MXGP of LATVIA R07

The seventh round of the 2018 MXGP was hosted on the Latvian track of Kegums earlier today. Tony Cairoli, after finishing third in free practice and fifth in the timed session, started from the fifth gate in the qualifying race. 

The start didn’t go as planned and at the first corner Tony went down in a heap with a few other riders. Re-joining the race in about 25th place the nine time world champion gunned his KTM and pushed all the way through the pack to take an incredible 3rd place after 20 minutes plus two laps, showing a good pace and utilising his fantastic race craft to make nearly 2 dozen passes. At the start of the first race Cairoli took his KTM 450 SX-F to the hole-shot and immediately tried to pull a gap, maintaining the lead for 9 of the 18 laps before eventually relinquishing first place to bring it home in second. The second start wasn’t as text book as his first and the KTM Red Bull Factory Racing Team rider turned into the first corner 5^th, but with a great first lap he took the lead and pulled away at an impressive pace. On the 12^th lap Tony made contact with a lapped rider, causing him to lose the lead. Unfortunately due to a bruised wrist sustained in the accident TC222 was unable to fight for the win but still crossed the finish line in second for a solid second overall, his seventh podium in a row. Next round of the MXGP is in 7 days at the German circuit of Teutshenthal.

Antonio Cairoli: “I’m really happy because we showed good speed and we rode well on a track that is very difficult and that has a really fast rhythm. Yesterday I had more fun because I made a lot of passes whereas today I rode most of the day alone! Overall I’m happy, I’m just a little bit disappointed about how it went in the second moto because my plan was to hold Jeffrey for a little bit longer and try to fight for the GP win. Unfortunately I almost crashed with that lapped rider and Herlings took the opportunity to pass me. I couldn’t respond immediately and he managed to keep a constant gap until the end, but I’m still happy because we took a podium and that is always our goal. Now we look forward to the next race in Germany, a track that I really like and where I have a lot of good memories.”

Race 1

1-J.Herlings 2-A.Cairoli 3-R.Febvre 4-G.Paulin 5-C.Desalle

Race 2
1-J.Herlings 2-A.Cairoli 3-G.Paulin 4-T.Gajser 5-C.Desalle

Grand Prix
1-J.Herlings 50p. 2-A.Cairoli 44p. 3-G.Paulin 38p. 4-C.Desalle 32p. 5-T.Gajser 30p.

MXGP Standings
1-J.Herlings 336p. 2-A.Cairoli 307p. 3-C.Desalle 244p. 4-R.Febvre 223p. 5-G.Paulin 218p.

Next Race: 20/05/2018 MGXP of Germany, Teutshenthal