Defending MX1 world champion Antonio Cairoli won the day at round 12 of the 2011 series at Lommel, in Belgium, and extended his championship lead with another scintillating performance at the weekend.

Meanwhile, fellow KTM rider Jeffrey Herlings showed his skills on the sand in winning both MX2 class races.

The penultimate round of the UEM EMX2 championship took also place in Lommel and Donny Bastemeijer scored the overall victory after finishing second and first in the races. Michael Van Wezel was second and Kenny Vandueren completed the podium.

MX1 CLASS

Red Bull Teka KTM Factory Racing MX1’s Cairoli succeeded in winning the Grand Prix of Limburg, but it was not an easy weekend for the Italian. In the first race he obtained the holeshot award, but he had to fight really hard with Belgium’s Clement Desalle (Suzuki) to keep the lead. The Italian even suffered a small crash during the race and injured a little bit his knee, but it did not stop him from also winning the second moto.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1’s Desalle got an eventual second overall position in Lommel. The home rider starred in a thrilling battle with Cairoli during the first race, but he had to settle down with the second position. In the second heat, Desalle rode fifth most of the race and in the last lap he was virtually fourth in the GP. However, Portugal’s Rui Gonçalves DNFed while he was fourth and the Belgian went up one position, which made him go up on the second step of the podium.

Third overall was Red Bull Teka KTM Factory Racing MX1’s Max Nagl after finishing fifth in the first race and second in the following one. Nagl admitted that he has had an injury at his back since Valkenswaard and that he has been struggling when racing on hard pack. This weekend the sand made things easier for the German, but Nagl may have to undergo surgery in the near future.

Honda World Motocross’ Evgeny Bobryshev was involved in a tangle at the beginning of the first race and had to push really hard from the last position to be able to cross the finish line sixth. Bobryshev had a superb start in the second moto and he took the lead after four laps, but the Russian made a mistake and Cairoli caught him up and passed him straight away. In the last laps Bobryshev was overtaken by Nagl, so he finished fourth overall.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Steven Frossard had a very good first race and he even exchanged the lead with Desalle when there were 20 minutes to go. During the last laps, Frossard was down in the third position, but when he was about to cross the finish line, Gonçalves overtook him in the last metres of the race. In the second heat, Frossard did not have a good start and ended sixth, which gave him the final fifth position.

Leok was eighth in the first race, but in the second one he did a great recovery from an initial ninth position and managed to cross the finish line fifth and obtained the overall sixth place.

Gonçalves did one of the best races of the season, but he was touched by bad luck by the end of the second race. The Portuguese finished third in the first heat and he got the virtual overall position during the last lap of the second race when he was fourth, but his new engine broke having just two turnings to go. Gonçalves finished seventh of the GP.

Former world champion Davide Philippaerts struggled a lot in the sand and finished eighth, followed by Shaun Simpson and Ken De Dycker.

MX1 Race 1 top ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:57.975; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:09.126; 3. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:29.308; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:29.343; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:32.189; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:51.252; 7. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:58.628; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +1:07.701; 9. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), +1:20.422; 10. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:32.403.

MX1 Race 2 top ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 42:30.771; ; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:03.509; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:14.535; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:45.467; 5. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +0:50.827; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +1:13.243; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Honda), +1:33.494; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), +1:57.676; 9. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:59.104; 10. Marc de Reuver (NED, Yamaha), +2:07.387.

MX1 Overall top ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 40 p.; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 38 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 35 p.; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 33 p.; 6. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 29 p.; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 28 p.; 8. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 26 p.; 9. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Honda), 24 p.; 10. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), 22 p.

MX1 Championship top ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 466 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 414 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 403 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 369 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 349 p.; 6. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 309 p.; 7. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 308 p.; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Honda), 250 p.; 9. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 235 p.; 10. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 233 p.

MX2 CLASS

Red Bull Teka KTM Factory Racing MX2’s Jeffery Herlings dominated both heats and obtained his fourth GP victory of the season.

In the first heat, Herlings took the holeshot and opened a big gap, but he then made a mistake and team-mate Ken Roczen caught him up. Both riders offered the fans an incredible racing show on the sand exchanging the lead several times. In the last lap Roczen hit his stomach with his handlebar when he was first, went down the floor and crossed the finish line second. Herlings took the victory and he also won the second heat, which gave him the GP win.

The second overall position was for Roczen, who proved once more that he is good on the sand by fighting with his teammate Herlings in both heats. In the second race he took the lead in the first laps, but Herlings overtook him and Roczen crossed the finish line 18 second behind his teammate.

Red Bull Teka KTM Factory Racing MX2’s Jeremy Van Horebeek obtained his first podium of the season after finishing third in both heats. The home rider had been injured most of the season and he trained really hard with Stefan Everts to be back at his 100%, so this third place is like a reward for the hard work they have done.

It was a very consistent weekend for CLS Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Max Anstie, who finished fourth in both heats and obtained an overall fourth position. Anstie felt very comfortable on the track, as he spent quite a lot of time in Belgium, and he was satisfied with his performance, although he would have liked to finish on the podium.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Gautier Paulin completed the top five with a 7-5 result. Paulin was doing a very good first race, but he crashed with Searle when they were fighting for the fourth position and it took him time to restart the bike again. In the second heat, he got a solid fifth position.

Britain’s Tommy Searle obtained the final sixth place after finishing sixth in both heats. The British rider crashed in the first race and bruised his back, so it was even more difficult for Searle to ride the deep sand track of Lommel in the second session.

Harri Kullas finished seventh and he was followed by Arnaud Tonus and Mattis Karro.

MX2 Race 1 top ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 40:09.879; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), +0:25.846; 3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:54.275; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:13.150; 5. Petar Petrov (BUL, Yamaha), +1:24.853; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:30.270; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +1:30.797; 8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +1:56.063; 9. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +2:08.345; 10. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), -1 lap(s).

MX2 Race 2 top ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 41:28.098; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), +0:18.176; 3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:44.762; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:58.899; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), +1:20.408; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:28.568; 7. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +1:32.563; 8. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), +1:57.215; 9. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +2:05.593; 10. Matiss Karro (LAT, Honda), +2:32.356.

MX2 Overall top ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), 44 p.; 3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 36 p.; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), 30 p.; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 30 p.; 7. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 25 p.; 8. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), 21 p.; 10. Matiss Karro (LAT, Honda), 20 p.

MX2 Championship top ten:

1. Ken Roczen (GER, KTM), 490 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 469 p.; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 400 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Yamaha), 373 p.; 5. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 295 p.; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), 295 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), 285 p.; 8. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 249 p.; 9. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, KTM), 207 p.; 10. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 180 p.

Photo courtesy KTM