Motocross

Cairoli takes 90th career win in Latvia while Geerts rises to the top in MX2

Posted:

Thursday, August 13th, 2020

8:59 AM

Cairoli takes 90th career win in Latvia while Geerts rises to the top in MX2

The MXGP class charge into action.

The second of three Grands Prix in 2020 MXGP to take place at the Kegums circuit in one week saw Tony Cairoli registered his 90th career win while Jago Geerts was victorious in MX2.

Race one of the MXGP class saw drama straight from the get go as a group of riders got caught out in a first turn crash including Arminas Jasikonis, Calvin Vlaanderen, Alessandro Lupino and heavyweight Jeffrey Herlings, among others.

Out front it was the other Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Jorge Prado who claimed the FOX Holeshot, followed by team-mate Antonio Cairoli and Jeremy Van Horebeek of Honda SR Motoblouz who had a fantastic start.

Team HRC‰Ûªs Tim Gajser was also down the order in the opening laps and was showing down in 22nd position, not where the defending world champion would have hoped to be.

At the front though, Cairoli wasted no time to move into the lead as he passed Prado, who then had issue of his own as he had to pull into the pits to change his damaged front wheel and later re-joined the race a lap down from the leaders, and finished the race 29th.

With a problem in the start, Herlings was wasting no time in the opening race, finding his way around a group of riders. Jasikonis was also left with a lot of work ahead of him having to pick off riders in order to salvage some points in the first race.

By lap 7, the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team riders Romain Febvre and Clement Desalle were in a battle of their own, with Febvre eventually finding a way past his team-mate and Ivo Monticelli to move into 6th.

Meanwhile for Gajser the race was a tough one, he managed to get up to the top 15, though not long after that had a dramatic crash which saw him out of the opening MXGP race.

Tony Cairoli registered his 90th career win and the first since the Grand Prix of Lombardia in May 2019

Herlings and Jasikonis were making a great come-back through the field, with Herlings catching up to Van Horebeek who was holding on to a fantastic second place behind Cairoli who was in control of the race. On lap 14 though, Van Horebeek came under immense pressure from Febvre and Herlings, losing two positions on a single lap.

With one lap to go it was Cairoli, Febvre, Herlings and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jeremy Seewer which is how they finished the race, with Van Horebeek eventually crossing the line in P5, with Desalle in 6th, Glenn Coldenhoff in 7th and Jasikonis making a good comeback to 8th.

In race two, it was Ivo Monticelli flying out of the gate and went on to claim the second FOX Holeshot of the MXGP of Riga. Cairoli had another fantastic start and was up in 2nd, closely followed by Australian Mitch Evans of Team HRC, with Herlings and Jasikonis right there as well.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP‰Ûªs Jeremy Seewer celebrated a second place in the MXGP class.

As the riders made their way around the Kegums circuit, Febvre and Gajser made contact in one of the corners, which saw Febvre go down while Gajser just about managed to stay up. The crash really put a dent in Febvre‰Ûªs podium hopes for this mid-week race.

Eager to make up for the first race, Herlings wasted no time as he moved up into P2 and chased after the 9-time world champion. Jasikonis also joined in on the party and was right there ready to challenge for the win.

It didn‰Ûªt take long for Herlings to catch and pass Cairoli, who then came under fire from the #27 of Jasikonis who then went after the race leader.

Meanwhile Desalle was also moving up the order as he passed Monticelli for 6th place, while his team-mate Romain Febvre, was up in 17th.

Towards the later stages Cairoli caught onto the back of Jasikonis, who managed to keep the #222 behind him, before the race took a dramatic toll, which saw Herlings go down with just 2 laps to go.

Championship leader Jeffrey Herlings filled 3rd position for his first trophy since the 2020 restart.

As Cairoli came around the corner, he could not avoid the fallen race leader, and as a result went down himself, allowing Jasikonis to become the new race leader with a little bit of breathing room.

Though he couldn‰Ûªt rest for long as with a lap and a bit to go, Seewer was on his back, with Herlings right there as well. In the end it was Jasikonis who claimed his career first race win, followed by Seewer and Herlings who finished 3rd. Cairoli finished 4th while Tim Gajser made his way back up to 5th.

Overall it was Antonio Cairoli who claimed his 90th career Grand Prix win with 43 points, while Seewer place 2nd overall with 40 points, with Herlings matching him for points and occupying the third step of the podium.

Tony Cairoli registered his 90th career win and the first since the Grand Prix of Lombardia in May 2019

‰ÛÏI‰Ûªm really happy to be back on the podium and with a win," Cairoli said. "Last Sunday wasn‰Ûªt my day and I was dealing with another injury to my knee. I didn‰Ûªt know what to expect. I went to the hospital to get some fluid and anti-inflammatory treatment. It was pretty sore and swollen. In the first moto I stayed out of trouble, made my rhythm, kept smooth and tried to keep my feet up. I was really happy with how it went. In the second moto I made another good start but Jeffrey and [Arminas] Jasikonis were riding really fast. I just tried to follow, and I knew my condition was OK: if I could be with them then I could push even more at the end. At one point in the waves I saw the yellow flags and Jeffrey on the floor. He picked up and started very fast in front of me and I was a bit shocked and had to brake. I lost the front wheel. I had a gap over the others so held my position and watched what would happen. I‰Ûªm really happy with the result and the improvement over last weekend ‰ÛÒ especially with the starts ‰ÛÒ so now I‰Ûªm looking forward to the next Sunday. Hopefully the knee can be a bit stronger and ready for the battles we all want to see.‰Û

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2‰Ûªs Jago Geerts regained valuable championship points at the fourth round of the MX2 World Championship in Kegums, Riga, with a magnificent double race victor.

In MX2, the races were just as thrilling as in the premier class. In the opening race it was Tom Vialle who carried on his FOX Holeshot streak as he got another flying start. He was closely followed by Jago Geerts, as well as the two F&K Kawasaki Racing Team riders Roan Van de Moosdijk and Mathys Boisrame.

Then in the early stages of the race bad luck struck Ben Watson who was forced out of the race with a technical issue. Drama also struck Ruben Fernandez who went down and re-joined the race in last place.

Thomas Kjer Olsen was having a much better start to the races and was running in 5th, trying to catch Boisrame who was just ahead of him.

Tom Vialle (28) finished 4th in both MX2 motos and had little answer to the speed of rival Jago Geerts. The Frenchman kept consistent and error-free to capture 36 points and maintained his hold on the red plate.

By lap 7, Geerts extended his lead to 3 seconds over Vialle, who had Moosdijk and Boisrame breathing down his neck as they aimed for higher positions. The three riders were then in a battle of their own. By the following lap Van de Moosdijk had managed to pass Vialle and then another lap later it was Boisrame‰Ûªs turn who also passed the KTM rider and moved into P3.

As Olsen closed down on Vialle, fellow Dane Mikkel Haarup was also closing in on Maxime Renaux. He was later able to pass the Yamaha rider and moved up into 6th which meant that the F&H squad had all three of their riders well in the top 10.

With just a few laps to go, Olsen put a charge on Vialle, and tried to pass the Frenchman at the end of pitlane but just missed out, which meant he had to settle for 5th in the race.

In the end it was Jago Geerts who won the opening MX2 race, followed by Van de Moosdijk, Boisrame and Vialle.

In the second race, it was the race one winner, Geerts who claimed his first FOX Holeshot of the season as he crossed the white chalk line on turn one first. Van de Moosdijk was right there in second with Vialle in third. Meanwhile it was another strong start for Boisrame, as well as Australian Nathan Crawford of Honda 114 Motorsport who was in 5th.

Boisrame wasted no time and was all over the back of Vialle, while Olsen got caught up in more drama and was riding back to the pits following a crash.

Boisrame made a swift move on Vialle, and then set his sights on his team-mate Van de Moosdijk just ahead of him. The two F&H Kawasaki riders battled with one another for most of the races, as Boisrame was held up by his team-mate at one point in the race, as he was clearly keen to push for more.

The F&H Kawasaki duo of Roan van de Moosdijk (Pictured) and Mathys Boisrame recorded their second consecutive double-podium in the second round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship at Kegums in Latvia.

While Watson was making his way back up the board in P14, Boisrame continued to look for a way to pass his team-mate which allowed Vialle to step it up a gear and catch up to the two Kawasaki.

With 8 minutes + 2 laps to go, it was Geerts who continued to lead. Van de Moosdijk was in P2 with Boisrame not letting off right behind him. Then there was Vialle, who was being followed by Renaux and the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory machine of Jed Beaton who was having a much better race that time around.

Fernandez was also there in 7th, with Haarup, Rene Hofer and Conrad Mewse was there in 9th.

As Watson continued to climb positions, his team-mate Geerts had made a mistake that lost him a load of time allowing Van de Moosdijk to get close to the leader.

In the end Van de Moosdijk ran out of time and was forced to settle for 2nd, as Geerts took a double race win, and Boisrame finished third.

Overall it was Jago Geerts with a great comeback to claim 2 race wins, 1 FOX Holeshot and the top step of the podium, meanwhile we all experienced a ‰Û÷Deja Vu‰Ûª moment with Van de Moosdijk finishing 2nd, with his team-mate Boisrame as the third rider on the podium.

‰ÛÏIt was a really good day for me, had two really good starts and got my first FOX Holeshot of the year so I‰Ûªm really happy with that. My riding was good all day and now I‰Ûªm looking forward to Sunday to get a little closer to the championship. But we will see, I just take it race by race and we will go again on Sunday," Geerts said.

Round 5 of the FIM Motocross World Championship is taking place on Sunday 16th August as the MXGP of Kegums

Mathys Boisrame rounded out the MX2 podium with third place.

MXGP Results

MXGP - Grand Prix Race 1 ‰ÛÒ Top 10 Classification
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:29.922
2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:04.620
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:05.673
4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:07.124
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +0:12.248
6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:14.327
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GASGAS), +0:18.408
8. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), +0:19.625
9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:25.257
10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:38.414

MXGP - Grand Prix Race 2 ‰ÛÒ Top 10 Classification
1. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Husqvarna), 34:12.449
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:01.125
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:02.108
4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:21.521
5. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:25.447
6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:30.133
7. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, GASGAS), +0:32.726
8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:34.095
9. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +0:35.204
10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:36.397

MXGP ‰ÛÒ Overall Top 10 Classification
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 43 Points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 40 Points
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 40 Points
4. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 38 Points
5. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 32 Points
6. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 30 Points
7. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, GAS), 24 Points
8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 23 Points
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 23 Points
10. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 21 Points

MXGP ‰ÛÒ Championship Top 10 Classification
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 170 Points
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 142 Points
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 129 Points
4. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 121 Points
5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 120 Points
6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 117 Points
7. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 110 Points
8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 101 Points
9. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 82 Points
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 73 Points

MX2 Results

MX2 - Grand Prix Race 1 ‰ÛÒ Top 10 Classification
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 34:34.944
2. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:06.931
3. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:15.342
4. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:18.595
5. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), +0:19.252
6. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Kawasaki), +0:30.541
7. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:31.462
8. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:39.086
9. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GASGAS), +0:55.019
10. Stephen Rubini (FRA, Honda), +0:56.005

MX2 - Grand Prix Race 2 ‰ÛÒ Top 10 Classification
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, Yamaha), 34:33.523
2. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, Kawasaki), +0:09.759
3. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:22.991
4. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), +0:26.744
5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, Yamaha), +0:28.558
6. Jed Beaton (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:29.115
7. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, Yamaha), +0:41.580
8. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, Kawasaki), +0:44.459
9. Ben Watson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:47.093
10. Alvin ÌÐstlund (SWE, Honda), +1:04.442

MX2 ‰ÛÒ Overall Top 10 Classification
1. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 50 Points
2. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 44 Points
3. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, KAW), 40 Points
4. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 36 Points
5. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 30 Points
6. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 28 Points
7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, KAW), 28 Points
8. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, YAM), 23 Points
9. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 21 Points
10. Alvin ÌÐstlund (SWE, HON), 19 Points

MX2 ‰ÛÒ Championship Top 10 Classification
1. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 170 Points
2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 162 Points
3. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 123 Points
4. Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 116 Points
5. Roan Van De Moosdijk (NED, KAW), 115 Points
6. Mathys Boisrame (FRA, KAW), 110 Points
7. Mikkel Haarup (DEN, KAW), 92 Points
8. Ben Watson (GBR, YAM), 91 Points
9. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 89 Points
10. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 73 Points