Tim Gasjer draws close to Febvre with a second MXGP win while Jeffrey’s Herlings celebrates his 100th GP moto win in Argentina.
Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings were the top dogs in their respective classes at the MXGP of Patagonia in Neuquen, Argentina, yesterday, with the MXGP rookie Gasjer claiming his second MXGP victory of the season while Herlings once again freight-trained the MX2 class, setting another career milestone by claiming his 100th career FIM Motocross World Championship GP win en route to his 51st career MX2 win.
Both men excelled on the technical Villa la Angostura track, perhaps the prettiest of all the stops on the GP circuit, but Gasjer had his work cut out for him after falling behind in the first MXGP moto as Germany’s Max Nagl rode of the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna team jumped out to a sound lead in the first moto and steamed to his first moto win of 2016. Seven-time FIM Motocross World Champion (he has six straight titles in the premier MXGP class) put together perhaps his strongest first moto in a while to claim second place on the rutted and technically demanding track, with Gasjer third.
Meanwhile, reigning World Champion Romain Febvre had an awful start to the first moto in Argentina, crashing heavily in the first corner. The Frenchman picked up his Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing YZ450F and soldiered on in the moto, ultimately finishing sixth, behind the front three, Team HRC Honda rider Evegeny Bobryshev and Febvre’s Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing teammate, Jeremy Van Horebeek.
In the second moto, the 19-year-old Gasjer pulled out all the stops and charged to the front of the pack, taking the lead within the first lap and running away from Cairoli to cinch the win by 3.9 seconds over Cairoli, while Febvre put together a much better performance to come home third, ahead of Van Horebeek and Nagl. Gasjer’s 3-1 performances were more than enough to claim the overall win.
“I had a really good weekend,” Gasjer said, “I won my first ever qualifying race yesterday, and I took a FOX holeshot and won today. Next we go to Mexico, and I have good memories there, I won my first ever MX2 race there, and I really like the track so I look forward to going there.”
Cairoli’s runner-up finish marked his first MXGP podium visit since May of 2015, an almost unheard of occurrence considering the domination that the Italian has enjoyed in the series. Perhaps Nuquen will be a turning point toward another title run as he vaulted from fifth to third in the series points standings.
“I’m not yet at my best, but I have to make the best of it,” Cairoli said. “I am happy with my riding, although I have to ride different to what I am used to because I feel not strong enough in some places. But it’s okay, and it gets better and better.”
Nagl finished third overall to gain valuable points in the series title race, although the German admitted to being disappointed that he was unable to keep pace in the second moto after running with Cairoli early in the race. Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl is slowly but surely moving in the right direction.
“I’m a little bit disappointed because I could have won this GP, but I backed off and the Yamaha guys passed me,” Nagl said. “But a third place is better than a DNF, so I am happy.”
Despite a heroic last-lap charge that took him past Nagl and Van Horebeek in the second moto, Febvre’s 6-3 moto finishes were only good enough for fourth place overall, and that ended a podium finishing streak that had built up to 16 races. It also allowed Gasjer to regain lost ground in the series points standings. Febvre’s lead over Gasjer is now down to just three points, 172-169, heading into the next round, the MXGP of Leon, in Mexico.
Herlings was once again the class of the field in MX2, leaving little doubt that he is back on the form that saw him reel off back-to-back MX2 World Championship titles in 2012 and 2013—and if he hadn’t suffered a broken arm while riding a minibike in a charity race in 2014, it might have easily been three straight. Herlings simply ran off and hid in both MX2 motos in Argentina, winning both by more than 30 seconds en route to his 99th and 100th career GP moto wins. It also marked his first career overall win in Argentina. The Dutchman remains undefeated in the MX2 class this year.
“I made a statement as well today,” Herlings said. “I’m blessed for what I did again today. You know, 50 [overall wins] was something special last weekend, but 100 moto wins is also something special. So, I’m really blessed for that and, hopefully, more to come.”
All that was left was to determine the rest of the podium, and the MX2 class showcased some great bar-banging action in both motos battles for those spots. Team Suzuki World MX2’s Jeremy Seewer proved to be the best of the rest in both motos as he fought his way through to second place in each, landing second overall, ahead of Wilvo Standing Construct Yamaha’s Aleksandr Tonkov.
“I feel amazing,” Seewer said. “I have been on the podium three times in a row now. I will try to keep on going like this.”
It was a rough day for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass, who slipped from second to fourth in the MX2 series standings after he suffered a nasty high-side crash on the opening lap of the first moto and split his chin wide open. Jonass got stitched up and put in a gritty second-moto ride to finish fourth, but that wasn’t good enough to get him inside the top 10 overall.
2016 FIM Motocross World Championship
MXGP of Patagonia
Neuquen, Argentina
Results: April 11, 2016 (Round 4 of 18)
MXGP Overall
1. Tim Gajser (SLO)-Hon/3-1
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA)-KTM/2-2
3. Max Nagl (GER)-Hus/1-5
4. Romain Febvre (FRA)-Hus/6-3
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL)-Yam/5-4
6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED)-KTM/9-6
7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS)-Hon/4-12
1. Shaun Simpson (GBR)-KTM/8-9
2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL)-Suz/11-7
3. Clement Desalle (BEL)-Kaw/7-11
FIM MXGP World Championship Series Points Standings (after 4 of 18 rounds)
1. Romain Febvre-172/2 wins
2. Tim Gasjer-169/2 wins
3. Antonio Cairoli-144
4. Jeremy Van Horebeek-138
5. Evgeny Bobryshev-134
6. Max Nagl-125
7. Shaun Simpson-105
8. Kevin Strijbos-108
9. Glenn Coldenhoff-82
10. Tommy Searle-74
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NEX)-KTM/1-1
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI)-Suz/2-2
3. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS)-Kaw/3-3
4. Samuele Bernardini (ITA)-TM/5-6
5. Petar Petrov (BUL)-Kaw/6-8
6. Vsvelod Brylyakov (RUS)-Yam/8-9
7. Benoit Paturel (FRA)-Yam/13-5
8. Thomas Covington (USA)-Hus/10-10
9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED)-KTM/7-13
10. Max Anstie (GBR)-Hus/2-24 (DNF)
2016 FIM MX2 World Championship Series Points Standings (After 4 of 18 rounds)
1. Jeffrey Herlings-200/4 wins
2. Jeremy Seewer-152
3. Aleksandr Tonkov-131
4. 3. Pauls Jonass-130
5. Petar Petrov-104
6. Benoit Paturel-99
7. Samuele Bernardini-91
8. Vsevolod Brylyakov-84
9. Brent Van doninck-78
10. Alvin Östlund-70
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