Motocross

Clement Desalle and Pauls Jonass continue winning ways in Russia

Posted:

Monday, June 12th, 2017

10:08 AM

The MXGP of Russia, the 10th stop of the 2017 FIM Motocross World Championship, was one to remember, especially for the overall winners Clement Desalle and Pauls Jonass wuth the battleing not only the rest of the field but the demanding conditions on their way to the top.

Before the MXGP race began there had been torrential rain during the whole of the MX2 race. This left the track in a muddy, sodden state, a vast difference to the conditions of the qualifying race yesterday.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team‰Ûªs Clement Desalle was all smiles as he claimed his second overall this season. Desalle‰Ûªs back to back overall wins are due to his consistently strong results. Placing 3rd in race 1 and winning race 2 the Belgian made it near impossible for anyone to outscore him. Gaining 45 championship points this weekend he now sits 2nd in the title chase.

"I was really doing good and feeling really good on the bike," Desalle shared, "I was just focused on me and tried to stay calm and finally I won the race and the GP. It is really nice to have the second GP in a row and I will keep working to have some more. This feeling is why we are all here.‰ÛÏ

Gaining his 4th podium of the last 5 GP stops is Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jeffrey Herlings. Herlings narrowly missed out on the Fox Holeshot in race 1 and would settle into second the first half of the race before charging into the lead on lap 10. His second race start was not nearly as fortunate when he fell in the first corner. After remounting he fell once more on a downhill section of the track. The Dutchman isn‰Ûªt known for performing well in the mud but his win combined with 8th in race 2 proved to be enough for 2nd overall.

"I feel like we made some good improvements and also on the start I think we‰Ûªve been really analyzing it a lot. We really made the best of our situation," Herlings said.

The MX1 class plow through some heavy conditions in Russia

Title contender Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Gautier Paulin was one of the most consistent and patient riders scoring 5-3 finishes for 3rd overall. Paulin struggled off the start in both races and had to work his way forward from 8th to 5th and 5th to 3rd in difficult conditions.

‰ÛÏIt was a tough GP so to get one more podium result is vital for the championship," Paulin said, "I had a great feeling during qualifying on Saturday. My speed was great and I found myself leading for a few laps before finishing second.

"With weather conditions changing dramatically on Sunday, things were completely different for the final motos. In moto one I struggled to keep my goggles clean and that made things even harder. Not getting a decent start I had to push hard to get fifth at the end. Then in moto two I had a good start and worked my way through to fourth before crashing with a slower rider. Luckily, I managed to pick myself up and get third in moto two.

"Overall, it‰Ûªs been a positive weekend and I really liked the progressive power of my Husqvarna in these conditions. Getting a podium result was important and surely we‰Ûªre looking for more in the coming GPs.‰Û

Jeffrey Herlings on his way to another podium in his debut MX1 season.

Finishing 6th overall was Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP‰Ûªs Romain Febvre. While 6th overall is a strong result the real high note for Febvre was race 2 where he grabbed the Fox Holeshot and led the first 12 laps and finished 2nd. While the speed and start were of winning form the mistake of running into a lapped rider proved costly.

Meanwhile Russian fan favorite Team HRC‰Ûªs Evgeny Bobryshev took a respectable 12th overall at his home GP only 3 weeks after surgery on a fractured collarbone.

"I found today really tough especially after all the rain we had. The track was very muddy and it became a disaster trying to choose good lines," Bobryshev explained. "I didn‰Ûªt expect to come back here and be on top as my condition is still weak. I am happy that nothing happened with my collarbone and I can continue working hard and coming back to be 100%. I collected points which I needed and from now I just move forward."

Yesterday‰Ûªs qualifying race winner Wilvo Yamaha MXGP‰Ûªs Arnaud Tonus faced an entirely different surface today but he still managed a strong result. After a fall in race one would hold him to 9th, a strong start in race 2 propelled him to 4th. The combination of the two results position the Swiss rider 7th overall to end the weekend.

Pauls Jonass took out the MX2 class overall for the second week in a row

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Pauls Jonass showed that consistency is key on his way to the overall win. Jonass went 2-3 and was even lapped on race 2 but he still managed to grow his points lead on the competition.

"I was really surprised after the second moto that I won the overall, my mechanic put on the board GP win with 5 minutes to go," Jonass said. "I was thinking, yeah, how was it possible? It was difficult and I was happy to manage 2 good races and I‰Ûªm really happy to win the overall.‰Û

Jeremy Seewer was just a few seconds away from lapping the entire MX2 field in Moto 2 of the MX2 class

The track was so bad, especially in front of the pit lane so it was hard for me to read what was written so I didn‰Ûªt even know I had won. I wasn‰Ûªt sure if Benoit Paturel had crashed out or not because I couldn‰Ûªt see that and I was just so focused on my riding and then they told me that I nearly lapped everyone. I was pretty shocked with that.

‰ÛÏSecond overall is decent enough, we didn‰Ûªt lose too many points but of course the goal is to gain points against Pauls Jonass but he did well today and it‰Ûªs not easy to beat him, but we‰Ûªre not giving up and we‰Ûªre going to try our best to make it happen in the next rounds," Seewer concluded.

HSF Logistics Motorsport‰Ûªs Brian Bogers reached the podium for the first time this season taking 3rd overall. In race 1 Bogers took 6th after running as high as 4th. Finishing 2nd in race 2 was victory on its own, but another small victory was the fact that Bogers was the only rider not to be lapped in the race. After struggling early in the year the #189 has perhaps reached the turning point of his season in Russia.

‰ÛÏI feel amazing today even do it has been a hard a year for me, the beginning of the season didn‰Ûªt go as expected but today we made it on the podium and I‰Ûªm really about it.‰Û

Kemea Yamaha Official MX Team‰Ûªs Benoit Paturel carried his hard earned momentum from France to Orlyonok and scored another impressive result. Benoit had an up and down day with 3-12 finishes but overall came out ahead of many with 4th overall. While previously know for bad starts of the grid, the last 2 races show he has been working hard to improve. The #6 was 2nd after the first lap of race 2 and even led for a lap before falling.

One of the other Kemea Yamaha Official MX Team riders, the young Alvin Ostlund, had his career best result in MX2 finishing 5th overall after going 8-6. Ostlund achieved his top 5 thanks to the way he worked his way forward to 6th in race 2 after starting the first lap in 11th.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Thomas Kjer Olsen had a head turning race 1 as he led every lap but the first on the way to the race win. Unfortunately for Olsen that would be the extent of the laps he completed and while he started Race 2 he fell on the opening lap, damaged his bike, and pulled off unable to continue.

Two other MX2 riders who impressed today were Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jorge Prado Garcia and Suzuki World MX2‰Ûªs Hunter Lawrence. Prado took both Fox Holeshots and Lawrence ran among the top 5 in both races before finishing 4th and 11th for 6th overall.

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:07.381
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:19.520
3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:24.095
4. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +0:35.592
5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:48.462
6. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Honda), +0:57.494
7. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +0:58.944
8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:59.378
9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:00.574
10. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +1:10.577

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), 35:15.906
2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:14.954
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +1:19.867
4. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:32.476
5. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:44.577
6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +2:10.809
7. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, Suzuki), +2:15.047
8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +2:27.387
9. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), -1 lap(s)
10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), -1 lap(s)

MXGP Overall Top Ten:
1. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 45 points
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 38 p.
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 36 p.
4. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 34 p.
5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34 p.
6. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 33 p.
7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 30 p.
8. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, SUZ), 28 p.
9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 24 p.
10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 23 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten:
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 381 points
2. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 334 p.
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HUS), 333 p.
4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 291 p.
5. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 261 p.
6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 261 p.
7. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 242 p.
8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 233 p.
9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 223 p.
10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 202 p.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, Husqvarna), 36:17.027
2. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:02.099
3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:05.608
4. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki), +0:30.777
5. Bas Vaessen (NED, Suzuki), +0:33.877
6. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +0:34.998
7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:35.367
8. Alvin ÌÐstlund (SWE, Yamaha), +1:49.785
9. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +1:52.532
10. David Herbreteau (FRA, Kawasaki), +2:12.487

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), 36:56.146
2. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +2:32.284
3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), -1 lap(s)
4. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s)
5. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), -1 lap(s)
6. Alvin ÌÐstlund (SWE, Yamaha), -2 lap(s)
7. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), -2 lap(s)
8. Magne Klingsheim (NOR, Kawasaki), -2 lap(s)
9. Iker Larranaga Olano (ESP, Husqvarna), -2 lap(s)
10. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA, Husqvarna), -3 lap(s).

MX2 Overall Top Ten:
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 42 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 39 p.
3. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 37 p.
4. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 29 p.
5. Alvin ÌÐstlund (SWE, YAM), 28 p.
6. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, SUZ), 28 p.
7. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 26 p.
8. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 26 p.
9. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 24 p.
10. Ben Watson (GBR, KTM), 23 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten:
1. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 414 points
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 369 p.
3. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 317 p.
4. Julien Lieber (BEL, KTM), 308 p.
5. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 294 p.
6. Jorge Prado Garcia (ESP, KTM), 230 p.
7. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 225 p.
8. Hunter Lawrence (AUS, SUZ), 199 p.
9. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 184 p.
10. Brent Van doninck (BEL, YAM), 174 p.