Report: 2014 MXGP Trentino
By Team TMX on 14th Apr 14
Clement Desalle sealed the overall MXGP win at the Trentino Grand Prix in front of thousands of fans who'd swarmed to Arco di Trento in Italy at the weekend, to watch the electricity of round four of the FIM Motocross World Championship.
It was a fantastic day on Sunday, for Rockstar Energy Suzuki World with both Belgian riders - Desalle and Kevin Strijbos - finally banking scores that have been a long time coming. One of the biggest MXGP title hopes, Daselle, got his first race win of the season, which combined with his second place finish in moto one, landed him on top spot of the podium.
Meanwhile, his team-mate, Kevin Strijos rounded off the podium in third, with a fifth place in race one and a third in race two to make the podium a completely Belgian affair.
Fellow Belgian, Yamaha Factory Racing's Jeremy Van Horebeek, has upped his game this season and has become a genuine title contender. Despite having a few hairy moments, dodging a bullet when Team HRC's Evgeny Bobryshev went down on a jump right in front of him, the Belgian didn't slow down pushing right to the chequered flag to finish second overall.
Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team's Gautier Paulin was fired up in race one. After only qualifying in eighth position, the Frenchman's choice of gate was taken by riders that qualified in front of him for the race start. Clearly it added to his determination as he hauled out of the gate to take his third consecutive Fox Holeshot and then went on to lead the race from start to finish for his second race win of the season.
In race two, it appeared to be a repeat performance for Paulin, as he took yet another holeshot. However, after stretching out a gap of three seconds only three laps in, bad luck struck and a technical problem with his bike forced him out of the race, relegating him to sixth overall for the day.
The weekend didn't quite go to plan for the seven-time FIM Motocross World Champion and current championship leader, Tony Cairoli, as he ended the day in fifth overall. When asked how he felt about the weekend, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider responded: "I made too many mistakes. I was last on the start in race one and then in race two I crashed.
"I got going again and found my lines and my rhythm and then I fell down again. For sure I wanted to win, but it's not always possible. Anyway, it's okay. I know the championship is long and a fifth place finish is still okay for the championship.”
In the MX2 class, it was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's, Jeffrey Herlings, who took the overall win, with Arnaud Tonus in second and Glenn Coldenhoff in third.
Herlings had to make use of everything he had on the circuit of Arco di Trento, as he battled his way forward from two very average starts to take a win in race one and second in race two. He said: "My speed is not good but my fitness is good. I'm just missing hours on the bike. I'm not feeling good at all which gives the other guys a bit of a chance, but I will still come back strong.”
Tonus put in a strong effort at the circuit, with a second in race one and a third in race two after banging handlebars with arch rival Herlings. The combination of a 2-3 result left Tonus second overall for the day, which was enough to hold on to the red plate with a lead of six points over Coldenhoff.
Meanwhile, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe's Coldenhoff, proved he is a solid contender for the title, when he got off to a great start in race two and put the pass on a confident Valentin Guillod to take the lead and the race win. However, the Dutchman only managed to finish in eighth in race one thanks to a bad start. His combined 8-1 result left him in third overall for the day.
It was Switzerland's Valentin Guillod and Husqvarna rider, Romain Febvre, who rounded off the top five overall.
Round five of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place next weekend, at Sevlievo in Bulgaria.
