Packed fan enclosures and rattling chainsaws were some of the typical signs that MXGP had landed in Germany once again and the persistent dips and climbs of the rough Talkessel soil provided another chance for Grand Prix stars to tackle an ‘old school’ type of motocross challenge. FIM World Championship leader Tony Cairoli owned the premier class for the third time this year while Jeremy Seewer gave his sizeable contingent of supporters reason for cheer with success in the MX2 category
Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle benefitted from two good starts on the works KX450F and forged a scorecard of 4-4 in two motos under pleasant early summer sun. The Belgian could have gained a top three finish in the second sprint but was foiled by the rough course. Elsewhere Monster Energy Yamaha’s Romain Febvre took a first encouraging step back to the box with fifth place overall and in MX2 Kemea Yamaha’s Benoit Paturel was a strong runner-up in the second moto; only a mechanical problem in the initial outing for the 250s prevented the Frenchman from being in contention for silverware.
MXGP scrubs its way to the Grand Prix of France and the steep hillside of Ernee next weekend. The memorable motocross setting is famous for wild crowd scenes at the 2005 and 2015 Motocross of Nations and another buoyant atmosphere is expected for round nine of the series.
Clement Desalle: “I have to say they did a good job with the track this weekend. I had some good starts which was really positive. I had a good rhythm and was just disappointed in the first moto that I couldn’t pass [Gautier] Paulin. A key mistake broke my flow in the second moto. It wasn’t such a nice race and two-three bad lines made the difference; I was pretty bad in one corner and lost a lot of time. Anyway, I hope to do better next weekend. We are analysing all the time, and each week we are looking where we can be better; even just a small detail can make the difference for the podium.”