Positive GP for 24MX Honda Racing
The fourth round of seventeen in the FIM MX1 World Championship took the riders to the spectacular circuit of Arco di Trento, north of Lake Garda in the Italian Alps. In his second ever MX1 GP, 24MX Honda racer Nikolaj Larsen finished 16th today, level on points with Tanel Leok. While Larsen made good progress against Valkenswaard, the team's newest recruit, Santtu Tiainen, also did well. Despite a difficult starting position in both heats, the Finn still collected six well-deserved World Championship points. Tiainen made his debut in Trentino on the 24MX Honda CRF450R where he replaced the injured Jens Getteman.
Thanks to a bold line on the outside, Tiainen made an impressive start in his qualifying race on Saturday. The blonde daredevil also managed to quickly adapt to his new bike and rode to 18th place in the first confrontation of the weekend. Nikolaj Larsen qualified in a disappointing 25th place after a crash at the start. Excellent lap times yesterday and a promising 16th place during the warm-up on Sunday morning made it clear that Nikolaj had more to offer.
The driven Dane immediately got a good start in the first heat on Sunday. Holding on to seventh place was an impossible task due to a lack of competition rhythm. Nikolaj had to give up too many positions in the first round. For most of the 35 minute plus two lap heat he hung in 15th. In the very last lap, the 24MX Honda with number 249 still had to lose a place after home rider David Philippaerts passed him. From the penultimate position after the first corner, Larsen's new teammate Tiainen fought hard. Santtu quickly managed to pass a group of riders, kept fighting and took 17th place after Nikolaj Larsen.
In the second heat Nikolaj was not doing well. He started just outside the top ten, but his pace was slower than in his first series. At one point he was again 15th, although he finished three positions later at the finish. In the first corner Santtu was involved in a fall in which Desalle and Philippaerts were also victims. Once again Tiainen had his hands full. Since the tall Finn rarely had a rider in front of him, he had to set the pace alone. Santtu finally saw his determination rewarded with 19th place.
Nikolaj Larsen, 24MX Honda Racing: “Overall this GP was a step in the right direction. Fortunately, after Valkenswaard I was able to train quite a bit with the bike, and I reaped the benefits in terms of speed. After that good start in the first moto there might have been a bit more, but I suffered from pumped up arms. That's why I focused on my own race and tried to organize my race well. I got into a pretty good rhythm and was 15th for most of the moto. The second heat was very tough! From the start I actually felt quite tired. My pace was also not nearly as good as in the first moto. Now I have three weeks until my next Grand Prix in Portugal. If I can take another step forward like I did after Valkenswaard, Agueda will certainly become interesting! However, the most important thing is to build up gradually, it is normal that I need time for this.”
Santtu Tiainen, 24MX Honda Racing: "Where do I begin? The scenery around the course and the mountains in the background were really cool! Unfortunately, those hard jobs are not my thing! Just give me sand. Even though it wasn't my kind of track, I'm still disappointed with my speed. My reaction at the gate was really good in the first race, but I immediately went into neutral, which ruined my start. After that I did what I could and kept fighting. In the second race I crashed together with Clement Desalle and some other guys. At first I was able to quickly make up some places, but I wasn't in the flow as well as in the first moto. Since I didn't see anyone in front of me for most of the race it was difficult to find a good rhythm. During the last series of the day the track was really dry and driving became more difficult.
It was my first Grand Prix with 24MX Honda Racing, but I was very satisfied with both the bike and the team. The 24MX Honda ran great and I immediately felt at home. Now it's back to me to work hard in training, but I'm certainly optimistic for the coming GPs!”
MX1 Race 1: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 40:31.783; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:03.045; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:04.537; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:41.728; 5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:46.724; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:50.663; 7. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:56.209; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, KTM), +0:57.255; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), +1:00.618; 10. David Guarneri (ITA, KTM), +1:22.412; 11. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +1:25.107; 12. Matiss Car (LAT, KTM), +1:55.425; 13. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), -1 lap(s); 14. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 15. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 16. Nikolaj Larsen (DEN, 24MX Honda Racing), -1 lap(s); 17. Santtu Tiainen (FIN, 24MX Honda Racing), -1 lap(s); 18. Augustus Justs (LAT, Honda), -1 lap(s); 19. Mikola Paschynskyi (UKR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Stephen Dami (ITA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 21. Fabio Ferrari (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 22. Lauri Lehtla (EST, KTM), -1 lap(s); 23. Lorenzo Pedri (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 24. Alessio Della Mora (ITA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 25. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), -2 lap(s); 26. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, Yamaha), -19 lap(s);
Race 2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 41:03.682; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:06.931; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:11.561; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:17.281; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:18.686; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:31.259; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, KTM), +0:32.388; 8. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:33.570; 9. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), +0:41.915; 10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:45.159; 11. Matisse Karro (LAT, KTM), +0:46.510; 12. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:47.766; 13. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), +0:50.067; 14. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), +0:50.394; 15. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), +1:36.361; 16. Jason Dougan (GBR, Honda), +2:02.225; 17. Augusts Justs (LAT, Honda), +2:06.714; 18. Nikolaj Larsen (DEN, 24MX Honda Racing), -1 lap(s); 19. Santtu Tiainen (FIN, 24MX Honda Racing), -1 lap(s); 20. Fabio Ferrari (ITA, Honda), -1 lap(s); 21. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 22. Lauri Lehtla (EST, KTM), -1 lap(s); 23. Alessio Della Mora (ITA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 24. Mikola Paschynskyi (UKR, KTM), -2 lap(s); 25. Stephen Dami (ITA, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 26. Lorenzo Pedri (ITA, Honda), -2 lap(s); 27. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), -15 lap(s);
MX1 GP standings Trentino: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 40 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 33 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 31 p.; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 31 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 30 p.; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, KTM), 27 p.; 9. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 25 p.; 10. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 20 p.; 11. Matiss Car (LAT, KTM), 19 p.; 12. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), 19 p.; 13. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 16 p.; 14. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), 12 p.; 15. David Guarneri (ITA, KTM), 11 p.; 16. Tunnel Leok (EST, Honda), 8 p.; 17. Nikolaj Larsen (DEN, 24MX Honda Racing), 8 p.; 18. Augusts Justs (LAT, Honda), 7 p.; 19. Santtu Tiainen (FIN, 24MX Honda Racing), 6 points; 20. Jason Dougan (GBR, Honda), 5 p.; 21. Mikola Paschynskyi (UKR, KTM), 2 p.; 22. Fabio Ferrari (ITA, Honda), 1 p.; 23. Stephen Dami (ITA, Yamaha), 1 p.; 24. Pier Philip Bertuzzo (ITA, Yamaha), 0 p.; 25. Lauri Lehtla (EST, KTM), 0 p.; 26. Alessio Della Mora (ITA, Kawasaki), 0 p.; 27. Lorenzo Pedri (ITA, Honda), 0 p.;
FIM MX1 World Championship standings 4 rounds: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 192 points; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 155 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 149 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 148 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 120 p.; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 118 p.; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 89 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 87 p.; 9. Xavier Boog (FRA, KTM), 83 p.; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 75 p.; 11. Tunnel Leok (EST, Honda), 69 p.; 12. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), 61 p.; 13. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), 58 p.; 14. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), 54 p.; 15. David Guarneri (ITA, KTM), 52 p.; 16. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 49 p.; 17. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 47 p.; 18. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 44 p.; 19. Matiss Car (LAT, KTM), 29 p.; 20. Augustus Justs (LAT, Honda), 26 p.; 21. Nikolaj Larsen (DEN, 24MX Honda Racing), 10 p.; 22. Jason Dougan (GBR, Honda), 9 p.; 23. Jens Getteman (BEL, 24MX Honda Racing), 6 p.;, 24. Santtu Tiainen (FIN, 24MX Honda Racing), 6 points; 25. Nathan Watson (GBR, KTM), 6 p.; 26. Kenny Van Dueren (BEL, KTM), 6 p.; 27. Mikola Paschynskyi (UKR, KTM), 5 p.; 28. Lauri Lehtla (EST, KTM), 4 p.; 29. Jamie Law (GBR, KTM), 4 p.; 30. Marc de Reuver (NED, KTM), 2 p.; 31. Masanori Ito (JPN, Yamaha), 2 p.; 32. Fabio Ferrari (ITA, Honda), 1 p.; 33. Stephen Dami (ITA, Yamaha), 1 p.; 34. Ivo Steinbergs (LAT, KTM), 1 p.;
Photos: Father Swijgers
Your reactions