Flying Frenchman Gautier Paulin has taken his factory Kawasaki KX450F to win the opening GP on the MXGP season in Qatar.

Paulin finished third and first in Qatar, just edging out Germany’s Max Nagl (Honda), who finished 1-4, while third step on the podium belonged to Italy’s defending MXGP world champion Antonio Cairoli, the KTM star chiming in with 2-3 results despite carrying a foot injury and being dosed up with painkillers.

Another Kawasaki-mounted Frenchman, Steven Frossard, finished in fourth place overall with a 4-2 score-line.

Riders familiar to Kiwi motocross observers, Australian Todd Waters and Britain’s Jake Nicholls, also performed strongly in Qatar.

Waters (Husqvarna) finished 14-11, good enough for 11th overall on the day, while Nicholls (KTM) managed 16-16 to end up 14th overall for the GP.

Dutch Red Bull KTM Factory rider Jeffrey Herlings won the MX2 class, despite being just a few weeks back on the bike after a winter of injuries. The defending World MX2 Champion finished 2-1 in Qatar.

Second overall was moto one winner Dylan Ferrandis (France, Kawasaki), who had a 1-6 score-line, and Romain Febvre (France, Husqvarna) was third with 5-4 results.

Australian Yamaha rider Luke Syke finished 25-DNF, which was, unfortunately, only good enough for 26th and last place overall.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Australian Kawasaki rider Meghan Rutledge won the opening round of the Women’s World Championships.

She holeshot both races and finished 1-1 to snatch her first ever world championship double race victory. British KTM rider Natalie Kane and French rider Livia Lancelot completed the women’s podium.

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MXGP – Race 1:

1 Nagl, Maximilian GER DMSB Honda 34:57.925

2 Cairoli, Antonio ITA FMI KTM 34:59.867

3 Paulin, Gautier FRA MCM Kawasaki 35:05.752

4 Frossard, Steven FRA FFM Kawasaki 35:13.568

5 Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL FMB Yamaha 35:24.537

6 Searle, Tommy GBR ACU Kawasaki 35:29.121

7 Strijbos, Kevin BEL FMB Suzuki 35:31.510

8 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS MFR Honda 35:32.311

9 Desalle, Clement BEL FMB Suzuki 35:32.522

10 Roelants, Joel BEL FMB Honda 35:48.002

11 Simpson, Shaun GBR ACU KTM 35:49.067

12 Guarneri, Davide ITA FMI TM 35:49.788

13 Philippaerts, David ITA FMI Yamaha 36:05.473

14 Waters, Todd AUS MA Husqvarna 36:07.451

15 Leok, Tanel EST EMF TM 36:26.561

16 Nicholls, Jake GBR ACU KTM 36:28.722

17 Goncalves, Rui POR FMP Yamaha 37:03.507

18 Getteman, Jens BEL FMB Honda 35:26.501

19 Gercar, Klemen SLO AMZS Honda 35:42.108

20 Sabetifar, Amirezza IRI MAFIRI Yamaha 36:00.621

21 Boog, Xavier FRA FFM Honda 18:46.145

22 Karro, Matiss LAT LAMSF KTM 13:08.968 6

23 Justs, Augusts LAT LAMSF Husqvarna 11:25.384

24 Runnals, Ross Ian RSA UAEMC Kawasaki 12:35.547

Best lap: #222 Antonio Cairoli Time:1:49.975 in lap 16

 

MXGP – Race 2:

1 Paulin, Gautier FRA MCM Kawasaki 35:04.471

2 Frossard, Steven FRA FFM Kawasaki 35:07.244

3 Cairoli, Antonio ITA FMI KTM 35:14.412

4 Nagl, Maximilian GER DMSB Honda 35:17.595

5 Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL FMB Yamaha 35:24.564

6 Desalle, Clement BEL FMB Suzuki 35:28.403

7 Searle, Tommy GBR ACU Kawasaki 35:30.122

8 Strijbos, Kevin BEL FMB Suzuki 35:42.857

9 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS MFR Honda 36:06.684

10 Roelants, Joel BEL FMB Honda 36:09.788

11 Waters, Todd AUS MA Husqvarna 36:21.738

12 Philippaerts, David ITA FMI Yamaha 36:23.010

13 Boog, Xavier FRA FFM Honda 36:24.066

14 Leok, Tanel EST EMF TM 36:28.713

15 Karro, Matiss LAT LAMSF KTM 36:31.204

16 Nicholls, Jake GBR ACU KTM 36:44.142

17 Goncalves, Rui POR FMP Yamaha 36:48.968

18 Getteman, Jens BEL FMB Honda 35:26.856

19 Gercar, Klemen SLO AMZS Honda 36:18.649

20 Sabetifar, Amirezza IRI MAFIRI Yamaha 35:59.618

21 Simpson, Shaun GBR ACU KTM 36:33.255

22 Runnals, Ross Ian RSA UAEMC Kawasaki 27:52.162

23 Guarneri, Davide ITA FMI TM 14:59.931 7

Best lap: #21 Gautier Paulin Time:1:49.833 in lap 1

 

MXGP – Overall:

1 Paulin, Gautier FRA MCM KAW 20 25 45

2 Nagl, Maximilian GER DMSB HON 25 18 43

3 Cairoli, Antonio ITA FMI KTM 22 20 42

4 Frossard, Steven FRA FFM KAW 18 22 40

5 Van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL FMB YAM 16 16 32

6 Searle, Tommy GBR ACU KAW 15 14 29

7 Desalle, Clement BEL FMB SUZ 12 15 27

8 Strijbos, Kevin BEL FMB SUZ 14 13 27

9 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS MFR HON 13 12 25

10 Roelants, Joel BEL FMB HON 11 11 22

11 Waters, Todd AUS MA HUS 7 10 17

12 Philippaerts, David ITA FMI YAM 8 9 17

13 Leok, Tanel EST EMF TM 6 7 13

14 Nicholls, Jake GBR ACU KTM 5 5 10

15 Simpson, Shaun GBR ACU KTM 10 0 10

16 Guarneri, Davide ITA FMI TM 9 0 9

17 Boog, Xavier FRA FFM HON 0 8 8

18 Goncalves, Rui POR FMP YAM 4 4 8

19 Karro, Matiss LAT LAMSF KTM 0 6 6

20 Getteman, Jens BEL FMB HON 3 3 6

21 Gercar, Klemen SLO AMZS HON 2 2 4

22 Sabetifar, Amirezza IRI MAFIRI YAM 1 1 2

23 Runnals, Ross Ian RSA UAEMC KAW 0 0 0

24 Justs, Augusts LAT LAMSF HUS 0 0 0

 

 

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 1:

1 Ferrandis, Dylan FRA FFM Kawasaki 33:53.328

2 Herlings, Jeffrey NED KNMV KTM 33:53.657

3 Coldenhoff, Glenn NED KNMV Suzuki 33:55.537

4 Butron, Jose ESP RFME KTM 34:06.897

5 Febvre, Romain FRA FFM Husqvarna 34:07.210

6 Tonkov, Aleksandr RUS MFR Husqvarna 34:14.419

7 Tixier, Jordi FRA FFM KTM 34:20.233

8 Gajser, Tim SLO AMZS Honda 34:23.521

9 Guillod, Valentin SUI FMS KTM 34:25.557

10 Tonus, Arnaud SUI FMS Kawasaki 34:30.155

11 Lupino, Alessandro ITA FMI Kawasaki 34:33.017

12 Charlier, Christophe FRA FFM Yamaha 34:34.268

13 Pocock, Mel GBR ACU KTM 34:46.701

14 Seewer, Jeremy SUI FMS Suzuki 34:47.130

15 Desprey, Maxime FRA FFM Honda 34:56.128

16 Petrov, Petar BUL BMF Yamaha 35:10.358

17 Justs, Roberts LAT LAMSF Husqvarna 35:16.702

18 Lieber, Julien BEL FMB Suzuki 35:17.953

19 Klingsheim, Magne NOR NMF Yamaha 35:22.310

20 Lundgren, Anton SWE SVEMO Yamaha 35:36.042

21 Valente, Christopher SUI FMS TM 35:58.656

22 Yamamoto, Kei JPN MFJ Honda 33:56.849

23  Golovkin, Viacheslav RUS FMI KTM 35:15.766

24 Anstie, Max GBR ACU Yamaha 26:13.802

25 Styke, Luke AUS MA Yamaha 19:34.984

26 Covington, Thomas USA AMA Kawasaki 5:40.484

Best lap: #84 Jeffrey Herlings Time:1:51.285 in lap 15

 

MX2 – Grand Prix Race 2:

1 Herlings, Jeffrey NED KNMV KTM 33:49.169

2 Tonus, Arnaud SUI FMS Kawasaki 33:50.373

3 Covington, Thomas USA AMA Kawasaki 33:56.815

4 Febvre, Romain FRA FFM Husqvarna 33:58.852

5 Tonkov, Aleksandr RUS MFR Husqvarna 33:59.606

6 Ferrandis, Dylan FRA FFM Kawasaki 34:01.440

7 Tixier, Jordi FRA FFM KTM 34:01.622

8 Butron, Jose ESP RFME KTM 34:02.909

9 Charlier, Christophe FRA FFM Yamaha 34:03.908

10 Gajser, Tim SLO AMZS Honda 34:04.695

11 Petrov, Petar BUL BMF Yamaha 34:05.295

12 Coldenhoff, Glenn NED KNMV Suzuki 34:07.583

13 Lieber, Julien BEL FMB Suzuki 34:19.782

14 Guillod, Valentin SUI FMS KTM 34:21.070

15 Desprey, Maxime FRA FFM Honda 34:23.903

16 Lupino, Alessandro ITA FMI Kawasaki 34:38.283

17 Anstie, Max GBR ACU Yamaha 34:41.509

18 Seewer, Jeremy SUI FMS Suzuki 34:42.306

19 Pocock, Mel GBR ACU KTM 35:05.288

20 Yamamoto, Kei JPN MFJ Honda 35:05.836

21 Klingsheim, Magne NOR NMF Yamaha 35:14.990

22 Justs, Roberts LAT LAMSF Husqvarna 33:31.386

 

MX2 – GP Classification:

1 Herlings, Jeffrey NED KNMV KTM 22 25 47

2 Ferrandis, Dylan FRA FFM KAW 25 15 40

3 Febvre, Romain FRA FFM HUS 16 18 34

4 Tonus, Arnaud SUI FMS KAW 11 22 33

5 Tonkov, Aleksandr RUS MFR HUS 15 16 31

6 Butron, Jose ESP RFME KTM 18 13 31

7 Coldenhoff, Glenn NED KNMV SUZ 20 9 29

8 Tixier, Jordi FRA FFM KTM 14 14 28

9 Gajser, Tim SLO AMZS HON 13 11 24

10 Charlier, Christophe FRA FFM YAM 9 12 21

11 Covington, Thomas USA AMA KAW 0 20 20

12 Guillod, Valentin SUI FMS KTM 12 7 19

13 Petrov, Petar BUL BMF YAM 5 10 15

14 Lupino, Alessandro ITA FMI KAW 10 5 15

15 Desprey, Maxime FRA FFM HON 6 6 12

16 Lieber, Julien BEL FMB SUZ 3 8 11

17 Seewer, Jeremy SUI FMS SUZ 7 3 10

18 Pocock, Mel GBR ACU KTM 8 2 10

19 Anstie, Max GBR ACU YAM 0 4 4

20 Justs, Roberts LAT LAMSF HUS 4 0 4

21 Klingsheim, Magne NOR NMF YAM 2 0 2

22 Yamamoto, Kei JPN MFJ HON 0 1 1

23 Lundgren, Anton SWE SVEMO YAM 1 0 1

24 Valente, Christopher SUI FMS TM 0 0 0

25 Golovkin, Viacheslav RUS FMI KTM 0 0 0

26 Styke, Luke AUS MA YAM 0 0 0

 

Women’s MX Championship Standings:

1. Meghan Rutledge – 50 Pts

2. Natalie Kane – 42 Pts

3. Livia Lancelot – 36 Pts

4. Stephanie Laier – 34 Pts

5. Nancy Van De Ven – 34 Pts

6. Chiara Fontanesi – 33 Pts

7. Larissa Papenmeier – 29 Pts

8. Francesca Nocera – 28 Pts

9. Marianne Veenstra – 22 Pts

10. Justine Charroux – 12 Pts