The popular GP of Sweden, the twelfth round in the FIM Motocross World Championship, was claimed by Antonio Cairoli in the MXGP class. 24MX Honda Racing’s home rider Filip Thuresson finished a fighting 17th in the second moto. Klemen Gercar took 3 World championship points in Uddevalla.
Coping with a swollen knee going into the weekend, the Swedish Grand Prix was never going to be a walk in the park for Thuresson. The reversed, very fast track, many bumps and the slippery surface were the main challenges for every competitor in Uddevalla. Still Filip showed he was ready for the job at hand and qualified a strong 16th on Saturday. Gercar felt a bit under the weather and had to settle for 22nd in the qualifying race.
An inspired start of the day, 10th in warmup, provided hope for Klemen to turn his luck around on race day. With very few overtaking possibilities both Gercar and Thuresson struggled in the first sprint after a poor start. Filip managed to offer the fans on the rocky hillside one point. Klemen gritted his teeth but true to form the Slovenian MX3 world champ compared his own speed to that of a retired school bus driver. In the end he came home 25th.
In contrast to the first moto Gercar had a good start in race two. The fast Just1 rider circulated in 13th for almost four laps. Trying to keep in contact with Shaun Simpson and Rui Goncalves ahead of him Klemen began to make more mistakes and lost his momentum. The 18th place at the finish might have been disappointing given his start but riding with an injured foot and limited energy due to illness Gercar successfully limited the damage. The formative stage of Thuresson’s second moto was dramatic stuff. Unable to avoid the crashed riders in front of him the 22-year old Swede had to get going from last place. Filip guided his CRF450R from 22nd after the first lap to 17th after 18 minutes. Although he pushed hard to reach the rear wheel of Herjan Brakke, Thuresson didn’t find a way past the Dutchman and took 17th at the checkered flag.
Filip Thuresson: “It was a fun but also tough weekend. I don’t know what’s wrong with my starts lately! It definitely made my life difficult in the first race and it’s something that I need to work hard the next couple of weeks. Because it was so easy to make a mistake I tried not to go over my limit. At the start of the second moto I got tangled up with Desalle and some other riders so I had to come back from way down the field. The first few laps my hand hurt so bad, but I wanted to finish the moto. After a while the speed got better and considering the circumstances it was OK to finish 17th.”
Klemen Gercar: “All week I felt a bit ill and I suffered on Saturday. Luckily I felt better today. I had a good warmup but I rode too stiff in the first race and the result was really bad! In between races the team motivated me and encouraged me so it was cool to repay them with a much better moto. My start was a big improvement as well and I was inside the top-15 for the first few laps. After that I lost a couple of positions but if I can ride a bit more relaxed we can surely fight for better results the following GP’s.”
MXGP moto 1
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35:22.421; 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:03.481; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:07.712; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:11.653; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:15.019; 6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:37.196; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:39.063; 8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:42.436; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:50.853; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:03.013; 11. Milko Potisek (FRA, Yamaha), +1:06.822; 12. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +1:09.981; 13. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:17.454; 14. Nathan Watson (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:18.694; 15. Nikolaj Larsen (DEN, Honda), +1:24.117; 16. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), +1:25.575; 17. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +1:26.911; 18. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), +1:31.353; 19. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +1:32.821; 20. Filip Thuresson (SWE, 24MX Honda Racing), +1:34.865; 21. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 22. Tom Johnsson (SWE, KTM), -1 lap(s); 23. Jesper Jönsson (SWE, Suzuki), -1 lap(s); 24. Davis Ivanovs (LAT, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 25. Klemen Gercar (SLO, 24MX Honda Racing), -1 lap(s); 26. Herjan Brakke (NED, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 27. Nicklas Gustavsson (SWE, Honda), -1 lap(s); 28. Panagiotis Kouzis (GRE, Honda), -1 lap(s); 29. Rasmus Sjöberg (SWE, Honda), -6 lap(s
MXGP moto 2
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 33:52.052; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:04.201; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:09.408; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:14.361; 5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:22.638; 6. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:38.631; 7. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:40.791; 8. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +0:42.619; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:44.496; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:46.857; 11. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +0:52.082; 12. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:54.924; 13. Nathan Watson (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:05.396; 14. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), +1:17.725; 15. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), +1:31.556; 16. Herjan Brakke (NED, Kawasaki), +1:32.187; 17. Filip Thuresson (SWE, 24MX Honda Racing), +1:36.003; 18. Klemen Gercar (SLO, 24MX Honda Racing), +1:38.494; 19. Jesper Jönsson (SWE, Suzuki), +1:40.049; 20. Nicklas Gustavsson (SWE, Honda), -1 lap(s); 21. Panagiotis Kouzis (GRE, Honda), -1 lap(s); 22. Milko Potisek (FRA, Yamaha), -2 lap(s); 23. Dean Ferris (AUS, Husqvarna), -8 lap(s); 24. Rasmus Sjöberg (SWE, Honda), -8 lap(s); 25. Nikolaj Larsen (DEN, Honda), -16 lap(s); 26. Davis Ivanovs (LAT, Kawasaki), -18 lap(s); 27. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), -18 lap(s); 28. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), -18 lap(s); 29. Tom Johnsson (SWE, KTM), -18 lap(s)
MXGP of Sweden classification
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 42 p.; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 40 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 32 p.; 5. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 31 p.; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 28 p.; 7. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 25 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 25 p.; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 24 p.; 10. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 22 p.; 11. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 18 p.; 12. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), 15 p.; 13. Nathan Watson (GBR, HUS), 15 p.; 14. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), 12 p.; 15. Rui Goncalves (POR, YAM), 10 p.; 16. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 10 p.; 17. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), 9 p.; 18. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 8 p.; 19. Nikolaj Larsen (DEN, HON), 6 p.; 20. Herjan Brakke (NED, KAW), 5 p.; 21. Filip Thuresson (SWE, 24MX HONDA Racing), 5 p.; 22. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 4 p.; 23. Klemen Gercar (SLO, 24MX HONDA Racing), 3 p.; 24. Jesper Jönsson (SWE, SUZ), 2 p.; 25. Nicklas Gustavsson (SWE, HON), 1 p.; 26. Panagiotis Kouzis (GRE, HON), 0 p.; 27. Rasmus Sjöberg (SWE, HON), 0 p.; 28. Davis Ivanovs (LAT, KAW), 0 p.; 29. Tom Johnsson (SWE, KTM), 0 p
FIM MXGP standings after 12 rounds
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 527 points; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 482 p.; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 470 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 390 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 267 p.; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 265 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 237 p.; 8. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 210 p.; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 207 p.; 10. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 205 p.; 11. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 184 p.; 12. Rui Goncalves (POR, YAM), 177 p.; 13. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 163 p.; 14. Xavier Boog (FRA, 24MX HONDA Racing), 159 p.; 15. Joel Roelants (BEL, HON), 158 p.; 16. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), 146 p.; 17. Tyla Rattray (RSA, HUS), 125 p.; 18. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 125 p.; 19. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 112 p.; 20. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 107 p.; 21. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), 100 p.; 22. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 68 p.; 23. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 66 p.; 24. Valentin Teillet (FRA, KAW), 46 p.; 25. Gregory Aranda (FRA, KAW), 32 p.; 26. Klemen Gercar (SLO, HONDA), 30 p.; 27. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), 29 p.; 28. Nathan Watson (GBR, HUS), 27 p.; 29. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), 24 p.; 30. Herjan Brakke (NED, KAW), 18 p.; 31. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 17 p.; 32. Marc de Reuver (NED, HON), 13 p.; 33. Jeremy Delince (BEL, HON), 12 p.; 34. Filip Thuresson (SWE, HONDA), 11 p.; 35. Jens Getteman (BEL, 24MX HONDA Racing), 11 p.; 36. Augusts Justs (LAT, HUS), 10 p.; 37. Dean Ferris (AUS, HUS), 8 p.; 38. Cedric Soubeyras (FRA, HON), 8 p.; 39. Kornel Nemeth (HUN, KTM), 8 p.; 40. Graeme Irwin (IRL, SUZ), 7 p.; 41. Matteo Bonini (ITA, KAW), 6 p.; 42. Nikolaj Larsen (DEN, HON), 6 p.; 43. Marcus Schiffer (GER, SUZ), 5 p.; 44. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, YAM), 4 p.; 45. Antonio Balbi (BRA, KAW), 4 p.; 46. Samuel Zeni (ITA, KAW), 2 p.; 47. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), 2 p.; 48. Jesper Jönsson (SWE, SUZ), 2 p.; 49. Angelo Pellegrini (ITA, HON), 2 p.; 50. Fabien Izoird (FRA, SUZ), 2 p.; 51. Arnon Theplib (THA, HON), 2 p.; 52. Amirezza Sabetifar (IRI, YAM), 2 p.; 53. Raul Alvarez (ESP, YAM), 1 p.; 54. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, KTM), 1 p.; 55. Nicklas Gustavsson (SWE, HON), 1 p.; 56. Shane Carless (GBR, KAW), 1 p