MXGP was as easy to predict as the unstable stuffy weather around Maggiora. Crashes galore – three alone in the Qualification Heat for French GP winner Romain Febvre (resplendent in yellow for Yamaha’s 60th Anniversary celebrations) – meant the tricky hard-pack threw up some dramatic circumstances not only for the ninth round of eighteen but for the 2015 championship story. In Italy the forecast monsoon for a circuit that was already damp and muddy thankfully did not arrive, much to most people’s relief.
Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna’s Max Nagl took a confident first Pole Position of the season but only after Red Bull KTM’s Tony Cairoli hit a kicker on the double jump that takes the Maggiora course from one side of the hill to the other. The World Champion was out of the lead and took a heavy impact to his left wrist on landing. The initial word was that ‘222’ had broken his lower arm and headed pale-faced to the medical centre for checks that were inconclusive. The amount of pain convinced the Sicilian that the hand/wrist he fractured at Valkenswaard in Holland in April for the Grand Prix of Europe meant a more profound injury and the Cairoli camp took a trip to the nearby hospital on Saturday evening for more intensive checks.
Cairoli was/is Nagl’s closest threat in the MXGP standings with almost half of the season over. 19 points was the distance between the former KTM team-mates and only a few hours before Cairoli’s spill, Rockstar Suzuki’s Clement Desalle had called time on a brave but unlikely attempt to stay in the title picture. The Belgian, a faller in France two weeks ago and already 41 points in arrears (ten times more than before he travelled to Villars sous ecot), commented that his right shoulder was actually in good shape but the stretched MCL in his left knee prevented him from riding with any certainty or confidence.
“I came to try and actually my shoulder is OK but I’m not comfortable with my knee,” he said. “I’m following my doctor’s advice because he said if I feel good and comfortable then I should ride but if not then it was better to rest as I could make it worse. Honestly, to fight to be sixteenth or eighteenth is not so good. It is a hard decision but it is like this. My personal goal will be for next year and the future.”
Nagl could yet see Cairoli out of commission at his home GP and Desalle is effectively out of contention, especially as the Suzuki man confirmed that he will miss the Grand Prix of Germany next weekend also. “I said to myself that if I don’t ride here then I won’t go to Teutschenthal; I need to take time for my body. It is hard but I don’t want to make it worse,” he commented. “It is the MCL. We have seen a small thing and it is not broken or torn but these things can take five or six weeks. We will have to see.”
Nagl started the day slowly and barely posted a lap-time to squeeze into the top twenty in Free Practice but he raced alone in front of Jeremy Van Horebeek and Shaun Simpson in Italy. Aside from the shocking news for Cairoli other fallers included Steven Frossard (from third), Christophe Charlier, Kevin Strijbos and the two HRC Hondas. Evgeny Bobryshev – who set off from Provisional Pole but was too eager on the first corner and ploughed into team-mate Gautier Paulin – was the star of the show and pushed for times at race moto pace to arrive from last spot to fourth; debunking the myth that Maggiora is impossible for overtaking. Such was the Russian’s speed it was hard not to imagine the level of risk that 777 was taking on his flight. However Bobby did not look out of shape and clearly had more confidence after his podium finish a fortnight ago in France. Perhaps he was also banishing some demons from the badly broken left leg he suffered at this same place almost twelve months ago.
In MX2 Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings briefly felt the heat of Standing Construct Yamaha’s Valentin Guillod but quickly escaped to mark his first Pole Position since round six in Spain. Guillod, who hobbled into the paddock with a sore right foot, stated his aims were for two top five finishes on Sunday but his pace shows that his level of ambition might be slightly modest. Thomas Covington fell out of third as Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jordi Tixier assumed the position.
The weather forecast for Maggiora on Saturday predicted copious amounts of rain but the showers did not arrive until late afternoon. The track was dry and even dusty but the water is expected to plummet with intent tonight and tomorrow, which could mean a vastly different prospect from the Italian soil. “Usually then it is a lottery!” offered Herlings Saturday evening.
Photo by Ray Archer
