Cairoli's Lommel love affair
By Infront Moto Racing on 30th Jul 16
Red Bull KTM Factory rider Antonio Cairoli might not be having his best season of his illustrious career, and despite winning less GPs in the last two years than any time in the last 10 years, he is still very much a contender in the 2016 MXGP championship.
Second place in the MXGP series standings, some 109 points back from Tim Gajser the Italian rider will head into the Grand Prix of Belgium this weekend with a little more confidence than normal.
Cairoli has won at Lommel on a number of occasions, in fact more than any other rider in the sports history, and with the change from the 450 KTM to the 350 KTM he is back on the bike that helped him win so many GPs. In Loket last weekend he didn't get the results he wanted, but he did gain some confidence.
"I was back on the KTM 350 SX-F after almost a year,” Cairoli said last weekend in Loket. "The race didn't go how I wanted for sure but we had a good feeling with the bike in the time practice. I was able to improve my speed from before and I felt better on the bike overall. But we messed up the starts because it was almost a year since I started on the 350. On this track if you have a bad start you don't go anywhere. You could see that with Nagl. He wasn't the fastest in practice but in the races he had two good starts and he won.” Cairoli also confirmed he is looking forward to racing at Lommel next weekend. Because he lives part of the time in Belgium, it is like a home race for him.
It's been a while since Cairoli has ridden the sand, his last GP was in Valkenswaard when he had a great battle with defending MXGP champion Romain Febvre. It was very much an important moment in the 2016 MXGP championship as the Frenchman beat Cairoli on a circuit he had often dominated on. Questions started being asked of the KTM riders spot at the very top of the sport.
"In Valkenswaard the first heat went wrong,” Cairoli said. "I took a good start but I made a mistake at the first corner and I lost some positions till the eighth. Since that I started to ride poorly, I was stiff on the bike, without being able to do what I wanted. I started having arm pump and I could not find the rhythm. In the second moto, I get a good start, scoring the hole shot and riding as I know, on a track well fixed after the first heat. I found a good rhythm, although a few laps from the end I started to feel tired; excessive sweating has tarnished my lenses and visibility in the final laps was not optimal. On the last lap I made a small mistake and Febvre, who had approached, took the opportunity and went on to win; it's a shame because it would be important to win the moto and get on the podium but I'm satisfy by my reaction after a difficult first race.”
Now onto Lommel, and there is no doubt many of the GP followers will be hoping the eight times world motocross champion can find his speed and once again dominate at a circuit he loves.
