The
MX2 GP of France at Saint Jean d’Angely produced some
characteristically brilliant riding from the Red Bull Teka KTM teenage
factory riders and while both Ken Roczen and Jeffrey Herlings shone in
the first and the second moto respectively, neither of them finished on
the podium at the end of the day. Roczen
who despite his mixed day on the French track still has a firm hold of
the red plate as championship leader was out of the gates like a rocket
in the first moto. He took the holeshot, relinquished the lead for a
brief time during the first lap then systematically built up a massive
advantage, taking the checkered flag almost 14 second ahead of his
nearest rival. Relaxed and confident at the end of the moto, Roczen
said: “I had an awesome start and I was able to take control of the race
and save some energy for the second moto.” Despite this, Roczen
admitted after the race that he had struggled with the track and had arm
pump problems the whole weekend. Meanwhile
sand specialist Jeffrey Herlings had his share of problems in the first
moto. He was fourth going into the opening corner then crashed, fought
his way back through the field, crashed again and finally scraped
through at seventh at the flag. But
the tables were turned in the second moto. Again Roczen charged to the
front but his chances of domination were cut short when he had a huge
off that sent him cartwheeling high above the track. He scrambled to get
back into the race but shortly after was in the dirt again on a track
that had been made slippery and heavy after a big storm on Saturday
night. But while Ken was locked in combat with the track at the French
venue, Herlings had taken control of the second moto and right up to the
final three laps he looked set to dominate. But the 16-year-old Dutch
rider had knocked his ankle in the heat of the battle and in the final
laps had to relinquish the lead to Tommy Searle. Herlings: “I was
leading the race right up to the last three laps but then I was
overtaken so I wasn’t on the podium. But I closed one point on Ken in
the championship so while I didn’t win, I didn’t lose either.” Ken
Roczen: “I had two amazing starts, like I was two bike lengths ahead,
it was unbelievable but then in the second moto I made a mistake in the
first lap and went down hard. I kept going but then I had another small
crash and ended up eleventh. Now I am 13 points ahead. I lost one point
but that’s not too bad. I’m not badly injured. I have a little pain but I
think it’s going to be worse tomorrow because I’m going to be stiff.” In
the final shakeout the two riders escaped with their two leading places
in the standings intact and had to settle for fourth (Herlings) and
fifth (Roczen) on the score sheets of the French MX2 GP. Next week the Red Bull Teka KTM factory riders head for Portugal for the sixth round of the championship. MX2 GP
1, Tommy Searle, Britain, Kawasaki, 18-25—43
2, Zach Osborne, USA, Yamaha, 20-20—40
3, Gautier Paulin, France, Yamaha, 22-18—40
4, Jeffrey Herlings, Netherlands, KTM 14-22—36
5, Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM 25-10-35
Other KTM
6, Nicholas Aubin, France, KTM 15-16—31
8, Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM 13—11—24
11, Jake Nichols, Britain, KTM 10-8—18
13 Nick Triest, Belgium, KTM 5-9—14
16. Pascal Rauchenecker, Austria, KTM 6-4—10
17. Jordi Tixier, France, KTM 9-0—9
18. Jose Antonio Butron, Spain, KTM 7-1—8
MX2 Championship Standings
1, Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM 226 points
2, Jeffrey Herlings, Netherlands, KTM 213
3, Tommy Searle, Britain, Kawasaki, 199
4, Zach Osborne, USA, Yamaha, 162
5, Gautier Paulin, France, Yamaha, 160 Other KTM
9, Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM 114
10. Nicolas Aubin, France, KTM 104
12, Jordi Tixier, France, KTM 70
13, Pascal Rauchenecker, Austria, KTM, 52
Manufacturer’s Standings
1, KTM 247 points
2, Kawasaki, 203
3, Yamaha, 192
4, Honda 68
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