Provided by MXGP
BETO CARRERO (Brazil) - Weather always adds an interesting element to MXGP in Beto Carrero. This morning as the riders rolled in, they were splashing through puddles and cringing at the threatening skies. Luckily within an hour the clouds had lifted and the sun began to shine which resulted in an absolutely glorious day here on the radiant circuit of Beto Carrero for round three of the FIM Motocross World Championship where Suzuki took their first double pole since 2010 with Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos and Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Glenn Coldenhoff qualifying pole in their respective categories.
MXGP
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Kevin Strijbos is proving to be the ultimate force to be reckoned with in the MXGP qualifying heat races. For the second time this season, Strijbos took the holeshot and went on to lead the race from start to finish to win ahead of his Rockstar Energy Suzuki World teammate Clement Desalle and Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin who looked comfortable in their second and third positions.
Meanwhile behind the top three, the battle was hotter than the plus thirty-degree temperatures. In the beginning BikeIT Yamaha Cosworth’s Rui Goncalves and TM Ricci Racing’s Davide Guarneri were quick off the gate, both running inside the top four for the first few laps. Unfortunately for Guarneri a crash would force him out of the race while Gonçalves struggled to maintain the speed of the front guys.
Taking the cake as the hottest battle of the race, HM plant KTM UK’s Shaun Simpson was dicing back and forth with Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek for fourth. With Simpson riding great lines, Van Horebeek was forced to make every effort to find a way around. Upon making the pass, getting too hard on the gas around a corner three turns from the finish with five minutes plus two laps to go, he crashed. With a quick recovery, Van Horebeek managed to bounce back and pass Simpson for one last time.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli had a rough start to the race, not getting off to the greatest of starts. Despite putting in a hard charge to move into the top ten, the seven-time world champion fell three laps in, dropping him way back into the late teens. The MXGP red plate holder made an incredible recovery to end the race with a last lap charge at Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek for fourth only to miss out by a fraction of a second.
MXGP Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 25:01.250; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:06.097; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:10.130; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:13.508; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:13.780; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:21.906; 7. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +0:28.664; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:33.352; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:41.052; 10. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:41.487.
MX2
When the gates dropped for MX2’s qualifying race, it was none other than the holeshot master himself KTM Silver Action’s José Butrón who led the way ahead of another hot starter Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Aleksandr Tonkov and the 2013 MX2 round of Beto Carrero top qualifier Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Glenn Coldenhoff.
Flying the flag high for The Netherlands despite the absence of Dutch phenomenon and MX2 red plate holder Jeffrey Herlings, Coldenhoff was quick to move to the front to claim his first qualifying heat win of the season. Behind the Flying Dutchman, KTM Silver Actions José Butrón was riding solid in second holding off the likes of Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Aleksandr Tonkov, BikeIT Yamaha Cosworths’ Max Anstie and CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy duo Dylan Ferrandis and Arnaud Tonus. Although the Spaniard put in a solid ride, with three laps to go he appeared to pump up and quickly fell back to sixth later admitting “I got a little bit tired and a bit of arm pump, I also wanted to conserve some energy for tomorrow”.
Meanwhile around mid-race Anstie, who had Tonus and Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre breathing down his neck, became impatient and dropped the hammer to pass Tonkov to take over second. With Anstie pulling away ever so slightly, Tonkov had to shift his attention to the pressure from Tonus and his teammate Febvre. While Tonus took over third with just a few laps to go, one of the battles of the races was between the teammates Tonkov and Febvre as they fought tooth and nail for fourth. While it was tight in the end with a slight bout of contact being made on the last corner, it was Tonkov who took fourth forcing Febvre to finish fifth.
MX2 Qualifying Race Top Ten: 1. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, Suzuki), 25:25.941; 2. Max Anstie (GBR, Yamaha), +0:02.189; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Kawasaki), +0:05.077; 4. Aleksandr Tonkov (RUS, Husqvarna), +0:12.835; 5. Romain Febvre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:13.208; 6. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), +0:19.244; 7. Valentin Guillod (SUI, KTM), +0:20.217; 8. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:25.310; 9. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:26.480; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Kawasaki), +0:27.942.
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