Predictions for the FIM Motocross World Championship are not getting any easier, with the down to the wire results at the MXGP of Great Britain, round seven of the FIM Motocross World Championship, being solid evidence.

The typically rutty and spongy track of Matterley Basin shaped up a lot harder, faster and slicker than it had in years prior which was taken in the strides of KTM’s Antonio Cairoli and Yamaha’s Valentin Guillod, who both nailed their second consecutive grand prix victories of this season.

Winning the MXGP of Great Britain meant Cairoli has become the most successful grand prix rider on British soil.

The Italian eight-times world champion has now won six British grand prix, which puts him ahead of the Belgian greats Stefan Everts and Joel Robert, who have both only won five.

“It was amazing today, England has given me a lot of good memories,” said Cairoli.

“I am really happy I made the decision to move to the 450cc, it makes it much easier for me to keep up with these guys, so for me the weekend went perfect, I wouldn’t change anything.”

As the most consistent rider in the championship with seven from six possible podium finishes, it was another narrow and frustrating loss for Suzuki’s Clement Desalle, who claimed two consistent second places for second overall.

“I want to win and have that feeling again,” Desalle said, “but it’s like this, maybe I could have had better lines but the other guys were riding good and for me to be consistent, that is also important, so I am happy with that.”

Perhaps the happiest face in the paddock was that of the super rookie Roman Febvre who claimed his first MXGP race win and second consecutive podium finish today at Matterley Basin. It was always assumed that it would only be a matter of time for the Yamaha rider who has been on the gas all year, and today there was no one more deserving of the second race win.

“I am really happy to win. Even when I won I was thinking that I was not on the podium so when I came off the track I was really surprised and it was probably the best feeling ever.”

Also showing some impressive speed today was Honda’s Evgeny Bobryshev. “Russian Bob” is clearly back on the rise which was obvious with his solid lap times today. Despite not getting off to the best of starts, the Honda rider still managed to put in two remarkable rides for fourth overall.

Husqvarna’s Max Nagl appeared to struggle to find his flow out on the slick and tricky surface of Matterley Basin. Despite getting good starts, the red plate holder just had to do his best to take as many points as possible, which he managed with fifth overall.

Thanks to the British fan favourite KTM’s Shaun Simpson, the crowd was brought to life when he took the holeshot and fronted the field for a good part of race two. The public lined the fences and showed an immense amount of support for the Brit who put in a remarkable ride to wrap up his home grand prix in sixth overall.

Guillod put in an extremely impressive performance to take his second consecutive grand prix victory here in Matterley Basin.

The very humble and happy-go-lucky Swiss rider smiled, “It was so fun out there, I was just having a lot of fun and the fans were having fun and my team was having fun, so it was just really cool.”

Next week the MXGP of France in Villars sous Ecot, which is close to the border of Switzerland, will be almost a home race, “the fans here were sick! Okay they weren’t cheering for me, they were cheering for Max Anstie, but it was still awesome. I hope that next weekend all the Swiss fans bring their flags and go crazy for me!”

MX2 CLASS

It’s unusual for KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings to be on the second step of the podium yet it seems to be happening a lot more frequently these days.

This weekend “The Bullet” rode well but you couldn’t take anything away from Valentin Guillod whose performance was nothing short of amazing.

“I haven’t been able to ride this week because I still have pain from the crash in Spain, so I was pretty stiff.” Jeff mentioned, “and it’s not nice to get beaten, but he was better today, so I just want to win again.”

Kawasaki’s French MX2 world champion Jordi Tixier is fast becoming a fixture on the MX2 podium with his fourth consecutive podium finish of the year. The Frenchman admitted he was a little disappointed because he felt great out on the track yesterday but he remains confident he can still improve as the season goes on.

Meanwhile KTM’s Pauls Jonass is establishing himself as a pretty hot starter. The young Latvian is always up at the pointy end of the field around turn one which is already half the battle one for someone as young as he is. Another solid performance landed Jonass in fourth overall.

Egged on massively by the awesome crowd Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Anstie electrified the atmosphere here at MXGP of Great Britain with his near win in race one.

Unfortunately a bad start in race two hindered what could have been a better result; nevertheless, a top five finish on home soil isn’t too shabby.

© Photo by Ray Archer

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Grand Prix of Great Britain – Results

MXGP Race 1 Top Ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34:01.346; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:03.020; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:04.067; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:13.676; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:16.369; 6. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:17.680; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), +0:19.284; 8. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Kawasaki), +0:34.863; 9. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:38.855; 10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:41.855.

MXGP Race 2 Top Ten:

1. Romain Febvre (FRA, Yamaha), 34:18.842; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:02.087; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.664; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:13.390; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Husqvarna), +0:23.149; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:27.787; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Honda), +0:30.814; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:39.725; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:41.970; 10. Steven Frossard (FRA, KTM), +0:43.350.

MXGP Overall Top Ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 45 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 44 p.; 3. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 39 p.; 4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 36 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 36 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 29 p.; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 23 p.; 10. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KAW), 23 p.

MXGP Championship Top Ten:

1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HUS), 295 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 291 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 274 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, HON), 237 p.; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, YAM), 235 p.; 6. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 207 p.; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 145 p.; 8. Ryan Villopoto (USA, KAW), 124 p.; 9. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 121 p.; 10. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KAW), 118 p.

MX2 Race 1 Top Ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 34:26.799; 2. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), +0:05.515; 3. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:10.678; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:29.783; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:36.055; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:42.085; 7. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +0:44.125; 8. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:58.139; 9. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:01.738; 10. Ivo Monticelli (ITA, KTM), +1:11.618

MX2 Race 2 Top Ten:

1. Valentin Guillod (SUI, Yamaha), 34:48.889; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:00.865; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:29.243; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), +0:38.510; 5. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), +0:43.357; 6. Max Anstie (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:54.396; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +1:08.337; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, Yamaha), +1:10.771; 9. Petar Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), +1:11.839; 10. Thomas Covington (USA, Kawasaki), +1:21.065

MX2 Overall Top Ten:

1. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 47 points; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 36 p.; 4. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 35 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 31 p.; 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 27 p.; 8. Benoit Paturel (FRA, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Thomas Covington (USA, KAW), 25 p.; 10. Petar Petrov (BUL, KAW), 22 p.

MX2 Championship Top Ten:

1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 308 points; 2. Valentin Guillod (SUI, YAM), 216 p.; 3. Pauls Jonass (LAT, KTM), 213 p.; 4. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, KAW), 205 p.; 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, HUS), 189 p.; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KAW), 189 p.; 7. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, SUZ), 182 p.; 8. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 169 p.; 9. Julien Lieber (BEL, YAM), 167 p.; 10. Max Anstie (GBR, KAW), 158 p.