Strong Febvre must bow his head to dominant Gajser!
Romain Febvre briefly smelled his chance for his second GP victory of the season. Yet even for the strong Kawasaki rider there was nothing he could do against the all-powerful Tim Gajser. He convincingly took his second victory of the day. The fact that the HRC Honda rider achieved his first double victory in Lommel, of all places, says a lot about the progress he made in the sand!
First round upset! Tony Cairoli crashed early, but fast starter Tim Gajser also made a mistake on the first lap. As if that wasn't enough, the lead also changed between Jeremy Seewer and Romain Febvre! After leader Seewer choked, Febvre took over command. Although Fransman made a very solid impression and edged Seewer, the danger came from Gajser!
The MXGP world champion showed a strong recovery. From seventh place, he successively beat Paulin, Van Horebeek Tonus and Seewer and then impressively closed the gap with Febvre. With four minutes to go, 'Tiga' passed Febvre with ease. The Monster Energy Kawasaki leader tried to follow along to learn from Gajser's lines, but crashed two corners further.
Jeremy Seewer turned a bad day into a good one. Although the time training turned out to be very difficult, he still finished the second heat in third place. The Swiss reached the podium again. In the standings, the Monster Energy Yamaha pilot takes over third place from the absent Jorge Prado. Seewer's teammates can also look back on a positive ending in Lommel. Gautier Paulin finished fourth while Arnaud Tonus - back in action since Lommel I - took an encouraging sixth place.
For Gajser's closest title rival, Tony Cairoli, Lommel III became a race to forget. Cairoli was knocked back to P21 after his crash on the first lap. The nine-time world champion was not lacking in commitment, but a second fall cost the Red Bull KTM star valuable points. In the end he had to settle for a weak tenth place. Jeremy Van Horebeek (photo above) was also in the corner where the blows fell. The SR Honda Motoblouz pilot delivered a great performance in his home race but came to a stop on the last lap without fuel!
Positive news came again from Brian Bogers and Brent Van Doninck who finished 7th and 8th respectively. In his last Grand Prix in his own country, Clément Desalle finished 8th after 10-6 results in the heats. Freek van der Vlist saw his efforts in the second heat rewarded with a 14th place, his best result of the season. The World Championship riders are expected again next Sunday. Then the first of three consecutive GPs is planned in Pietramurata (Arco di Trento), Italy.
MXGP Race 1
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 36:25.583; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:22.638; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:39.629; 4. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:55.783; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +1:00.705; 6. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:09.550; 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:14.677; 8. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +1:14.890; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), +1:23.600; 10. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:43.515; 11. Nathan Watson (GBR, Honda), +1:49.611; 12. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), +2:25.235; 13. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 14. Ivo Monticelli (STONE, GRASS), -1 lap(s); 15. Milko Potisek (FRA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 16. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 17. Dylan Walsh (GBR, Honda), -1 lap(s); 18. Evgeny Bobryshev (Russia, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 19. Kay Ebben (NED, KTM), -1 card(s); 20. Rene Rannikko (FIN, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 21. Freek van der Vlist (NED, KTM), -1 lap(s); 22. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Honda), -3 lap(s); 23. Heikki Geens (BEL, KTM), -3 lap(s); 24. Brent Van doninck (BEL, Husqvarna), -4 lap(s); 25. Artem Guryev (RUS, Honda), -7 lap(s); 26. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), -8 lap(s); 27. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), -11 lap(s); 28. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Honda), -13 lap(s); 29. Manolis Critikos (GRE, KTM), -13 lap(s); 30. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), -14 lap(s); 31. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -16 lap(s); 32. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), -16 lap(s);
MXGP Race 2
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, Honda), 36:31.050; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:18.740; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Yamaha), +0:23.084; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:30.972; 5. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:55.849; 6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), +1:10.025; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), +1:25.726; 8. Brent Vandoninck (BEL, Husqvarna), +1:31.433; 9. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +1:36.101; 10. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +1:49.623; 11. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Husqvarna), +1:58.837; 12. Dylan Walsh (GBR, Honda), +2:09.702; 13. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, Yamaha), +2:10.945; 14. Freek van der Vlist (NED, KTM), +2:11.826; 15. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Honda), -1 lap(s); 16. Tanel Leok (EST, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 17. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, GASGAS), -1 lap(s); 18. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Honda), -1 lap(s); 19. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 20. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), -1 lap(s); 21. Milko Potisek (FRA, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 22. Nathan Watson (GBR, Honda), -1 lap(s); 23. Kay Ebben (NED, KTM), -1 card(s); 24. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), -1 card(s); 25. Heikki Geens (BEL, KTM), -2 card(s); 26. Artem Guryev (RUS, Honda), -9 lap(s); 27. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, Honda), -11 lap(s); 28. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), -13 lap(s); 29. Michele Cervellin (ITA, Yamaha), -16 lap(s);
MXGP of Lommel final standings
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 50 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, COW), 44 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 34 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 29 p.; 7. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 29 p.; 8. Clement Desalle (BELL, COWS), 26 p.; 9. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 26 points; 10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 18 p.; 11. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 16 p.; 12. Brent Van doninck (BEL, HUS), 13 p.; 13. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HOUSE), 13 p.; 14. Dylan Walsh (GBR, HON), 13 p.; 15. Ivo Monticelli (STONE, GAS), 11 p.; 16. Tunnel Leok (EST, HUS), 10 p.; 17. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 10 p.; 18. Nathan Watson (GBR, HON), 10 p.; 19. Freek van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 7 p.; 20. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 6 p.; 21. Valentine Guillod (SUI, HON), 3 p.; 22. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 2 p.; 23. Kay Ebben (NED, KTM), 2 p.; 24. Rene Rannikko (FIN, HUS), 1 p.; 25. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 0 p.; 26. Heikki Geens (BEL, KTM), 0 p.; 27. Artem Guryev (RUS, HON), 0 p.; 28. Cornelius Toendel (NOR, HON), 0 p.; 29. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 0 p.; 30. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 0 p.; 31. Benoit Paturel (FRA, HON), 0 p.; 32. Manolis Critics (GRE, KTM), 0 p.;
MXGP standings after 15 laps
1. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 583 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 509 p.; 3. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 499 p.; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 476 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, COW), 465 p.; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, YAM), 403 p.; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, GAS), 375 p.; 8. Clement Desalle (BELL, COW), 362 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, HON), 289 p.; 10. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 263 p.; 11. Arminas Jasikonis (LTU, HUS), 248 p.; 12. Brian Bogers (NED, KTM), 233 p.; 13. Mitchell Evans (AUS, HON), 228 p.; 14. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 212 p.; 15. Calvin Vlaanderen (NED, YAM), 206 p.; 16. Ivo Monticelli (STONE, GAS), 161 p.; 17. Henry Jacobi (GER, YAM), 134 p.; 18. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, YAM), 122 p.; 19. Michele Cervellin (ITA, YAM), 84 p.; 20. Alessandro Lupin (ITA, YAM), 82 p.; 21. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HOUSE), 75 p.; 22. Leok Tunnel (EST, HUS), 72 p.; 23. Dylan Walsh (GBR, HON), 67 p.; 24. Petar Petrov (BUL, KTM), 66 p.; 25. Brent Van doninck (BEL, HUS), 53 p.; 26. Valentine Guillod (SUI, HON), 52 p.; 27. Benoit Paturel (FRA, HON), 45 p.; 28. Adam Sterry (GBR, KTM), 44 p.; 29. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 30. Pauls Jonass (LAT, HUS), 26 p.; 31. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 21 p.; 32. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), 19 p.; 33. Carlisle Sabulis (LAT, KTM), 18 p.; 34. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA, KTM), 15 p.; 35. Thomas Covington (USA, YAM), 15 p.; 36. Harry Kullas (EST, HON), 11 p.; 37. Nathan Watson (GBR, HON), 10 p.; 38. Freek van der Vlist (NED, KTM), 9 p.; 39. Lars van Berkel (NED, HUS), 9 p.; 40. Samuel Bernardini (ITA, YAM), 9 p.; 41. Tom Koch (GER, KTM), 9 p.; 42. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 6 p.; 43. Ander Valentine (ESP, HUS), 4 p.; 44. Zachary Pigeon (FRA, HON), 2 p.; 45. Kay Ebben (NED, KTM), 2 p.; 46. Artem Guryev (RUS, HON), 2 p.; 47. Rene Rannikko (FIN, HUS), 2 p.; 48. Anton Gole (SWE, HON), 2 p.
Photos: shotBavo/Honda Pro Racing, Mediacross, Yamaha Racing, Ray Archer/Monster Energy KRT
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