Reigning World MXGP Champion Antonio Cairoli scores 70th career MXGP victory in Sweden.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli has enjoyed a stellar career in FIM World Motocross Championship career, and at round 12 of the 2014 campaign in Uddevalla, Sweden, this weekend, the Italian celebrated a milestone win by recording his 70th career MXGP win.
Cairoli led the entire first moto from start to finish, crossing the line with a 5.5-second margin of victory over Clement Desalle, who until today had been his closest rival for the 2014 title. Cairoli basically repeated his performance in te second moto and was never seriously challenged en route to career win number 70. Cairoli is in sole possession of second place on the all-time World Championship MXGP winner’s list. Only Stefan Everts has more, with 101 wins. However, Cairoli has now won six times at Uddevalla to equal Everts record as the rider with the most wins in Sweden.
“I am pretty happy about this weekend,” Cairoli said. “The track was hard and slick today, and it wasn’t really my favorite conditions. But I managed to get two good starts and I was able to control the races and finish on top, so its good for the championship. It’s way easier to finish on top when you have two good starts.”
The Swedish round may also mark a serious turning point in Cairoli’s quest for an eighth World Championship, as main title rival Desalle was involved in a multi-rider crash and had to pull out of the second moto with a shoulder injury. Desalle’s DNF dropped him third in the series points standings. Jeremy van Horebeek moved into second place, behind Cairoli, who but van Horebeek trails Cairoli by 45 points with five GPs remaining.
Cairoli’s Red Bull KTM factory teammate, 19-year-old Jeffrey Herlings of the Netherlands, had a stellar weekend in the MX2 class at Uddevalla, recording his 42nd career MXGP win, already placing him fifth on the all-time MXGP winner’s list, behind Everts, Cairoli, Joel Smets (57) and Joel Robert (50). Seeking his third career MX2 title, Herlings breezed through both motos to win the overall via 1-1 scores.
“Today we basically did what we had to do and that’s to win both motos and make the points gap bigger to the second place,” Herlings said. “This weekend is something I’m proud of. I won on Saturday and twice on Sunday and I had a lot of fun on the bike.”
Then next round of the series takes place July 13, 2014, in Finland.
FIM World Motocross Championship
GP of Sweden
Uddevalla, Sweden
Results: July 6, 2014 (Round 12 of 17)
MXGP
1. Antonio Cairoli-KTM/1-1
2. Jeremy van Horebeek-Yam/3-2
3. Kevin Strijbos-Suz/2-4
4. Max Nagl-Hon/9-3
5. Tommy Searle-Kaw/6-5
FIM MXGP Class Points Standints (After 12 of 17 rounds)
1. Antonio Cairoli-527/7 wins
2. Jeremy Van Horebeek-482
3. Clement Desalle-470/4 wins
4. Kevin Strijbos-390
5. Shaun Simpson, 267
FIM MXGP Manufacturers Standings (After 12 of 17 rounds)
1. KTM-527
2. Suzuki-508
3. Yamaha-482
MX2
1. Jeffrey Herlings-KTM/1-1
2. Jordi Tixier-KTM/4-2
3. Tim Gajser-Hon/2-6
4. Valentin Guillod-KTM/5-5
5. Romain Febvre-Hus/3-11
FIM MX2 Class Standings (After 12 of 17 rounds)
1. Jeffrey Herlings-544/11 wins
2. Jordi Tixier-409
3. Arnaud Tonus-389/1 win
4. Romain Febvre-388
5. Dylan Ferrandis-372
FIM MX2 Manufacturers Standings (After 12 of 17 rounds)
1. KTM-574
2. Kawasaki-477
3. Husqvarna-404
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