Cairoli and Van Horebeek take pole in Kegums

KEGUMS (Latvia), 14 July 2012 – The Latvian Grand Prix started today in Kegums with some rain early in the morning, but it was a dry day in the end. However, the MX1 riders were surprised with some heavy rain in the middle of their qualifying heat. In the end Antonio Cairoli went out with the victory, as well as Jeremy Van Horebeek in MX2.

In both heats there was a crash in the first corner; in MX1 Christophe Pourcel, Sebastian Pourcel, Xavier Boog and Davide Guarneri were the ones involved in the tangle, whereas in MX2 it was Dylan Ferrandis, Alessandro Lupino and Zach Osborne the top riders who crashed and had to fight from the back of the pack.

Jeffrey Herlings, who succeeded in being the fasted of the pre qualifying session, got a DNF in the qualifying race because he had a problem with the back rear tyre while he was comfortably leading the race. At the same time, Christophe Charlier had to enter the pitlane because he had a technical problem with his Yamaha.

The UEM EMX 250 riders took part in the first race of round two of the series and Mel Pocock dominated the heat from beginning to end, crossing the finish line with more than seven seconds advantage over Stefan Olsen. Third was Mike Kras and Tim Gajser, leader of the UEM EMX125 championship, was fourth. Maxime Desprey completed the top five.

MX1
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli got a really good start and he was one of the first ones to reach the first corner and he dominated the opening lap. However, Rui Gonçalves came really fast from behind and overtook Cairoli. After four laps, the Italian took the lead back and dominated the heat until the chequered flag. Cairoli admitted that he enjoyed the Latvian track today even having some rain, and he is confident to win both heats tomorrow and get the red plate back.

The second position was for Rui Gonçalves, who had a really good start and imposed an incredible rhythm during the first four laps of the qualifying race. In fact, he took the fastest lap of the heat in his first lap when he overtook Cairoli. The Honda World Motocross rider is feeling better from his broken rib and he proved that tomorrow he could even fight for a podium finish.

Red Plate holder Clement Desalle was third of the qualifying heat, but he is still confident for tomorrow. The Rockstar Energy Suzuki World rider got the best fifth result in the pre qualifying session, so his gate pick was not the best one he could get. The Belgian rider was fourth after the start and he managed to move up to third, but he was surprised by Bobryshev and dropped down to fourth again. In the end, the Russian made a mistake and Desalle recuperated the third position and kept it until the end of the race.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker did not have a good start, but once again he was able to fight from behind and finished fifth, followed by Gautier Paulin and Shaun Simpson.

Evgeny Bobryshev did not have a good start, but he quickly moved from sixth to third. However, he then made a mistake and he went down to eight. In the end, the Russian was seventh overall.

Kevin Strijbos did a really good start but he finished eighth, while Marc De Reuver and Tanel Leok completed the top ten.
Home rider Augustus Justs finished thirteenth, so he is looking forward to tomorrow’s races to obtain some important points, as he did in Sweden.

Christophe Pourcel, who crashed in the first corner, entered the pitlane to repair some damage on his Kawasaki. He then went out again and rode behind Cairoli and Gonçalves to prove his speed and get some race practice for tomorrow. The French rider finished 25th.

MX1 Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 25:30.110; 2. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:08.466; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:19.093; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:23.291; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:23.488; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:29.488; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:39.385; 8. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:44.130; 9. Marc de Reuver (NED, Kawasaki), +0:47.789; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), +0:50.530;

Complete results available atwww.motocrossmx1.com/reslists.aspx
Photos available atwww.motocrossmx1.com/gallery

MX2
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek had a good start and he was riding second when Herlings had to stop with a problem in the back rear tyre of his KTM. Van Horebeek took the lead, and although he managed to win the race, he admitted that he got a little bit of arm pump by the end of the heat and this is why Roelants close the gap by the end of the moto. However, Van Horebeek will do his best to finish on the podium tomorrow and he expects to be on the second or even the first step.

Joel Roelants finished second in the qualifying race today, so he has proved that he felt well on the hard sand of Kegums and he is determined to finish on the podium tomorrow. The Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit rider overtook easily Jose Butrón in the second lap and he moved from third to second when Herlings had to pull out from the race. However, Van Horebeek had already opened a big gap and Roelants crossed the finish line almost three seconds behind his compatriot.

Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Tommy Searle could not start at the front today, but he succeeded in moving from his initial fifth position to the third final place. Searle will have a good gate pick tomorrow, so he really needs to have two good starts in order to beat Herlings, because the Dutch rider imposed a really fast rhythm in the beginning of the heat before he had to pull out.

British rider Jake Nicholls obtained a solid fourth position, which gives him many chances to be fighting for the top five places at tomorrow’s races. The Nestaan JM Racing KTM rider did not have a good start, but he was able to move from sixth to fourth.

Jordi Tixier did not have a good start either, but he felt really good on the track and he was able to move from ninth to fifth. The French rider admitted today that he has been very satisfied with his performance so far in his first year with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing family and he hopes to keep on giving good results to the Austrian brand.

Jose Butrón started really well and he rode third during the first two laps, but the Spanish rider could not keep such position and had to settle down with the sixth place. Arnaud Tonus was seventh, Max Anstie eighth, and Glenn Coldenhoff and Alexander Tonkov completed the top ten.

Dylan Ferrandis, Alessandro Lupino and Zach Osborne, who were all involved in a crash at the start of the race, finished fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth respectively.

The best MX2 qualified Latvian rider was Davis Ivanovs in the eighteenth position.

MX2 Qualifying Race top ten: 1. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 25:28.669; 2. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:02.810; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:26.927; 4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:28.644; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:36.511; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:42.893; 7. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:45.136; 8. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), +0:46.062; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:47.229; 10. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), +0:51.852;

Complete results available atwww.motocrossmx1.com/reslists.aspx
Photos available atwww.motocrossmx1.com/gallery

GP OF LATVIA – QUICK FACTS
Circuit length: 1540
Type of ground: hard sand
Temperature: 24° C
Weather conditions: Changeable; mostly cloudy and rainy during the second half of MX1

The Grand Prix will be broadcasted LIVE onMX-LIFE.TVand by clickinghereyou will obtain the full schedule and coverage of the Latvian Grand Prix.

TIMETABLE
Sunday: EMX250 Warm up 8:30; MX2 Warm up 9:00; MX1 Warm up 9:30; EMX250 Race 2 10:15; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 12:10; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 13:10; MX2 Grand Prix Race 2 15:03; MX1 Grand Prix race 2 16:03.

LINKS
Youthstream
FIM
Grand Prix of Latvia

Photo: Jeremy Van Horebeek at Kegums, Latvia