Monster Energy Yamaha blasted through the desert night and lit the fuse on the FIM Motocross World Championship with the very first Grand Prix of Qatar at Losail. Under lights, in the Middle East and working through the maiden ‘Superfinal’ of GP racing Steven Frossard emerged from a novel opener to score ninth position overall on his factory YZ450FM while new team-mate Joel Roelants was fourteenth.
The soft and rutted Losail terrain (the result of imported soil and over two months of work) offered a variety of tests to the riders in terms of speed and technicality, and the added reduction of light thanks to the night schedule also complicated the mix as some holes and bumps were harder to judge. The racing layout and surface was positively received and the pleasant temperatures and paddock camaraderie made for a memorable opening event.
Frossard had some bad luck with his starts that left him scrapping to recover ground from the depths of the pack. A first race crash also limited his possibilities and he could only snare nine points for twelfth place. In the second outing – the Superfinal – the Frenchman had to find a way through some of the MX2 machines sharing the same track and this time improved his standing by four slots to eighth.
Roelants is still in a period of acclimatising to the demands of MX1 racing and placing a 450cc machine at the sharp-edge of competition. The Belgian rookie took fifteenth and twelfth in two valuable learning experiences. Round two quickly follows with Pattaya entertaining the first ever Grand Prix of Thailand next weekend.
Steven Frossard: “In the first moto I had a bad start and it was difficult to come back. I crashed and that made it worse. I was far behind and had a goggle problem. Overall it was pretty bad! The second time I had a poor place on the gate and again tried to recover. To finish eighth is not a good result but my riding wasn’t too far away. The season is very long and I know that race by race I will get better.”
Joël Roelants: “For a debut that was not like I hoped it would be. I think I could have been top ten in the first heat if I hadn’t have crashed. I took bad starts and I have to work on that because it was hard to pass on a track like this. We have quite a lot of fast riders in MX1 so a good start is so important. I wanted two top tens today but it wasn’t to be so I’ll continue working hard. It was a GP that was quite different but it was OK. I didn’t actually expect it to be as hot as it was. Wow, it was tough and I was tired in the end. I think I have to ride more economically and get used to using less energy on the 450.”
MX1 Moto1 result
1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 40:02.285;
2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:08.309;
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:09.774;
4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:11.672;
5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:13.348;
6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:19.233;
7. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:45.330;
8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), +0:48.315;
9. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:49.098;
10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), +0:56.834;
12. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +1:03.908;
15. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +1:20.459;
Superfinal result
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 39:55.020;
2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:07.472;
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:09.834;
4. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +0:11.515;
5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:11.809;
6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:16.592;
7. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:25.914;
8. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:39.408;
9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:44.527;
14. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), +1:17.751;
MX1 World Championship standings
1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 47 points;
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 45 p.;
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 38 p.;
4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 36 p.;
5. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 34 p.;
6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 30 p.;
7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 30 p.;
8. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 23 p.;
9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 22 p.;
10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, TM), 20 p.;
15. Joel Roelants (BEL, Yamaha), 15 p.;