A fifth Pole Position for the Red Bull KTM rider…although somewhat surprisingly at Loket – a staple hard-pack venue on the FIM Motocross World Championship calendar and one that expected thunderstorms for the first day of the 2017 edition but instead baked in sunny humidity. Cairoli dispensed with 2016 winner Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Max Nagl and stared at what should have been an impossible three-second gap to Honda’s Tim Gajser, who had led from the first corner. The World Champion had clocked-off a series of circulations in the mid 1.45s but a three lap spell where he slowed dramatically and Cairoli foraged a 1.44.6 (the best of the race) let the Sicilian through in what could be construed as a metaphorical handing over of ‘powers’ in 2017.
The Slovenian eventually admitted he had a bike issue (teammate Evgeny Bobryshev also vaguely commented about needing to get comfortable after the Russian dropped from fifth to seventeenth due to a crash) while Cairoli talked about the importance of the start and repeated his aim of massaging his 91 point championship lead with a smart approach to what is one of his least favourite courses of the campaign.
Behind the surprisingly development for the lead in the twenty minute and two lap chase riders such as Husqvarna’s Gautier Paulin, KTM duo Jeffrey Herlings and Glenn Coldenhoff, Monster Energy Yamaha’s Romain Febvre and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle demonstrated the difficulty in overtaking with a watchable tussle that had block-passes, aggression, retaliation and improvisation. Herlings – competing on a track that led to a broken collarbone in 2010 and a dislocated hip in 2015 (but also a second world title celebration in 2013) – was the more animated in the final two laps and emerged from the gaggle with fourth place.
Loket was predictably slippy, narrow and attackable with almost every motorcycle fitted with handguards to illustrate the painful pelting potential of the stony roost. One such missile smashed the mouth of Suzuki’s Jeremy Seewer and jaw-socked the Swiss down to 21st spot in MX2. The Qualification heat for the 250s was held firmly by Red Bull KTM’s Pauls Jonass with teammate Jorge Prado defending his runner-up slot from Kemea Yamaha’s Benoit Paturel and an American duo of Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Thomas Covington.
Close racing, forced errors and some possible talking points will form the basis of the motos tomorrow. Cairoli’s assertion that a top five start is essential for thoughts of victory seems on-the-money.
Wilvo Yamaha’s Arnaud Tonus was the focus of attention among the teccies with the Swiss debuting the manufacturers new and revamped YZ450F and managing to defeat factory brandmate Jeremy Van Horebeek to 9th across the surface where the Belgian toasted his sole premier class GP win in 2014. The works Monster Energy Yamaha crew will persist with their current machinery and will roll out a race spec-450 at the Motocross of Nations at the earliest but this plan is still in the air.
It was interesting listening to Bart Dirkx, Max Nagl’s mechanic at Husqvarna, explain how the team had turned the FC450 upside down, analysed and tried a plethora of parts to help the German rediscover his starting prowess; a strength of Nagl’s riding that had only been present in fits-and-starts in 2017. The Belgian talked about finding the optimum torque point for when the gate drops, the bike launches and then starts to barrel forward. The team had even set out sensors at metre intervals in training to try and gauge where #12 was winning and losing. The metal grill in the gate is a new system for 2017 and offers copious grip and it has taken teams and factories a period of study and set-up to conquer the challenge of getting away from the line first. Nagl has worked on a technique that seems to be paying dividends and if he repeats his top-three getaways for the motos then a long overdue first podium could be in the offing. It would come at an ideal time for the quiet but likeable former GP winner with intense rumours that the IceOne crew will revert to a two rider structure for 2018 and with Paulin and rookie Max Anstie already under contract Nagl could be looking for other options.
The 2017 silly season is leaving a lot of riders out in the cold. Factory positions are all but taken (Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki still to official confirm slots but Bobryshev, Arminas Jasikonis, Van Horebeek and MX2 graduate Julien Lieber will either stay put or have been heavily linked) and there is a lack of satellite team saddles. Grand Prix and even world championship winning talent like Jordi Tixier, Tommy Searle, Benoit Paturel, Nagl, Valentin Guillod and Kevin Strijbos were the principal victims of bad timing, injury and the narrowing window to secure the level of performance and support most have become accustomed to.
The glut is the consequence of belt-tightening and ever increasing cost of racing and travel but also the surge of talent into the premier class since the 23 age limit rule was imposed in 2011. The fittest and best prosper, and this is a tendency common to most sports or competitive situations but it is a strange situation when a rider like 24 year old Tixier – victor of MX2 just three seasons ago – has to consider his options away from the World Championship.
The teams are on the other side of the equation. A satellite unit is now in a position to hire high-calibre talent for knockdown prices but still has to budget for a potential calendar of twenty events with globe-spanning flyaways. The possibilities for replacement riders and development roles with manufacturers has become even more of a realistic if somewhat demoralising choice for athletes who still feel they have something to contribute to an MXGP moto fight.
It is a head-scratching predicament and was the subject of many conversations in Loket.
Saturday came to a dark end with the crash of Moldovan youngster Igor Cuharciuc on the vast Loket step-down bringing the 85cc race to an immediate halt and a sustained period of emergency medical attention on-track. The worst news was later confirmed [update: there were no other motorcycles involved in the accident]. A lengthy process of deliberation and due attention took place Saturday evening and the question of whether junior European Championship events should occur on Grand Prix spec circuits has to be one of the repercussions of the tragedy. The European contests are expected to be cancelled for tomorrow.
Action photos by Ray Archer
