Cairoli increase the Championship lead in Sweden

The sixteenth round of the MXGP 2017 was today held on the hard pack of Uddevalla, 100 kilometres north of Goteborg, Sweden. Antonio Cairoli, with six previous Swedish Grand Prix victories under his belt, didn't have the best possible weekend but still manages to head into the next round in the USA with an increased lead in the standings. With only 3 rounds left to run todays result sees Tony with a healthy 101 points over second spot in the championship.

For the KTM Red Bull Factory Racing Team rider the number one goal was to avoid any unnecessary risks and to fly back home safe, whilst keeping the lead in the series and so he did. Fifth after a solid qualifying moto on Saturday Cairoli had some trouble at the start of the fist moto on Sunday, running 20th at the fist corner and then crashing again whilst trying to recover some positions on the first lap. Remounting in 25th the Sicilian pushed hard on his KTM 450 SX-F passing several riders on his way back up to seventh place before another crash whilst fighting for sixth saw him relegated back to ninth come the flag. With a better start in the second race TC222 moved into ninth on the fist lap, gaining one position at middle race distance, to secure eighth for a seventh place finish overall, increasing his championship lead by four more points. Next round is in two weeks in the USA at the Jacksonville track, Florida.

Antonio Cairoli: “It was a difficult weekend but we were very lucky and we go back home with an extended lead in the championship. It didn’t go exactly as planned but then that’s racing. For the last few weeks I have cut down my training in order to minimize the risks of injury, so at the moment I don’t feel that I have the same level of fitness that I did at the beginning of the season. It’s nearly impossible to maintain the same level of fitness throughout the entire season but again, this is racing. I’m really happy about how the Championship is going, even if today could have been better, but the track was very sketchy with some deep ruts and the competition was very high with everybody gunning for the victory. 

In first moto I had some problems with the gate and I came out in 20th, then I crashed and I was back in 25^th. I was trying to ride as safely as possible as I made my way towards the front but passing was not easy, and on the last lap I crashed again whilst 6th, eventually finishing 9th, which wasn’t so bad. Again my second start wasn't that good and I was riding really carefully until I saw Jeffrey by the side of the track, then I was just thinking about maintaining my position until the end and trying to avoid any kind of problems.”

Race 1

1-T.Gajser 2-J.Herlings 3-G.Paulin 4-C.Desalle 9-A.Cairoli

Race 2
1-R.Febvre 2-T.Gajser 3-G.Paulin 4-C.Desalle 8-A.Cairoli

Grand Prix Overall
1-T.Gajser 47p. 2-R.Febvre 40p. 3-G.Paulin 40p. 4-C.Desalle 36p. 7-A.Cairoli 26p.

MXGP World Championship Standings
1-A.Cairoli 631p. 2-J.Herlings 530p. 3-G.Paulin 526p. 4-C.Desalle 519p. 5-T.Gajser 453p.

Next Grand Prix: USA, Jacksonville, 03/09/2017