Antonio Cairoli’s bid for a ninth world championship hit another snafu today in qualifying in Kegums, Latvia. Cairoli entered the weekend thirty-nine points back of the red-hot Romain Febvre, who has won four straight GPs. In qualifying, Cairoli was battling with Australian Todd Waters for second when he went into a corner too hot and buried the front end. He went down again later in the race and finished eighteenth.

“Tough day again with allot of pain, injections needed tomorrow!” he wrote on Instagram following the race.

Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin won a thrilling MXGP race over Febvre, with the margin of victory just 0.359. Evgeny Bobryshev, who signed an extension with HRC earlier this week that will keep the Russian with the brand through 2016, finished third. 

With MX2 points leader Jeffrey Herlings sidelined with a finger injury, the door was open for Max Anstie, who topped qualifying over Tim Gajser. Pauls Jonass would finish third.

American Thomas Covington, who is sporting a much shorter look at the urging of the FIM, finished twelfth.