Qatar MXGP: Race Results!
Pauls Jonass won the first MX2 moto of the year but he didn’t get it easy! He got the hole shot and had a nice lead early on. Lieber then made a few passes and caught up to Jonass’ back wheel but crashed, luckily the Belgium got back up in the top five and got himself back to third by the end of the moto – he had the fastest lap time of the race.
Paturel had an average start in around fifth but after the ten minute mark he pulled the pin, he made a few passes and was all over Jonass in no time at all. He applied the pressure and showed Jonass the front wheel a few times but he just couldn’t make the move. Jonass rode superb under intense pressure in what was a great battle.
Jeremy Seewer had a race to forget about, he got a terrible start but got himself into around eighth at the end of the last lap before crashing out and dropping way down the order. He did manage to get himself back up to twelfth by the end of the moto.
Thomas Kjer Olsen had a great ride to finish up in fourth ahead of Italian, Samuele Bernardini who impressed on his Factory TM.
MX2 Race One:
- Pauls Jonass
- Benoit Paturel
- Julien Lieber
- Thomas Kjer Olsen
- Samuele Bernardini
- Michele Cervellin
- Jorge Prado
- Thomas Covington
- Vsevolod Brylyakov
- Darian Sanayei
- Adam Sterry
- Jeremy Seewer
- Alvin Ostlund
- Bas Vaessen
- Brian Bogers
- Davy Pootjes
- Brent van Doninck
- Hunter Lawrence
- Ben Watson
- Anton Gole
It was all on for the MX2 overall as Pauls Jonass, Benoit Paturel and Julien Lieber all got good starts in the second moto! Thomas Kjer Olsen also got a great start and was battling Jonass for the lead during the first couple of laps.
Paturel and Lieber worked their way past the Danish rider and then it was on for the lead! Jonass was faultless under pressure and took the chequered flag, that is his first career MX2 GP win! Paturel tried everything but just couldn’t make a move stick. Lieber was right there the entire moto and was only 2.2 seconds behind Jonass at the end of the moto.
Jeremy Seewer didn’t have the best of starts but came back up to fifth, not a great day for the Swiss rider but it is shaping up to be a great battle for the championship!
MX2 Race Two:
- Pauls Jonass
- Benoit Paturel
- Julien Lieber
- Thomas Kjer Olsen
- Jeremy Seewer
- Hunter Lawrence
- Brent Van Doninck
- Michele Cervellin
- Vsevolod Brylyakov
- Alvin Ostlund
- Jorge Prado
- Darian Sanayei
- Brian Bogers
- Adam Sterry
- Calvin Vlaanderen
- Davy Pootjes
- Bas Vaessen
- Ivo Monticelli
- Iker Larranaga
- Anton Gole
When the gate dropped for the MXGP race, Antonio Cairoli grabbed the holeshot and he never looked back. He eventually won by nearly nine seconds, Cairoli is back to his best, he wants his ninth world title! Bobryshev, Desalle and the sick, Tim Gajser were all locked in a three way battle for second. Bobby looked comfortable until three laps to go before Desalle and Gajser made their moves.
Arnaud Tonus was the best placed rookie in seventh, a good ride from the Swiss rider. Romain Febvre was running in seventh for the first ten minutes before he crashed which meant he ended up tenth, he won’t be happy with that!
The injured Jeffrey Herlings was in sixth for half the moto but then the pain got too much for him and he ended up in eighteenth.
MXGP Race One:
- Antonio Cairoli
- Clement Desalle
- Tim Gajser
- Evgeny Bobryshev
- Jeremy Van Horebeek
- Gautier Paulin
- Arnaud Tonus
- Max Nagl
- Jordi Tixier
- Romain Febvre
- Kevin Strijbos
- Jose Butron
- Max Anstie
- Alessandro Lupino
- Glenn Coldenhoff
- Tanel Leok
- Shaun Simpson
- Jeffrey Herlings
- Rui Goncalves
- Jake Nicholls
It looked like Cairoli grabbed the holeshot yet again but he made a mistake around the first corner which dropped him to third behind Romain Febvre and Tim Gajser. It didn’t take Cairoli long to move into second as he deposed of Febvre on the first lap. Gajser didn’t make it easy for him though as they were quite close the entire moto.
With five minutes to go Gajser got the gap out to four seconds and it looked like that was it. However, Cairoli did what he does so often and put on a charge! He was able to pass the world champion with three laps to go. A sick time Gajser should be happy with second as they pulled away from the rest of the pack, Febvre in third was eighteen seconds behind!
Clement Desalle will be pleased with his weekend as he got on the box with a third overall!
Jeffrey Herlings battled away during the moto and crossed the line in eleventh, they could be valuable championship points towards the end of the season.
It was a brilliant day for KTM with Cairoli and Jonass taking the red plates to Indonesia, the world championship will continue there next weekend.
MXGP Race Two:
- Antonio Cairoli
- Tim Gajser
- Romain Febvre
- Clement Desalle
- Gautier Paulin
- Jeremy Van Horebeek
- Evgeny Bobryshev
- Glenn Coldenhoff
- Jordi Tixier
- Max Anstie
- Jeffrey Herlings
- Kevin Strijbos
- Jose Butron
- Shaun Simpson
- Rui Goncalves
- Max Nagl
- Tanel Leok
- Alessandro Lupino
- Arnaud Tonus
- Jake Nicholls
Pic: Youthstream