| Musquin
tops the MX2 GP podium in Bellpuig; all KTM podium |
| Red Bull KTM's Marvin
Musquin, the reigning world champion was the Orange
hero of the day at the MX2 GP of Catalunya on Sunday
when he recovered from a first moto crash to romp in
at the head of the pack in the second in a race where
crash carnage was the order of the day. |
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Second on the podium was Belgian KTM rider Joel
Roelants, with Marvin's Red Bull KTM factory teammate Shaun
Simpson in third to complete a three-way KTM victory.
The French rider had an eventful first moto when he found
himself in the middle of riders and metal in only the first
lap of the race but he showed great fighting spirit to
scramble out of it and charge back from 17th to sixth at the
checkered flag.
Marvin Musquin comes out on top of tough battle with Roczen
Marvin emerged the ultimate winner of a second moto dogfight
with arch rival Ken Roczen when the young German was forced to
retire just when the race had reached new levels of adrenalin
rush. This, with his sixth place finish from the first moto,
gave him the GP victory and the red plate to take to the next
races in Glenn Helen, USA in two week's time.
Marvin Musquin: "The qualification was
difficult with the rain and I didn't ride so well so I was
seventh. But today was another day. I felt better and I made
some good lap times in the warm-up. Then I had a bad start in
the first moto and I crashed with Osborne. I came back to
seventh and then I was behind Shaun (Simpson) and it was
difficult to pass. I was very focused on my start for the
second moto. I took the holeshot and then it was like it was
in Portugal with me in front of Ken (Roczen) - until he had
his DNF. The track was really slippery but it got better and
better and my win is good for me and good for the
championship."
Good weekend for Simpson back on the podium
KTM factory rider and Scotsman Shaun Simpson had a very good
weekend and he was happy to be on the podium for the first
time this season after having lost almost all of last season
due to injury.
Shaun Simpson: "I didn't make it so good
out of the gates in the first moto. I had too much grip. Then
I got behind Gautier. I had some problems with my arms and
somehow I didn't have such a good rhythm. Then I got a good
start in the second race. I got behind Marvin and Ken and I
felt good. I was riding smooth and relaxed but they had put a
lot of water on the track for the second heat. I slipped with
the front wheel and went down and dropped back to tenth or
twelfth. But I was able to fight back to fourth. I felt strong
and powerful and I was pleased with the second heat. But it
was a good feeling, there's nothing better than being on the
podium!"
Unlucky weekend for young Jeffery Herlings
Unluckiest KTM factory rider of the day was 15-year-old
Jeffrey Herlings who was third in the first moto but was
embroiled in a tangle of riders in the early stages of the
second moto. He then crashed again and got entangled in some
of the green fence netting and had to DNF. Herlings still
finished in overall 12th for some more valuable points and he
is still third behind Musquin and Roczen in the overall
standings.
Jeffrey Herlings: "It was really good in the heat race
on Saturday. I finished second so I had a good starting grid
for Sunday. I won the holeshot and led the first moto for
about half the race and finished third. I had a good start in
the second moto but I got into trouble in the first corner
with some other riders. I came down and the front brake was
broken because of the crash. Then two laps later I crashed
again and had to DNF. Now I hope to fight back hard in the
next GP."
EMX 125 Championship: Round Two
The Bellpuig circuit in Spain also played host to the second
of seven rounds of the EMX 125 cc championship, the new
competition for promising younger riders. KTM was the brand
and orange was again the color as French rider Jordi Tixier
continued his dominance of the competition. He followed up his
double victory in the first round in Lombardia with another
two overwhelming moto wins, distancing himself from the field
by 14 seconds in the first moto and almost 12 seconds in the
second moto for another perfect scorecard. Austria's Pascal
Rauchenecker was third overall while other KTM riders were
fourth and fifth to wrap up another great weekend for the
sports machines "Made in Austria"
Pictures Ray Archer
MX2 GP Results
1. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM, 14-25—39
2. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM, 16-22—38
3. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM, 15-18—33
4. Steven Frossard, France, Kawasaki, 22-10—32
5. Gautier Paulin, France, Yamaha, 18-11—29
Other KTM
6. Jake Nichols, Britain, KTM, 12-16—28
11. Valentin Teillet, France, KTM, 10-13—23
12. Jeffrey Herlings, 20-0-20
13. Dennis Verbruggen, Belgium, KTM 7-12—19
GP Championship Standings
1. Marvin Musquin France, KTM, 218 points
2. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki, 192
3. Jeffrey Herlings, Netherlands, KTM, 184
4. Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, 165
5. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM, 138
Other KTM
9. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM, 118
11. Jake Nicholls, Britain, KTM, 104
13. Dennis Verbruggen, KTM, Belgium, 79
EMX 125 Championship Results
1. Jordi Tixier, France, KTM 25-25--50
2. Yohan Lafont, France, Yamaha, 14-22—36
3. Pascal Rauchenecker, Austria, KTM, 22-12—34
4. Samuele Bernardini, Italy, KTM, 13-20—33
5. Dawid Ciucci, Italy, KTM, 18-15—33
Championship standings after two of seven rounds
1. Jordi Tixier, France, KTM, 100 points
2. Pascal Rauchenecker, Austria, KTM 74
3. Dawid Ciucci, Italy, KTM, 70
4. Yohan Lafont, France, Yamaha, 67
5. Samuele Bernardini, Italy, KTM, 62
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| Musquin enjoys his red plate |
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| All KTM podium in MX2 |
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| Marvin Musquin in the heat of the
battle |
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| Welcome podium for Shaun Simpson |
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| Young MX2 high flyer Jeffrey Herlings |
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| Nagl on MX1
podium in Bellpuig; Cairoli still dominates standings |
| Red Bull KTM factory rider Max
Nagl was denied a second moto and GP victory when a
crash in the final minutes on the GP of Catalunya
knocked him down to overall third. Tony Cairoli
finished two points behind in fourth place and hangs
onto the red plate. |
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It was a day of tumultuous racing in the
Bellpuig circuit with even many of the most experienced riders
coming unstuck in the deep ruts and soft patches on a track
that was saturated with rain on Saturday but dried out in
patches on the all important race day.
Final minutes crash denies Nagl GP win
Nagl, who was the overwhelming winner of the first moto,
looked all set to make it the double. He was out of the start
gates in the second moto in his usual lightning style and,
despite some savage challenges from Ken de Dyker, led almost
the entire race right up until the crash in the final few
minutes..
Max Nagl: "I'm really disappointed with the
second heat because like last week in Portugal, the first one
was so easy for me. But maybe I was a too nervous and I made a
mistake on the straight and crashed. Overall I'm happy to be
on the podium and to get the points but for sure I'm
disappointed with the second heat. I need to work on that and
make it better in the future."
Tony fights back
After an eventful first moto factory teammate Tony Cairoli
managed to fight his way up to third at the checkered flag on
the second moto to be just off the podium in overall fourth
place. Tony was able to add another 35 points onto his
championship ranking and now has a 16-point overall lead with
Nagl in second place.
Tony Cairoli: "It was a tough weekend. This is
not my favorite track. The ground is too hard and there are
not so many lines. I made a stupid mistake in the first moto
and I lost the chance to win the GP. I lost a lot of places
because of the crash and after the bike was a bit broken and I
couldn't ride perfectly. I caught the guy in front of me but
it was hard to pass and I only finished sixth. I wanted to
make some good points in the second mot but I didn't have a
good start. I was eighth or ninth and managed to get back to
third, which was a good result. For sure I want to improve my
training this week so I can try to take the victory in the
USA. There I want to have fun on the bike!"
Championship points for Rui Goncalves
The factory team's third member, Rui Goncalves of Portugal who
only rejoined the competition after sitting out the first two
GPs of the season while he recovered from surgery to his
shoulder, again picked up valuable championship points. Like
team-mate Tony Cairoli, Rui is riding the brand new KTM 350 SX-F
this year.
Rui Goncalves: "Things are going good for me and I'm
improving every time. This was a tough GP but I am pretty much
on line to where I want to be. I know the speed is there so I
just need to put all the laps together. At the moment I have
one fast lap then the next one I struggle a bit so when I can
get it all together I will be fine. My physical shape is good,
I am not tired and I am very motivated."
Pictures Ray Archer
GP Results
1. Tanel Leok, Estonia, Honda, 14-25—39
2. David Philippaerts, Italy, Yamaha, 22-16—38
3. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM, 25-12—37
4. Tony Cairoli, Italy, KTM, 15-20—35
5. Clement Desalle, Belgium, Suzuki, 20-15—35
Other KTM
13. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM, 5-9—14
Championship Standings
1. Tony Cairoli, Italy, KTM, 214 points
2. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM, 198
3. David Philippaerts, Italy, Yamaha, 171
4. Clement Desalle, Belgium, Suzuki, 158
5. Ken de Dyker, Belgium, Yamaha, 145
Other KTM
20. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM, 38
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| Max Nagl celebrates his first moto
victory |
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| Cairoli leads the championship
standings |
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| Good points for Rui Goncalves |
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| KTM's Steffi
Laier takes three consecutive GP victories; leads
championship by 25 p |
| Red Bull KTM's Steffi Laier led in
a clean sweep of the podiums for KTM riders in the
third round of the women's World Championship on
Sunday at Bellpuig to take victory in the GP of
Catalunya and lead the championship by 25 clear
points. |
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Second and third were KTM riders Livia Lancelot
of France and Maria Franke of Germany but it was Laier, the
only full KTM factory rider in the WMX that was again the
dominant force on the track. Steffi started her campaign on
Saturday on a track that was heavy and rutted after rain. She
was fastest in the timed practice, securing pole position, the
holeshot and a decisive victory in the first moto to set
herself up for another charge on the Bellpuig circuit on
Sunday morning.
Steffi in a class of her own
While riders enjoyed better weather conditions and a track
that had dried out on Sunday, the German racer was again
dominant. She battled it out with rival Lancelot in the early
stages of the second moto then broke free to cross the line 14
seconds ahead of the French rider, two seconds better than her
winning margin on Saturday. Steffi's success was all the more
creditable because she had to put aside quite strong pain in
her hip, the result of a crash in training earlier in the
week. She is now well on her way to defending her world
championship title after three of the seven rounds of the
competition, during which she has won five of six motos and
was third in the remaining race. The next WMX GP is on June 6
in France after the MX1 and MX2 GP competition returns from
racing in Glenn Helen in the USA.
Steffi Laier: "This was an awesome weekend for me. I
didn't really expect it because it's not my favorite track
here, but they worked on it and made some changes to the wave
section and some other stuff. In the first race I won the
holeshot and the race, but I wouldn't say it was easy. Then I
didn't have such a good start in the second race because the
gate hit back. I managed to catch Livia in the third lap and
then I tried to make a gap between us because I know its
difficult trying to overtake here and to get past the back
markers. But I had everything under control and I'm very
happy about the win."
Four of top five on KTMs
KTM riders took four of the top five slots in Sunday's GP of
Catalunya on the hard pack, but slippery Bellpuig circuit to
give KTM a dominant lead in the Manufacturer's standings - 49
points ahead of Yamaha.
Pictures: Ray Archer
GP Catalunya WMX Results
1. Steffi Laier, Germany, KTM 25-25—50
2. Livia Lancelot, France, KTM, 22-22—44
3. Maria Franke, Germany, KTM 18-20—38
4. Larissa Papenmeier, Germany, Suzuki, 20-18—38
5. Natalie Kane, Britain, KTM 16-16—32
Championship standings after three of seven rounds
1. Steffi Laier, Germany, KTM, 145 points
2. Livia Lancelot, France, KTM, 120 points
3. Maria Franke, Germany, KTM 103 points
4. Natalie Kane, Britain, KTM 102
5. Larissa Papenmeier, Germany, Suzuki, 99
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| Steffi and KTM celebrate another GP
win |
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| Steffi Laier: fast on the track and a
regular on to top of the podium |
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| Three way sweep of the podium for KTM
riders |
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