Red Bull KTM rider and MX1 World champion Tony Cairoli disregarded an injured finger to go out and give another impressive display of riding on the hard pack Teutschenthal circuit on Sunday to wrap up his season with his seventh consecutive victory in the MX1 GP of Germany.
Walkner seals MX3 world title
The race day started on another high note for KTM with yet another title going to the Austrian brand after the opening MX3 moto. Matthias Walkner of Austria sealed the MX3 World Title to complete a trio of titles in MX1 (Cairoli) and MX2 (with Jeffrey Herlings). It was the first time that a world title has gone to an Austrian rider since the legendary Heinz Kinigadner won the 250 cc World Championship titles in 1984 and 1985 riding for the KTM factory team. This, added to the AMA 450 title won by Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey makes it a record year for rider’s titles for KTM.
The 25-year old Walkner said he had not known what to expect after changing classes in 2012. “But it was clear to me that a good result at the end of the season was possible when everything went well, even though I didn’t think about the world championship title when the season began. It was a dream, unbelievable!”
Cairoli shines in MX1
Cairoli was in a class of his own in Germany with a 1-1 result ahead of young German teammate Ken Roczen finishing second overall. Roczen was home from riding for Red Bull KTM in the US and his impressive guest ride on the KTM 450 SX-F was greeted with wild cheering from his loyal fan base. Germany’s Max Nagl, who completed a 1-2-3 for KTM in the second moto finished just off the podium in overall fourth.
In the opening moto it was Nagl who took the holeshot in the opening race ahead of Cairoli. The two faced off for the opening laps but Cairoli quickly exerted his dominance on the KTM 350 SX-F and once he took the lead the race was never in doubt. Roczen held on for third despite a couple of small incidents during the moto but Nagl’s chances were spoilt when he ran off into the fence. With his twentieth race win of the season already under his wheels, Cairoli came out hard and fast in the second moto and immediately grabbed the holeshot. Roczen was right behind in second and stuck to that position throughout the race to the collective joy of the German crowd. Nagl drifted from third to fourth and back to third to finally give KTM a 1-2-3 in race two.
“After what happened in Sweden (double DNF) it was my goal to win every GP and I am really satisfied with what happened,” Cairoli said. “It was great to fight with my teammates Roczen and Nagl especially as they were racing on their home ground.”
Max Nagl said he was happy with his riding and his speed this weekend but said his mistake in the first moto had cost him a podium. “It was my fault in the first heat. I jumped a little too far in the triple and I got the (fence) netting around the back wheel and it took me a wheel to get the bike free again,” he said.
MX1 teammate Ken de Dycker, still down with the flu admitted he had struggled in Sunday’s race. The Belgian rider registered fifth in the opening moto but was tired and unwell in the second coming home tenth for overall seventh place.
Mixed weekend for Jeffrey Herlings
It was mixed fortunes for the Red Bull KTM MX2 World Champion who had already secured his title in Faenza Italy in the last round. The 18-year old Dutch teenager has been the subject of massive media attention at home in the Netherlands, later admitted he lacked a little motivation for the final round. He went out in the opening moto with a technical issue and with teammate Jeremy van Horebeek sitting out the GP after tweaking his knee in Faenza it was up to Jordi Tixier to deliver a good result for the team. Tixier rode his KTM 250 SX-F into third in the opening race and followed it up with an eighth in the second, while Herlings collected more championship points with a second place in race two. In the final shakeout it was Tixier at fifth overall and Herlings winning enough in the second moto to finish overall eighth. Tixier wrapped up his season well ahead of his stated goal of a top seven finish and was fifth in the final standings.
The French rider said later he was disappointed not to be on the podium but a bad start in the second moto had spoilt his chances. He said he had learned a lot in his rookie year with the factory team and from team boss Stefan Everts. “Jeffrey and Jeremy were also there so it was really good for my speed because I tried to follow them. It is amazing to be in a team like Red Bull KTM. You have so much support for everything.”
Big lineup of Red Bull KTM factory riders for next weekend’s MXoN
With the 2012 season now wrapped up, a slew of Red Bull KTM riders are down to race for their countries in the MX of Nations in Lommel next weekend. Ryan Dungey will race MX1 for the US team, Tony Cairoli MX1 for Italy, Max Nagl MX1 for Germany, Ken Roczen MX2 for Germany, Marvin Musquin MX2 for France, Jeremy van Horebeek MX2 for Belgium, Jeffrey Herlings Open Class for The Netherlands and Ken de Dycker Open Class for Belgium. Walkner will also contest the MX1 for the Australian national team
GP of Germany at Teutschenthal - Round 16 (final round) of the World Championship
MX1 Results
1, Tony Cairoli, Italy, KTM
2, Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM
3, Clement Desalle, Belgium, Suzuki
4, Max Nagl, Germany, KTM
5, Gautier Paulin, France, Kawasaki
Other KTM
7, Ken de Dycker, Belgium, KTM
12, Kevin Strijbos, Belgium, KTM
14, Davide Guarneri, Italy, KTM
16, Bryan Mackenzie, GBR, KTM
MX1 Championship Standings
1, Cairoli, 692 (World Champion)
2, Desalle, 594
3, Paulin, 536
4, C. Pourcel, 521
5, de Dycker, 505
Other KTM
6, Strijbos, 405
13, Guarneri, 226
16, Nagl, 138
17, Karro, 112
MX1 Manufacturers Standings
1, KTM, 742
2, Kawasaki, 649
3, Suzuki, 617
MX2 Results
1, Tommy Searle, GBR, Kawasaki
2, Zachary Osborne, USA, Yamaha
3, Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, Yamaha
4, Jake Nicholls, GBR, KTM
5, Jordi Tixier, France, KTM
Other KTM
7, Romain Febvre, France, KTM
8, Jeffrey Herlings, Netherlands, KTM
9, Glenn Coldenhoff, Netherlands, KTM
11, Jose Butron, Spain, KTM
13, Tim Gajser, Slovenia, KTM
16, Elliott Banks-Browne, GBR, KTM
DNS, Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM
MX2 Championship Standings
1, Herlings, 694(World Champion)
2, Searle, 651
3, van Horebeek, 559
4, Nicholls, 443
5, Tixier, 434
Other KTM
8, Butron, 291
9, Coldenhoff, 273
13, Febvre, 221
MX2 Manufacturers Standings
1, KTM, 757
2, Kawasaki, 721
3, Yamaha, 489
MX3 Results
1, Filip Neugebauer, Czech Republic, Kawasaki
2, Matthias Walkner, Austria, KTM (World Champion)
3, Martin Michek, Czech Republic, KTM
4, Günter Schmidinger, Austria, Honda
5, Dennis Baudrexl, Germany, KTM
MX3 Championship Standings
1, Walkner, 337 (World Champion)
2, Michek, 306
3, Schmidinger, 299
4, Gercar, 277
5, Pyrhönen, 230
Walkner’s road to the MX3 title
Rd 1 Valkenswaard, NL: Finished 3rd
Rd 2 Castelnau de Levis, France: Finished 9th
Rd 3 Troyan, Bulgaria: Finished 5th
Rd 4 Arco di Trento, Italy: Finished 1st
Rd 5 Mladina, Croatia: Finished 1st
Rd 6 Orehova Vas, Slovenia: Finished 2nd
Rd 7 Senkvice, Slovakia: Finished 3rd
Rd 8 Matterley Basin, Winchester, GBR: Finished 5th
Rd 9 Teutschenthal, Germany: Finished 2nd
MX3 Manufacturers Standings
1, KTM, 391
2, Honda, 383
3, Suzuki, 209
WMX Results at Teutschenthal, Germany - Round 8 of the World Championship
1, Livia Lancelot, France, Kawasaki
2, Larissa Papenmeier-Picoto, Germany, Suzuki
3, Meghan Kat Rutledge, Australia, Kawasaki
4, Natalie Kane, GBR, KTM
WMX Championship Standings
1, Fontanesi, 336
2, Kane, 302
3, van der Wekken, 262
WMX Manufacturers Standings
1, Yamaha, 363
2, KTM, 331
3, Kawasaki, 272
9/23/2012 9:36pm
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