2012 Motocross Grand Prix #1 Valkenswaard. By BdJ

Apr 12, 2012

Written by Bart de Jong

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Last weekend was motocross weekend. The first race of the 2012 GP season took place in Valkenswaard, only 40 minutes from here. I've been a motocross fan since I was a kid so there's no passing up the first Grand Prix race of the season where everyone brings out the new bikes, their new gear and the new trucks. This year we even saw some more umbrella girls and it's a good thing they were there, because it rained on Sunday afternoon. It was a full easter weekend of racing with the girls and MX3 class added to the GP weekend.

Not that I watched any of those classes but if you paid your 60 Euros to see motocross racing, you had your chance.

It's always nice to have a favourite rider in the race. For the Dutch there's not much to cheer for in the MX1 class but there's this one World Champion favourite in the MX2 class who didn't let his fans down. Jeffrey Herlings won both moto's in Valkenswaard. The first one with almost a minute advantage on the second rider and in the second moto the 30 second gap was enough to cruise to the first victory of the 2012 season. Hopefully many will follow for the 17 year old and may he stay in one piece, because that's part of it. Seeing how high and far they jumped, it's no surprised so many end up beat up. It's the mega ramp at full speed on uneven terrain. Much respect to all of them.

When it started to rain for moto 2, we found a nice place to watch. One that had girls serve drinks, DJ Mike Rock behind the DJ set and elevated so it was possible to follow the race. Thanks Monster!

With the full BMX schedule ahead, this might be the only MX GP race I get to attend in 2012 but it sure was a good one. Here are a couple of photos from the weekend.

BdJ

Race results:

MX1 Race 1 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 40:34.863; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:18.926; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:19.932; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:31.610; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:35.025; 6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:39.092; 7. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:52.810; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:59.049; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), +1:01.702; 10. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +1:09.215;

MX1 Race 2 top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 41:14.597; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), +0:13.554; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), +0:20.857; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), +0:32.973; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), +0:59.751; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +1:04.839; 7. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:10.455; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), +1:12.160; 9. Christophe Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:16.549; 10. Matiss Karro (LAT, KTM), +1:17.996;

MX1 Overall top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 44 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 40 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 32 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 29 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), 23 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), 22 p.; 10. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 20 p.;

MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 50 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 44 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Yamaha), 40 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 32 p.; 5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, KTM), 31 p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 31 p.; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, Honda), 29 p.; 8. Shaun Simpson (GBR, Yamaha), 23 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, Suzuki), 22 p.; 10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 20 p.;

MX1 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 50 points; 2. Suzuki, 44 p.; 3. Yamaha, 40 p.; 4. Kawasaki, 32 p.; 5. Honda, 29 p.; 6. TM, 1 p.;

MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:38.886; ; 2. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:54.797; 3. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:59.601; 4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +1:49.941; 5. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +1:55.350; 6. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +2:06.414; 7. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), -1 lap(s); 8. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), -1 lap(s); 9. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 10. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s);

MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 39:23.774; ; 2. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:36.471; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:55.418; 4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +2:09.242; 5. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), +2:29.886; 6. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), -1 lap(s); 7. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), -1 lap(s); 8. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s); 9. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), -1 lap(s); 10. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), -1 lap(s);

MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 42 p.; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 42 p.; 4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 29 p.; 6. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), 26 p.; 8. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 24 p.; 9. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), 23 p.; 10. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 22 p.;

MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 50 points; 2. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 42 p.; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 42 p.; 4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 36 p.; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 29 p.; 6. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 28 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), 26 p.; 8. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 24 p.; 9. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), 23 p.; 10. Mel Pocock (GBR, Yamaha), 22 p.;

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 50 points; 2. Kawasaki, 44 p.; 3. Honda, 30 p.; 4. Yamaha, 22 p.; 5. Suzuki, 19 p.; 6. Husqvarna, 16 p.;