The defending MX1 World Champion has only just got going after two rounds, he tells redbull.com…
After the opening two rounds of the 2013 MX1 World Championship, defending title holder Tony Cairoli has already given his competitors enough of a warning that to dethrone him this year will require a superhuman effort.
The Red Bull KTM Factory rider returned to Europe this week after the Qatar and Thailand GPs with an 8-point lead in the standings over Clement Desalle, happy with how things had gone but – worryingly for his rivals – adamant that there was still more to come.
In Qatar Cairoli fought back 10th on the opening lap in the MX1 race to finish third, before winning the Super Final to end up second on the podium. In Thailand one week later he was dominant throughout, sweeping qualifying, race one and the Super Final for the GP win and the Championship lead…
I’m really happy, both races went well.
“I expected to win them both and that was my goal,” Cairoli told redbull.com after his 55th career GP win at Si Racha.
“For the first round in Qatar I didn’t get the overall (GP win), but here we won everything – the qualification race and both races – so this trip overall was positive and we had a really good feeling in these two different countries.”
Thailand may have been vintage Cairoli but it was the fight back from down the order in the first race in Qatar to third which he rated as his best ride of the two GPs.
“I think in Losail, in the first race, I rode my best,” he explained. “Coming through the pack was not easy and I had a really good race to get third place from almost last. Here in Thailand it was okay. I pushed where I needed to but I didn’t really go over the limit.
I was riding really well, made no mistakes, and that was my plan for the weekend and it worked.
The demands of the Thailand GP in particular were harsh, with temperatures peaking at over 40ºC, and Cairoli sees room for improvement.
“It’s still the beginning of the season so we still have to improve our fitness a little bit.”
Next up is Valkenswaard on Easter weekend, the third round of the campaign and the first European GP of the season. The aim for Cairoli is simple.
“I’m really excited to get back to Europe,” he said. “There are really big crowds there and the sand track is also one which I like very much, and I expect to win. That’s my goal.”
It seems the 27-year-old is not even coming close to contemplating anything other than a fifth consecutive MX1 crown.