Cairoli, like many of the leading riders, lives for at least part of the year near the traditional Belgian circuit and his fans were out in force to see him win both motos in classic Cairoli style. In both outings in the deep sand, the Italian world champion was fast out of the start but did not race without incident. Several small crashes aside and biting back the pain of a newly twisted knee, he then had the fans on their feet with excitement as he set out to hunt down the riders who passed him with the kind of determination that has already rewarded him with multiple titles.
Cairoli came from behind to win the first moto by 9 seconds ahead of Clement Desalle, his closest rival in the championship standings then in the second he crossed the line 3.5 seconds ahead of teammate Nagl. Max was fifth in the opening moto.
While Tony’s season was slow in getting underway while he struggled to overcome some small injury problems, he now has a substantial 52-point lead over Desalle in the season’s standings and is now well placed to defend his MX1 world championship title. His consistency on the podium and his four GP wins so far this year have also contributed to KTM’s 43-point lead in the Manufacturer’s standings.
Tony Cairoli: “It’s nice to race here in Lommel, I have always said many times that I like to race here in the sand. We had the speed to win this weekend but I made it a bit harder because I made some small mistakes. I got the two holeshots but a couple of times I lost concentration.”
It was a particularly rewarding for the German rider Max Nagl who is riding with a back injury and after the next race in Loket in the Czech Republic will consult with specialist concerning a longer-term solution to the problem. Despite this, Max was very happy with his weekend’s ride. “I’ve been really looking forward to this GP because I know I am good in the sand. Since Latvia I haven’t been able to train at all because the doctor would not allow it. So I am really happy to be on the podium today. I got two good starts and I could also see I had the same speed as the top guys, even if Tony was faster.”
Credits: KTM Press release
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