Gautier Paulin goes 1-1 in the MXGP class while Jeffrey Herlings does the same in MX2.
Team Honda HRC has been looking for better results from rider Gautier Paulin since the beginning of the 2015 MXGP season, and the Frenchman finally came through at the MXGP of Europe in Valkenswaard, Holland, yesterday.
Paulin dominated the race, even in the face of series hottest rider, Max Nagl of Germany, to score a convincing 1-1 moto sweep for his first MXGP win of the year. In the MX2 class, former World Champion Jeffrey Herlings and his Red Bull KTM were back on their game, and Herlings pulled off a clean sweep as well.
The sandy Valkenswaard circuit was expected to mix things up, and it did, although some of the mixing had been done already with the announcements that Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Ryan Villopoto and Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Jeremy Van Horebeek would be sitting out the round due to injuries suffered at the previous round in Italy.
But Paulin got off to strong starts in both MXGP motos. He set a pace that no other rider could match, scoring runaway wins each time.
“It is very special, and standing on the podium with all the fans singing the national anthem is something you cannot buy,” Paulin said after the race. “It’s something that just a win can bring. I’m really happy to feel that again today as it is something really, really cool, and this is what we do all the work for. I want to thank all the crew because they all believe in what we can do, and since Arco [Italy] we can things are really starting to come together, so I have so much pleasure from this win. It’s been a great race, especially when you dominate the weekend – qualifying win, first moto win, second moto win – it’s just been a perfect weekend.”
Nagl was still happy to finish second overall as it moved the Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory rider back into the MXGP Series point lead. He had openly admitted that he didn’t even expect to be on the podium at Valkenswaard, but he put in two strong motos to land his fourth podium finish in five rounds.
“This season just keeps getting better and better,” Nagl said. “If I’m honest, Saturday was not a good day for me. I didn’t feel good in my riding, but my team worked incredibly hard to find the best setup for this track, and on race day my confidence was back. I can’t thank them enough for that. In race one I just rode smart and made sure I didn’t crash to take second. My start wasn’t so good in race two, but I was able to work my way forward to finish second. Another podium result and now the red plate in the championship makes it yet another great weekend of racing.”
Team HRC almost landed two riders on the podium, as Russia’s Evgeny Bobryshev finished third, just ahead of Suzuki’s Clement Desalle, who led the series coming into Valkenswaard. Borbryshev came back strong race two, and he and Desalle scrapped for third place. Desalle was able to pull clear of Bobryshev by 1.4 seconds on the final lap to salvage third and minimize his point loss to Nagl.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli of Italy had a rare bad weekend at Valkenswaard. The defending MXGP Champion came into the event just one point out of the series lead and knowing that he had won the last five consecutive MXGPs at the facility. A podium finish seemed a virtual certainty, but that’s why they race. A huge crash in race one collected Cairoli, who was lucky to avoid injury. Cairoli did not finish the race, and he could only muster a seventh place in moto two to finish 11th overall.
2015 FIM Motocross World Championship
Valkenswaard Circuit
Valkenswaard, Holland
Results: April 27, 2015 (Round 5 of 18)
MXGP Moto 1
1. Gautier Paulin (FRA)-Hon
2. Max Nagl (GER)-Hus
3. Evgeny Borbryshev (RUS)-Hon
4. Clement Desalle (BEL)-Suz
5. Shaun Simpson (GBR)-KTM
6. Tyla Rattray (MSA)-Kaw
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED)-Suz
8. Ken de Dycker (BEL)-KTM
9. Filip Bengtsson (SWE)-Hon
10. Romain Febvre (FRA)-Yam
MXGP Moto 2
1. Gautier Paulin (FRA)-Hon
2. Max Nagl (GER)-Hus
3. Clement Desalle (BEL)-Suz
4. Evgeny Borbryshev (RUS)-Hon
5. Romain Febvre (FRA)-Yam
6. Shaun Simpson (GBR)-KTM
7. Antonio Cairoli (ITA)-KTM
8. Tyla Rattray (MSA)-Kaw
9. Ken de Dycker (BEL)-KTM
10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED)-Suz
MXGP Overall
1. Gautier Paulin (FRA)-Hon
2. Max Nagl (GER)-Hus
3. Clement Desalle (BEL)-Suz
4. Evgeny Borbryshev (RUS)-Hon
5. Shaun Simpson (GBR)-KTM
6. Tyla Rattray (MSA)-Kaw
7. Romain Febvre (FRA)-Yam
8. Ken de Dycker (BEL)-KTM
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED)-Suz
10. Tommy Searle (GBR)-KTM
2015 FIM Motocross World Championship MXGP Series Standings (After 5 of 18 rounds)
1. Max Nagl (GER)-214
2. Clement Desalle (BEL)-209
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA)-184
4. Gautier Paulin (FRA)-178
5. Romain Febvre (FRA)-156
6. Evgeny Borbryshev (RUS)-138
7. Ryan Villopoto (USA)-124
8. Shaun Simpson (GBR)-98
9. Todd Waters (AUS)-92
10. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED)-86
MX2 Moto 1
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED)-KTM
2. Max Anstie (GBR)-Kaw
3. Jordi Tixier (FRA)-Kaw
4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA)-Kaw
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS)-Hon
6. Brian Rogers (NED)-KTM
7. Julien Lieber (BEL)-Yam
8. Petar Petrov (BUL)-KTM
9. Jeremy Seewer (SUI)-Suz
10. Brent Van doninck (BEL)-Yam
MX2 Moto 2
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED)-KTM
2. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS)-Hon
3. Jordi Tixier (FRA)-Kaw
4. Valentin Guillod (SUI)-Yam
5. Brian Rogers (NED)-KTM
6. Pauls Jonass (LAT)-KTM
7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI)-Suz
8. Jens Getteman (BEL)-Hon
9. Brent Van doninck (BEL)-Yam
10. Benoit Paturel (FRA)-Yam
MX2 Overall
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED)-KTM
2. Jordi Tixier (FRA)-Kaw
3. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS)-Hon
4. Brian Rogers (NED)-KTM
5. Valentin Guillod (SUI)-Yam
6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI)-Suz
7. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA)-Kaw
8. Brent Van doninck (BEL)-Yam
9. Jens Getteman (BEL)-Hon
10. Max Anstie (GBR)-Kaw
2015 FIM Motocross World Championship MX2 Series Standings (After 5 of 18 rounds)
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED)-222
2. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA)-185
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT)-148
4. Tim Gasjer (SLO)-137
5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS)-133
6. Valentin Guillod (SUI)-129
7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI)-125
8. Julien Lieber (BEL)-121
9. Jordi Tixier (FRA)-115
10. Thomas Covington (USA)-102
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