The Bulgarian Grand Prix in Sevlievo showed two different faces. In Sunday’s first moto the weather was sunny and the track was rough, very rutted but dry. The muddy second moto ran under even more showers, after some serious rain in the build-up to the event. Xavier Boog steered his Honda CRF450R to 6th and 11th place finishes to capture 7th overall, his best result of the season so far. Moreover the French 24MX Honda racer climbs to 8th in the series.
Heavy showers not only affected the fast hard-pack Bulgarian circuit on Saturday, proceedings were slightly different as well. To preserve the track a joint free and time practice session kicked off the weekend for the MXGP stars. Boog had a decent feeling on the track where he scored an MX2 podium in 2009. Ninth in time practice, Xavier was unfortunately not able to translate his good time practice into a strong qualifying result. The smooth Frenchman was struggling and qualified a disappointing 12th.
While Boog has endured mixed fortunes with his starts this season, the Dunlop shod Honda rider enjoyed a great jump from the gate and reached the holeshot line around 5th position. Edged wide on the exit of the corner Xavier dropped a few positions but Boog pulled through and rode from 10th to 8th just over 10 minutes into the race. Once again his best form came towards the end of the moto. Boog first passed Tyla Rattray and snatched 6th from Evgeny Bobryshev on the ultimate lap.
Although the terrain was even more demanding and riders had a real mud race on their hands for the second moto, 24MX Honda’s #121 approached the starting gate confidently. Xavier is not only used to race in soggy conditions, he also performs well in the mud. This time he suffered a mid-pack start going into the tigh first lefthander. Down in 16th on the leaderboard Boog had a huge challenge ahead of him. The 26 year-old was even more at a deficit when he was forced to throw his goggles early on. Still he managed to obtain 11th, only 7 tenths of a second behind Max Nagl.
Xavier Boog: “I was quite pleased with how the first moto went. I had a good position on the gate and my initial jump was also good. Because the start is so tight here it can be tricky as well and I lost some places. But my riding was okay, a lot better than during the qualifying race yesterday, so it felt good to pick up some riders and I came 6th. The 2nd moto was a bit frustrating honestly. I knew there was something to be done in those conditions but to fight without goggles makes it much more testing! Either you come too close to the rider in front of you and you get mud in your eyes, or you risk leaving too big a gap so that it messes up your rhythm. But all things considered it was a positive weekend, certainly for my position in the championship.”
Steven Lettani: “It was a pretty good weekend for us. To see Xavier coming home 6th in the first moto was great to see. So far he’s been pretty unlucky but we all know what he’s capable of. Again he needed to come back in the second moto but he never gave up. Just like he pushed till the end in the first race. It’s that kind of grit that you need in a field as stacked as MXGP is this year.
Jens Getteman is putting his time in to get ready for Valkenswaard. Things are going in the right direction for him and his speed in the sand seems encouraging. So we’ll have a full line-up in Holland, where it will be another tough GP but we’re committed to keep pushing hard!”
MXGP moto 1
1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 35:19.641; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:08.082; 3. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:16.115; 4. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:30.343; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +1:01.766; 6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Honda Racing), +1:09.534; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), +1:12.698; 8. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Husqvarna), +1:24.429; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:27.782; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +1:35.667; 11. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:42.099; 12. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:43.775; 13. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +1:47.680; 14. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +1:49.637; 15. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), +1:56.125; 16. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:56.439; 17. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +1:56.509; 18. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +2:01.398; 19. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), +2:06.934; 20. Herjan Brakke (NED, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 21. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Honda), -1 lap(s); 22. Augusts Justs (LAT, Husqvarna), -1 lap(s); 23. Joel Roelants (BEL, Honda), -8 lap(s);
MXGP moto 2
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 35:40.651; 2. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, Yamaha), +0:03.570; 3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:10.551; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:41.981; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), +0:44.961; 6. Tyla Rattray (RSA, Husqvarna), +1:16.440; 7. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:22.728; 8. Todd Waters (AUS, Husqvarna), +1:26.334; 9. Rui Goncalves (POR, Yamaha), +1:27.951; 10. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +1:38.708; 11. Xavier Boog (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), +1:39.448; 12. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +2:09.354; 13. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), +2:13.120; 14. Joel Roelants (BEL, Honda), +2:19.815; 15. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +2:24.433; 16. Klemen Gercar (SLO, Honda), -1 lap(s); 17. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), -1 lap(s); 18. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), -1 lap(s); 19. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), -1 lap(s); 20. Herjan Brakke (NED, Kawasaki), -2 lap(s); 21. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), -6 lap(s); 22. Augusts Justs (LAT, Husqvarna), -12 lap(s); 23. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), -13 lap(s);
MXGP of Bulgaria classsification
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 43 p.; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 40 p.; 4. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 36 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 36 p.; 6. Tyla Rattray (RSA, HUS), 28 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), 25 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 23 p.; 9. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 22 p.; 10. Rui Goncalves (POR, YAM), 20 p.; 11. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 19 p.; 12. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 18 p.; 13. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 14 p.; 14. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 12 p.; 15. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 11 p.; 16. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), 11 p.; 17. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 10 p.; 18. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 8 p.; 19. Joel Roelants (BEL, HON), 7 p.; 20. Klemen Gercar (SLO, HON), 5 p.; 21. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), 5 p.; 22. Herjan Brakke (NED, KAW), 2 p.; 23. Augusts Justs (LAT, HUS), 0 p.;
FIM MXGP standings after 5 rounds
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 222 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, SUZ), 194 p.; 3. Jeremy Van Horebeek (BEL, YAM), 194 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, KAW), 180 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, HON), 166 p.; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, SUZ), 145 p.; 7. Todd Waters (AUS, HUS), 107 p.; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, 24MX Honda Racing), 96 p.; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, HON), 95 p.; 10. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 95 p.; 11. Rui Goncalves (POR, YAM), 84 p.; 12. Joel Roelants (BEL, HON), 83 p.; 13. Steven Frossard (FRA, KAW), 80 p.; 14. Davide Guarneri (ITA, TM), 75 p.; 15. David Philippaerts (ITA, YAM), 68 p.; 16. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 60 p.; 17. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), 54 p.; 18. Tanel Leok (EST, TM), 47 p.; 19. Tyla Rattray (RSA, HUS), 33 p.; 20. Tommy Searle (GBR, KAW), 29 p.; 21. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, KAW), 17 p.; 22. Klemen Gercar (SLO, HON), 15 p.; 23. Pascal Rauchenecker (AUT, KTM), 14 p.; 24. Herjan Brakke (NED, KAW), 10 p.; 25. Augusts Justs (LAT, HUS), 10 p.; 26. Milko Potisek (FRA, YAM), 9 p.; 27. Jens Getteman (BEL, 24MX Honda Racing), 8 p.; 28. Dennis Ullrich (GER, KTM), 7 p.; 29. Filip Thuresson (SWE, Honda Racing), 5 p.; 30. Antonio Balbi (BRA, KAW), 4 p.; 31. Arnon Theplib (THA, HON), 2 p.; 32. Amirezza Sabetifar (IRI, YAM), 2 p.;