Superb qualifying day for KTM

It was a splendid day today at Matterley Basin with up to seven classes racing the British track. Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings won their qualifying heats MX1
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli obtained his ninth pole position today at Matterley Basin after winning the qualifying race ahead of his two teammates Max Nagl and Ken De Dycker. The Italian admitted that the British track is one his favourite ones, but he also mentioned that it was really demanding physically, as it got really rough after some lines. Cairoli started down in fourth, but after four laps he was already second. He then took advantage of Desalle’s mistake, and Cairoli took the lead and dominated the qualifying heat until the chequered flag. Max Nagl was really satisfied with his performance today; the German took the holeshot of the qualifying race and he led the first corners, but Rui Gonçalves was taking better lines and Nagl moved down to second. The Red Bull KTM Factory rider admitted that by the middle of the heat he lost his rhythm, as he tried to change lines and he then dropped down to fourth. In the end, Nagl took back his initial lines and managed to cross the finish line second. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker was a bit too wide at the start and he was down in seventh place, but the Belgian found himself really comfortable in the British track and he was able to finish third. De Dycker is looking forward to tomorrow’s races in order to be again fighting for the top three positions. Honda World Motocross’ Rui Gonçales did an excellent qualifying race, leading the first laps of the heat and crossing the finish line fourth in front of Gautier Paulin. Gonçalves imposed an incredible rhythm in the beginning of the race, but Clement Desalle overtook him in the third lap and the Portuguese could not keep the second place when Cairoli, Nagl and De Dycker caught him. The fifth place was for Gautier Paulin, who did an incredible recovering, as he started down in eleventh. The Kawasaki Racing Team rider will have a good gate pick tomorrow, and having in mind that last year he finished on the podium in the MX2 class, it is very likely that he finishes among the top five riders of the MX1 class tomorrow. Home rider Shaun Simpson was sixth, ahead of Clement Desalle, who crashed at the end of the race when he was racing at the front. Gregory Aranda was eighth and Xavier Boog and Kevin Strijbos were ninth and tenth respectively. Evgeny Bobryshev was only fourteenth in the qualifying heat, as he crashed at the beginning of the race and had to fight back from almost the last position. Christophe Pourcel crashed when he was riding sixth and he decided not to go back to the race and save the energies for tomorrow. Tanel Leok could not finish the qualifying race ether because he had a mechanical problem at the beginning of the race while he was riding eighth. MX1 Qualifying Race top ten : 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 24:54.829; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:07.264; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:12.154; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:14.791; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:15.958; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +0:19.225; 7. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:31.835; 8. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Yamaha), +0:34.747; 9. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:35.158; 10. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:39.225; MX2
In the MX2 qualifying race Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings was fourth after the first corner, but he moved up to the first position easily and he obtained his sixth pole position of the season. The Dutch rider admitted that he is not yet fully fit from the injuries he suffered at the car accident, but he has proved today that he is able to win the British round and increase the points lead over second in the standings, Tommy Searle. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek was second in the MX2 qualifying race today and he expects to finish on the podium tomorrow. The Belgian rider did not have a really good feeling this morning during the free and pre-qualifying practices, but he felt much better during the qualifying heat and he recovered the confidence on himself. Monster Energy Yamaha’s Zach Osborne did not have a really good start, but he was able to recuperate some positions and by the end of the heat he took advantage of Tommy Searle’s mistake and he moved up to third. The American rider finished on the podium in Loket two weeks ago, so his performance today proves that he is able to be back fighting for the top three places in the MX2 class. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jordi Tixier took the holeshot of the qualifying moto, but he could not keep the lead until the end. However, the French rider was very satisfied with his fifth position, as it was one of the first times he was racing his KTM after the big crashed he suffered in Loket during the warm up. Tixier is now looking forward to tomorrow’s races in order to recuperate the fifth place in the point standings of the championship. Valentin Guillod had a really good start and he managed to keep his rhythm until the end of the heat. The KTM Scott Racing Team rider finished fifth of the qualifying race, so he will do his best tomorrow to repeat such performance and try to end among the top five rider of the MX1 class. Home rider Tommy Searle started at the front of the qualifying race, but he made a mistake when he was riding second and dropped down to ninth. In the end, he was able to finish sixth and he is really confident for tomorrow although he knows that Herlings will be very fast tomorrow. Jake Nicholls did not have one of the best qualifying races today, but he was quite satisfied with his seventh position. The British rider explained that they had changed some settings on the suspension and they realized that it was not the best choice, so tomorrow they will go back to the usual settings and he expects to be fighting again for a podium finish as he did in the previous MXGP in the Czech Republic two weeks ago. Michael Leib finished seventeenth in the qualifying race on his comeback to the Grand Prix and his teammate Arnaud Tonus crashed during the opening lap of the qualifying heat and he could not finish the race. Valentin Teillet had a really good start, but he crashed several times during the race and he finally decided to stop. Max Anstie did not finish the qualifying heat either because after making several mistakes during the race, his bike stopped. Joel Roelants crashed during the pre-qualifying practice and when he was recovering from the crash another rider landed on him. The Belgian rider was taken to the hospital to have some tests done on his hip and in the upcoming days we will have the official diagnose. MX2 Qualifying Race top ten : 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 25:05.675; 2. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:15.297; 3. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:21.135; 4. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:29.371; 5. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:40.054; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:43.301; 7. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:44.355; 8. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +0:49.980; 9. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:51.286; 10. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), +0:53.174; TIMETABLE
Sunday: EMX65 Warm up 7:40; EMX85 Warm up 8:00; EMX125 Warm up 8:25; EMX250 Warm up 8:50; MX2 Warm up 9:15; MX1 Warm up 9:40; EMX65 Race 2 10:35; EMX125 Race 2 11:10; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 12:10; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 13:10; EMX85 Race 2 14:10; MX2 Grand Prix Race 2 15:03; MX1 Grand Prix race 2 16:03; EMX250 Race 2 17:10.