX2 Overall
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED)-KTM/2-1
2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA)-Kaw/1-3
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT)-KTM/3-2
4. Samuele Bernardini (ITA)-TM/6-6
5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI)-Suz/4-12
6. Benoit Paturel (FRA)-Yam/12-5
7. Vsevolod Brylyakov (RUS)-Kaw/9-8
8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS)-Yam/7-11
9. Brian Bogers (NED)-KTM/18-4
10. Max Anstie (GBR)-Hus/5-16
2016 FIM MX2 World Championship Series Points Standings (after 8 of 18 rounds)
1. Jeffrey Herlings-397/8 wins
2. Jeremy Seewer-297
3. Pauls Jonass-260
4. Benoit Paturel-211
5. Aleksandr Tonkov-210
6. Petar Petrov-202
7. Max Anstie-183
8. Vsevolod Brylyakov-182
9. Samuele Bernardini-179
10. Dylan Ferrandis-162
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