Motocross

Tomac and Webb Top Charlotte MXGP, Gasjer And Herlings On Top Of The World

Posted:

Sunday, September 4th, 2016

3:58 PM

The nature of motocross is that it is ever evolving, from bike development, to the creation of tracks and their venues, to the level of skill and fitness that is required of one to compete at a professional level.

Impossible is nothing, and the Monster Energy MXGP of Americas, which took place at a venue that is so often described as the heart of motorsport, the Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway, is proof of that.

The track that hosted the penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship was one of the most iconic stops this season. It turned The Dirt Track, a famed speedway oval, into a world-class motocross track in less than a week, but that wasn‰Ûªt what was most impressive.

The biggest accomplishment of the weekend was the track, and how it shaped up after being hammered by a hurricane less than 24 hours before race day, and in terms of the racing, it was the crowning of two champions, Honda Gariboldi‰Ûªs Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jeffrey Herlings, who both locked up the titles in MXGP and MX2 with three races to spare.

Full credit must be given to the grand prix winners as well, Monster Energy Kawasaki‰Ûªs Eli Tomac and Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha‰Ûªs Cooper Webb who were both deserving of their first ever grand prix victories.

Eli Tomac went 1-1 in front of his home race U.S fans to win the MXGP of the Americas

ET couldn‰Ûªt be a more fitting nickname for Monster Energy Kawasaki‰Ûªs Eli Tomac who was on a whole other planet this weekend. He didn‰Ûªt just win; he blew the door of MXGP off its hinges with his unmatchable pace.

‰ÛÏWhen I saw the water yesterday I thought the track was going to be a sloppy mess, but it turned out perfect, the dirt was as good as you can get for the type of dirt it was, I liked the track, it was a lot of fun, and the racing was a lot of fun, so I look forward to Glen Helen next week.‰Û

Tim Gasjer slipped from the lead in race two with a small crash but recovered to seal the MXGP World Championship in his maiden season in the class

As the 2014 vice world champion, Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jeremy Van Horebeek has struggled to find his place in MXGP this year. There is always a case for the importance of a good start, and Van Horebeek had a good one yesterday, although it didn‰Ûªt just come down to that. The Belgian was surprisingly fast all day long, it all started when he topped the charts in Free Practice and his 3 ‰ÛÒ 5 results transpired him into his second podium finish of the season.

‰ÛÏWe have just been testing some new things on the bike and trying to get off to a good start. I got two good starts today, I felt good all day, I just have to give this one to my team,‰Û

Jeffery Herlings wrapped up his third MX2 world title and will step up to the MXGP class in 2017

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing‰Ûªs Jeffrey Herlings. What can we say that hasn‰Ûªt already been said? The Bullet is indisputably the best MX2 rider in the world, and even though he didn‰Ûªt have to win race one today, he put on a clinic anyway, just ‰Û÷coz he can, and as a result he FINALLY managed to clinch his third FIM MX2 world title.

‰ÛÏMaybe it should have been five, but I had some bad luck with some big injuries, so I am just happy to get this one out of the way,‰Û

Cooper Webb could not match Herlings in race one, but come from 19th all the way to first in race two to claim the moto and round win in front of his home town crowd.

Yamalube Star Racing Yamaha‰Ûªs Cooper Webb came in riding a high after claiming two titles in the United States this year. After what was a very successful year, the North Carolina native, couldn‰Ûªt wish for a better way to wrap up his 250cc bike days than with a grand prix win for his team and the adoring public.

It must be tough when you‰Ûªre the world‰Ûªs fastest rookie, pinned to be the next big thing, but it was water off of a ducks back for Monster Energy Kawasaki‰Ûªs Austin Forkner who was perhaps the most impressive rider this weekend. There was a lot of talk over this eighteen-year-old phenomenon going into the Monster Energy MXGP of Americas, and he showed us why with a 3 ‰ÛÒ 3 performance for third overall.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing‰Ûªs Thomas Covington maintained his reputation for performing well at the overseas with his pair of fourths for fourth, while HSF Logistics Motorsports Calvin Vlaanderen introduced himself to the United States of America with a top five finish, fifth.

Jeremy Van Horebeek rounded out the MXGP podium

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Eli Tomac (USA, Kawasaki), 35:10.508;
2. Justin Barcia (USA, Yamaha), +0:22.813;
3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:24.273;
4. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:25.080;
5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:27.325;
6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:29.443;
7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:30.239;
8. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:31.620;
9. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:40.857;
10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:43.983.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Eli Tomac (USA, Kawasaki), 35:21.042;
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), +0:05.984;
3. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:08.704;
4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:11.509;
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:12.470;
6. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:19.778;
7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:24.690;
8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:33.097;
9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:47.876;
10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:52.519.

MXGP Overall Top Ten:
1. Eli Tomac (USA, KAW), 50 points;
2. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 40 p.;
3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 36 p.;
4. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 35 p.;
5. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 30 p.;
6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 28 p.;
7. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 27 p.;
8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 27 p.;
9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 23 p.;
10. Justin Barcia (USA, YAM), 22 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten:
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 693 points;
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 603 p.;
3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 565 p.;
4. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 549 p.;
5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 522 p.;
6. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 513 p.;
7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 382 p.;
8. Clement Desalle (BEL, KAW), 372 p.;
9. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 335 p.;
10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 322 p.

MXGP racing hit the Charlotte motorspeedway in the U.S for the first time in front of a large crowd.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 35:14.964;
2. Cooper Webb (USA, Yamaha), +0:04.489;
3. Austin Forkner (USA, Kawasaki), +0:29.218;
4. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:51.237;
5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:01.275;
6. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:03.744;
7. Darian Sanayei (USA, Kawasaki), +1:08.623;
8. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:11.395;
9. Mitchell Harrison (USA, Yamaha), +1:12.303;
10. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +1:13.538.

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten:
1. Cooper Webb (USA, Yamaha), 35:23.073;
2. Austin Forkner (USA, Kawasaki), +0:03.876;
3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:05.424;
4. Thomas Covington (USA, Husqvarna), +0:50.870;
5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:54.056;
6. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +0:55.139;
7. Mitchell Harrison (USA, Yamaha), +0:55.639;
8. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), +1:07.971;
9. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), +1:18.235;
10. Max Anstie (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:22.544

MX2 Overall Top Ten:
1. Cooper Webb (USA, YAM), 47 points;
2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 45 p.;
3. Austin Forkner (USA, KAW), 42 p.;
4. Thomas Covington (USA, HUS), 36 p.;
5. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, KTM), 29 p.;
6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 27 p.;
7. Mitchell Harrison (USA, YAM), 26 p.;
8. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 26 p.;
9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 25 p.;
10. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 23 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten:
1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 689 points;
2. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 595 p.;
3. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 485 p.;
4. Max Anstie (GBR, HUS), 473 p.;
5. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 403 p.;
6. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 378 p.;
7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 372 p.;
8. Samuele Bernardini (ITA, TM), 358 p.;
9. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 351 p.;
10. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, YAM), 320 p.