MXON: Cairoli wins dramatic MXGP qualifying!
After a very long day of waiting, the time had finally come, the first qualifying series for the “Motocross of Nations” in RedBud started at 20:20 PM. It was the boys competing in the MXGP class who were allowed to enter the field first. In addition, Jeffrey Herlings for the Netherlands and Clément Desalle for Belgium.
Things went wrong for both right from the start. While the surprising Spaniard Jose Butron went for the holeshot, we saw Jeffrey Herlings slide down on the swampy and greasy surface in the first corner. One man could no longer avoid him, and unfortunately that was Clément Desalle. The low countries immediately neutralized each other with this small crash. Both joined the race as quickly as they could. Clément Desalle immediately after standing up, Jeffrey Herlings had to go to the pit lane to have a few things checked.
Meanwhile, Antonio Cairoli had already become the leader of the match at the front, the Italian immediately put the vice on the opposition. For example, Ken Roczen, who had moved up to second place, fell further and further behind. Jose Butron was third for a long time, but the Spaniard was hit by the hammer after fifteen minutes of the race and had to let some pilots through. We saw Gautier Paulin advance to third place with Tommy Searle and Eli Tomac in his wake.
But then disaster struck. First we saw Clément Desalle, who had already moved up to eighth place with Jeffrey Herlings on his wheel, making a slightly too enthusiastic maneuver on Valentin Guillod. As a result, both fighters crashed into the American sand, and Jeffrey Herlings advanced to seventh place. Jose Butron was a bite-sized piece for Jeffrey Herlings and then he also saw Eli Tomac standing still in the corner before Larocco's leap. The American had technical problems with his Kawasaki. There was no life left in the green monster. A few moments later we see Clément Desalle also pass Eli Tomac and gain place, only to have to contend with the curse of Kawasaki one lap later. Because our Belgians also face technical problems. There is also someone riding a Kawasaki for Jeffrey Herlings, Tommy Searle, and he has been smoking for more than half a series, but the Brit clearly has to slow down the pace in the final laps and is constantly staring downwards. An easy victim for Jeffrey Herlings, who has already reached fourth place. And the Dutchman's hunger is still not satisfied, because Gautier Paulin in third place is also in his sights and has to recognize his superiority in the very last lap in the brand new MXGP champion. Talk about a successful remount!
Thanks to this impressive recovery, Jeffrey Herlings finished third, behind Antonio Cairoli, who managed to take the victory in a dominant manner, and Ken Roczen, who finished unthreatened in second. The top five was completed with Gautier Paulin and a limping in Tommy Searle. The failure of Eli Tomac and Clément Desalle immediately put the knife to the throat of their teammates. Aaron Plessinger and Justin Barcia as well as Jago Geerts and Jeremy Van Horebeek now have to score if they do not want to compete in the B-final tomorrow, in addition to the all-important place behind the starting gate that will be determined tomorrow on the basis of the today's qualifying results.
Qualifying Heat MXGP – MXON Red Bud 2018
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 24:57.036; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Honda), +0:21.286; 3. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:36.455; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:38.939; 5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:54.353; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +1:05.652; 7. Philip Bengtsson (SWE, Yamaha), +1:08.403; 8. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +1:45.321; 9. Kirk Gibbs (AUS, KTM), +1:46.994; 10. Roland Edelbacher (AUT, KTM), +1:50.371; 11. Michael Docherty (RSA, Husqvarna), +1:58.746; 12. Taiki Koga (JPN, Honda), +2:04.765; 13. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +2:05.809; 14. Gary Gibson (IRL, KTM), +2:13.341; 15. Cody Cooper (NZL, Honda), +2:24.817; 16. Vaclav Kovar (CZE, KTM), -1 lap(s); 17. Colton Facciotti (CAN, Honda), -1 lap(s); 18. Carlos Badiali (VEN, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 19. Dmytro Asmanov (UKR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Gustavo de Souza (BRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 21. Kevin Windham (PUR, Honda), -1 lap(s); 22. Julio Cesar Zambrano (MEX, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 23. John Paul Luzzardi (ARG, Honda), -1 lap(s); 24. Jose Fernandez (GUA, KTM), -2 lap(s); 25. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), -2 lap(s); 26. Kenneth St. Andrews (PHI, Kawasaki), -2 lap(s); 27. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), -3 lap(s); 28. Dan Mayer (ISR, Yamaha), -3 lap(s); 29. Eli Tomac (USA, Kawasaki), -4 lap(s); 30. Einar Sigurdsson (ISL, Husqvarna), -4 lap(s);
Photos: Ray Archer, Gino Maes
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