Race Report: MXGP of Mexico

Gajser was into the lead again by the second corner of the second moto, but again found a shadow with the blue Yamaha and Febvre determined to make up for his mistakes in Argentina the previous Sunday that caused him to break a sixteen-event podium streak by finishing fourth. For spectators it presented a tasty duel with the only two riders to have earned MXGP victory in 2016 going again for top spoils. Despite nearing the rear wheel of the Honda in the formative stages, Febvre was not able to make a challenge and even dropped away considerably in the closing laps.

“I started the second race well and we’d changed the bike a little bit for that but Tim was in the lead very quickly and it was difficult out there,” he said. “I was faster in the beginning but had different lines and once he changed them also it was hard to pass. I made a few mistakes and the gap was bigger. I kinda gave up a little bit and I was disappointed about that.”

Gasjer was unhindered both from his bike and from any presence behind it and continues to demonstrate his potency on the CRF450RW even in a range of tracks and circumstances. “We were riding pretty fast and had a good pace and he was really pushing me almost until the end,” the young Slovenian remarked. “We are just five races into the season with many to come. I hope to keep enjoying it.”

Filling a distant third was Rockstar Husqvarna’s Max Nagl. That’s the German’s third podium in a row, although the former GP winner might be concerned about the twenty-seven second deficit to Gajser. Behind HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev was Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle in fifth and the Belgian showed increased competitiveness to indicate he will soon be a player for podium contention. Red Bull KTM’s Tony Cairoli claimed his sixth place represented a “day to forget.” The Sicilian grasped neither the starts nor a feeling on the track to eye a possible second podium result. Other riders were also far from their A-game with Jeremy Van Horebeek, Kevin Strijbos, Glenn Coldenhoff and Shaun Simpson (luckily uninjured after falling in the second moto and being launched into next week by Alessandro Lupino—who apparently broke his nose in the incident) all keen to escape the circuit and the event and begin to think about the next fixture.

In the 250s it is a stuck-on-repeat tale and five Grands Prix and ten motos in a row now for Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings with the Austrians looking secure in more than just one series. The Dutchman has a dwarfing 58-point lead in the MX2 class which means a two moto cushion already. In Mexico, he exercised caution in the first laps of the opening race, wary of the watered surface, but then checked out and was pushing to the rate that he set his fastest lap on final circulation while some thirty-three seconds clear (almost repeating the distinction in the second moto).

As clouds moved over the Leon layout he put the Grand Prix beyond doubt after leading into the second corner of moto two and disappearing. For Herlings Mexico represented another digit in the career stats list, another hefty bonus, another small step to the haven of a third title and also closure with Leon. In 2014 he turned out at the season-closer (and inaugural meeting in the Guanajuato region) barely able to walk with a still-broken femur and also nursing an infection to try and hang onto the championship he had fronted all season. It wasn't to be, and Jordi Tixier won a memorable climax to a dramatic title story. Herlings shed tears that day and they wouldn't be the first through injury frustration (he missed Mexico in 2015 due to the dislocated hip that trashed another title shot) but it was a hardened and wiser character that understatedly enjoyed his latest spoils at Leon.

“It is never easy but we definitely do our best and winning is what matters,” Herlings said. “I feel that I am at the level I was before I broke my femur [in 2014] so I am looking to the rest of the season and I know there is a long way to go and remember well the last two [seasons]. My confidence is growing every week. The guys are going fast but until now I have been able to make some difference and I hope I can keep this rhythm and winning streak going.”

Teammate Pauls Jonass, who also lost a chance at an MX2 crown in what was a duel with Tim Gajser through a major crash at Leon last September, was again tasting Mexican soil with mistakes in both motos that put the Latvian fourth overall. Team Suzuki’s Jeremy Seewer popped up in the top three for the fourth time in a row and consolidated second place in the championship standings with the same position on the Mexican podium. Third belonged to ecstatic Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Vsevolod Brylyakov (finishing a career-best second in the first moto and then rallying from an early crash to sixth in the second) who lifted his very first GP trophy.

“It feels like a long wait to make the box and I’m really happy to be with people around me at the moment,” commented the 20-year-old who pushed through to prominence in 2015 until a shoulder injury ended his campaign. He is only five races into a first, blossoming term with the British Kawasaki crew. “I still cannot believe it has happened to be honest.”