Italy’s multi-time world champion Tony Cairoli went from 28th overall to 1st in just three days and series leader Jeffrey Herlings crashed out at Wednesday’s mid-week Grand Prix.
Welcome to the crazy pandemic-affected 2021 MXGP season.
Cairoli had DNFed both races at the previous GP at Trentino, in Italy, last weekend, but he amazingly bounced back by winning the MXGP of Pietramurata mid-week, while Herlings was in danger of losing his series lead.
So, with all that going on, it’s impossible to predict what’s going to happen at round 16, at the same Italian venue at Pietramurata, this weekend.
There are just three GPs left on the 18-round 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship calendar and the title fight in MXGP could not be any more intense.
Just three points separate the top three contenders, as Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Herlings leads Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Romain Febvre by just a single point, with Team HRC’s Tim Gajser a further two points behind.
This weekend’s races will be crucial as tension begins to build.
With the championship so tight, there is absolutely no room for error, so it will be interesting to see who can stay strong and who will crack under pressure.
Alongside the MXGP and MX2 action, we will also witness round eight of the EMX125 Presented by FMF Racing and EMX250 championships.
MRT Racing Team KTM’s Valerio Lata will no doubt be looking to add another victory in the 125cc category, while in EMX250 Fantic Factory Racing Maddii rider Nicholas Lapucci will look to bounce back with two solid results after a difficult first outing at Pietramurata, in Northern Italy.
The MXGP title chase is heating up and the races this weekend will be more important than ever as we edge closer to crowning this year’s champion.
Herlings suffered a huge blow at Pietramurat on Wednesday after a DNF in race one. This cost him the 24-point advantage that he previously held over Febvre and briefly handed the Frenchman the championship lead after he took victory in the opening race.
For Febvre, his biggest downfall is not putting together two solid races, which was the case on Wednesday.
While he looked strong in race one as he managed to get by Gajser for the win in the closing stages of the race, his second race was much different. He had to work hard to come through the field after another poor start and then was stuck behind Herlings, unable to get around the Dutchman, who was keen on keeping his closest rival behind him.
Herlings will need to bounce back at the MXGP of Garda this weekend if he wants to maintain the control of the championship lead, while Febvre and Gajser will need to deliver top results to have their chance at stealing the series leader’s red number plate.
There’ll be a lot of pressure on the top three in the final stages of this series and the one who manages to keep clam will be the one to take crown.
One rider who has no pressure on him is Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cairoli who made his return to the podium in the most epic fashion.
The Italian had struggled in the last few races since his crash in Riola Sardo, but Wednesday’s performance just went to show that Cairoli is not finished yet.
He grabbed a huge holeshot in heat two and lead every lap from then on to win the race and claim his 94th career Grand Prix victory in front of his home fans.
Now the focus of Cairoli is to finish on the podium at the next three GPs as he nears the end of his professional racing career in MXGP.
While a veteran like Cairoli had a great race yesterday, the MXGP rookies Thomas Kjer Olsen of Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing and Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Watson had a solid day as the pair finished 6th and 7th overall.
Both have finished on the podium during their MX2 days at the track in Pietramurata and it looks like this confidence has carried through into MXGP. Let’s see if they can improve upon their results for the final race in Trentino.
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Seewer once again came close to a podium finish, as he ended his day fourth overall on Wednesday, just one point behind Febvre.
Seewer had two solid races to finish fourth and second, but it was not enough to get him on the podium this time around.
The Swiss rider has only been on the podium once this season, but let’s see if he can make it twice this weekend.
Photo courtesy KTM Europe
Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here
STANDINGS AFTER 15 OF 18 ROUNDS:
MXGP – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
- Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 573 points; 2. Romain Febvre (FRA, KAW), 572 p.; 3. Tim Gajser (SLO, HON), 570 p.; 4. Jorge Prado (ESP, KTM), 473 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 464 p.; 6. Jeremy Seewer (SUI, YAM), 451 p.; 7. Pauls Jonass (LAT, GAS), 391 p.; 8. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, YAM), 369 p.; 9. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KTM), 266 p.; 10. Thomas Kjer Olsen (DEN, HUS), 266 p.
MX2 – World Championship Top 10 Classification:
- Maxime Renaux (FRA, YAM), 595 points; 2. Jago Geerts (BEL, YAM), 508 p.; 3. Tom Vialle (FRA, KTM), 492 p.; 4. Mattia Guadagnini (ITA, KTM), 475 p.; 5. Jed Beaton (AUS, HUS), 454 p.; 6. Rene Hofer (AUT, KTM), 436 p.; 7. Thibault Benistant (FRA, YAM), 384 p.; 8. Kay de Wolf (NED, HUS), 384 p.; 9. Ruben Fernandez (ESP, HON), 364 p.; 10. Simon Laengenfelder (GER, GAS), 271 p.