KTM hero and MX1 World Champion Tony Cairoli went into the final round of the Italian MX championship in Gazzane on Sunday with a good chance to take the overall prize but his luck ran out in the second moto and he finished overall third, even though with equal points with second placed David Philippaerts.
Tony rode a thrilling first moto, slipping past Steven Frossard in the final lap to take line honors but some trouble with front wheel spokes in the second race slowed him down and he managed to finish in 10th place. That gave him third overall for round four and third overall in the championship.
Tony Cairoli: “It was 50% good and 50% not so good. On the positive side the hard pack surface is not my strong point but I was pumped in the first race and it was good for me. Also I am getting the holeshots all the time and that is good and more fun and a positive step from last year. Then in the second race I had a strong contact with Philippaerts which was okay because we were fighting for the championship but I broke a spike in my front wheel. I wasn’t sure if it was a big or a little problem so I wasn’t confident to push hard.”
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Max Nagl finished with a 6-14 result on Saturday for overall sixth in the four-round competition. while young Red Bull Teka KTM MX2 teammate Jeremy Van Horebeek also returned to race in the final round and was the fastest MX2 rider in both rounds in Gazzane. This made Jeremy second to teammate Jeffrey Herlings in Round One of the competition and the top rider in Round Four. Jeffrey and successfully rode two rounds in the Dutch Championship instead of competing in rounds 3-4 of the Italian competition. Herlings did not race in Italy this weekend. Ken Roczen, the team’s third MX2 rider has been competing in the USA and joins the team for Sevlievo
Riders will now train in the last two weeks ahead of the world championships beginning in Sevlievo Bulgaria on April 10.
Results 1st Moto Rd 4
1, Tony Cairoli, Italy, KTM
2, Steven Frossard, France, Yamaha
3, David Philippaerts, Italy, Yamaha
4, Evgeny Bobryshev, Russia, Honda
5, Davide Guarneri, Italy, Kawasaki
6, Max Nagl, Germany, KTM
7, Jeremy Van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM (top MX2 rider)
Results 2nd Moto Rd 4
1, Steven Frossard, France, Yamaha
2, David Philippaerts, Italy, Yamaha
3. Kevin Strijbos, Belgium, Suzuki
4, Jeremy Van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM (top MX2 rider)
5, Davide Guarneri, Italy, Kawasaki
10, Tony Cairoli, Italy, KTM
14, Max Nagl, Germany, KTM
Overall Championship
1, Frossard
2, Philippaerts
3, Cairoli, KTM
6, Nagl, KTM
