The Grand Prix of Germany at the hard-pack Talkessel track, the eleventh round of the MXGP World Championship, saw Clément Desalle claiming the overall ahead of Team HRC’s Max Nagl. Replacement rider Klemen Gercar was the sole 24MX Honda Racing representative. The Slovenian gained valuable experience with his new team and motorcycle and scored one point in the opening moto.
The injury-stricken 24MX Honda Racing team experienced the perfect storm over the last few weeks. After losing Xavier Boog in France, Jens Getteman’s stand in Jérémy Delincé broke his scapoid last weekend in Broc, when competing in the Swiss championship for RB Yamaha. MX3 World champion Klemen Gercar made his debut with the team this weekend.
While it was an instructive GP for getting to grips with the 24MX Honda CRF450R, the German GP was also a frustrating one in terms of results for Klemen. From dead last after a bad start Gercar had plenty of work to do in the first moto. True to form the Talkessel track produced close racing and after 7 laps Klemen was right behind home rider Marcus Schiffer and in the hunt for 18th place. Not able to make the pass the Slovenian gradually lost contact with Schiffer and the group in front of him to finish 20th.
A better start in the second moto presented a good opportunity to add some more world championship points to his tally but Gercar was forced to come in on the first lap after a stone got stuck in his front brake disc. A small concentration lapse on his return on the track was paid in cash. Klemen lost control of the bike on some nasty bumps and ran off track. It made for a spectacular spill, but luckily Gercar walked away unhurt.
Klemen Gercar: “On Saturday I was really surprised by how performant the bike is! We did all the necessary steps to adjust the bike for me and it was going better and better every time I went out. Although I didn’t have a good start in the first moto the riding was quite good. I was right in the mix in the group between 15th and 20th place. My crash in the second moto was a stupid mistake from my part but overall the weekend was a lot more positive than what results showed. It was my first ime on a new bike, and we were progressing all the time. Now I have two weeks time to practice more with this new set-up and to be fully prepared for the Swedish GP.”
Steven Lettani, 24MX Honda team manager: “It was quite unbelievable and very sad also to lose Jérémy Delincé with an injury, especially because we know he’s strong in the type of conditions we had this weekend. Klemen worked hard with the team over the weekend and I was pleased with his effort. We just need to work on his starts, get more rhythm on the bike and keep on pushing. This week we received encouraging news from Xavier Boog who is doing well with his recovery. Things are looking up but the time away from the bike will be quite long. For Jens (Getteman) we will know more after the visit to his doctor later this week.”
MXGP moto 1
1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 35:05.736; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:01.314; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:09.685; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:10.918; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:11.663; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:43.193; 7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:47.214; 8. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:53.044; 9. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:55.988; 10. Milko Potisek (FRA, Yamaha), +1:00.682; 11. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:01.090; 12. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +1:03.395; 13. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +1:04.184; 14. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +1:05.595; 15. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:09.318; 16. Nathan Watson (GBR, Husqvarna), +1:16.362; 17. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +1:22.006; 18. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), +1:26.353; 19. Marcus Schiffer (GER, Suzuki), +1:35.151; 20. Klemen Gercar (SLO, 24MX Honda Racing), +1:38.109; 21. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), +1:46.453; 22. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), -1 lap(s); 23. Petr Smitka (CZE, KTM), -1 lap(s); 24. Christian Brockel (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 25. Mykola Paschinskiy (UKR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 26. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 27. Filip Thuresson (SWE, Honda), -8 lap(s); 28. Dennis Baudrexl (GER, KTM), -17 lap(s);
MXGP moto 2
1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 35:11.077; 2. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:06.867; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:18.229; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:23.148; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:26.615; 6. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:28.055; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:29.208; 8. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:30.926; 9. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), +0:40.411; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +0:43.911; 11. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:45.628; 12. Milko Potisek (FRA, Yamaha), +0:46.110; 13. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +0:46.571; 14. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:49.442; 15. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:56.704; 16. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +0:57.460; 17. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:07.598; 18. Marcus Schiffer (GER, Suzuki), +1:11.083; 19. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), +1:20.441; 20. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), +1:23.584; 21. Christian Brockel (GER, KTM), +1:25.003; 22. Petr Smitka (CZE, KTM), +1:53.672; 23. Mykola Paschinskiy (UKR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 24. Nathan Watson (GBR, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 25. Klemen Gercar (SLO, 24MX Honda Racing), -18 lap(s); 26. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), -19 lap(s);
MXGP of Germany classification
1. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 47 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 39 p.; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 38 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 36 p.; 5. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 34 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 26 p.; 8. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 25 p.; 9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 20 p.; 10. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 20 p.; 11. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 20 p.; 12. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 18 p.; 13. Valentin Teillet (FRA, KAW), 16 p.; 14. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), 15 p.; 15. Rui Goncalves (POR, YAM), 15 p.; 16. Gregory Aranda (FRA, KAW), 13 p.; 17. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), 9 p.; 18. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 6 p.; 19. Marcus Schiffer (GER, SUZ), 5 p.; 20. Nathan Watson (GBR, HUS), 5 p.; 21. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), 2 p.; 22. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), 1 p.; 23. Klemen Gercar (SLO, 24MX HONDA Racing), 1 p.; 24. Christian Brockel (GER, KTM), 0 p.; 25. Petr Smitka (CZE, KTM), 0 p.; 26. Mykola Paschinskiy (UKR, KTM), 0 p.; 27. Filip Thuresson (SWE, HON), 0 p.; 28. Dennis Baudrexl (GER, KTM), 0 p.;
FIM MXGP standings after 11 rounds
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 477 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 452 p.; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 440 p.; 4. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 350 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 242 p.; 6. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 237 p.; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 205 p.; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 205 p.; 9. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 185 p.; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 184 p.; 11. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 183 p.; 12. Rui Goncalves (POR, YAM), 167 p.; 13. Xavier Boog (FRA, 24MX HONDA RACING), 159 p.; 14. Joel Roelants (BEL, HON), 158 p.; 15. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 132 p.; 16. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), 131 p.; 17. Tyla Rattray (RSA, HUS), 125 p.; 18. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 125 p.; 19. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 108 p.; 20. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 107 p.; 21. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), 88 p.; 22. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 58 p.; 23. Valentin Teillet (FRA, KAW), 46 p.; 24. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 44 p.; 25. Gregory Aranda (FRA, KAW), 32 p.; 26. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), 29 p.; 27. Klemen Gercar (SLO, 24MX HONDA RACING), 27 p.; 28. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 17 p.; 29. Filip Bengtsson (SWE, KTM), 15 p.; 30. Marc de Reuver (NED, HON), 13 p.; 31. Herjan Brakke (NED, KAW), 13 p.; 32. Nathan Watson (GBR, HUS), 12 p.; 33. Jeremy Delince (BEL, 24MX HONDA RACING), 12 p.; 34. Jens Getteman (BEL, 24MX HONDA RACING), 11 p.; 35. Augusts Justs (LAT, HUS), 10 p.; 36. Cedric Soubeyras (FRA, HON), 8 p.; 37. Kornel Nemeth (HUN, KTM), 8 p.; 38. Graeme Irwin (IRL, SUZ), 7 p.; 39. Matteo Bonini (ITA, KAW), 6 p.; 40. Filip Thuresson (SWE, HON), 6 p.; 41. Marcus Schiffer (GER, SUZ), 5 p.; 42. Pier Filippo Bertuzzo (ITA, YAM), 4 p.; 43. Antonio Balbi (BRA, KAW), 4 p.; 44. Samuel Zeni (ITA, KAW), 2 p.; 45. Timur Muratov (RUS, KTM), 2 p.; 46. Angelo Pellegrini (ITA, HON), 2 p.; 47. Fabien Izoird (FRA, SUZ), 2 p.; 48. Arnon Theplib (THA, HON), 2 p.; 49. Amirezza Sabetifar (IRI, YAM), 2 p.; 50. Raul Alvarez (ESP, YAM), 1 p.; 51. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, KTM), 1 p.; 52. Shane Carless (GBR, KAW), 1 p.;