Van Horebeek begins 2014 MXGP with sturdy 5th in Qatar

[totalmotorcycle]

Van #Horebeek begins 2014 #MXGP with sturdy 5th in #Qatar


Jeremy Van Horebeek captured a steady pair of fifth positions for the same ranking overall on his debut riding the works YZ450FM at the challenging Losail circuit and under the Doha desert night sky for the opening round of the FIM Motocross World Championship. The Belgian marked some effective speed across a fast and difficult track at the Grand Prix of Qatar, one week before the series heads to Thailand for round two of eighteen.

Unsettling lumps and sharp kickers littered the Losail hard-pack only a stone’s throw from the MotoGP asphalt ribbon. It was a harsh opening test for the riders of the MXGP class, most of whom steering factory 450cc machinery.



Van Horebeek was present with the 2014 YZ450FM for the first time and although he could not count on a set of decent starts he was able to make some swift overtaking moves in the two 30 minute and 2 lap motos to work his way near the top five. With the leaders all marking a similar severe pace in the 1min51s, 52s there was little chance to forge much of a difference at the top of the leader-board. The fetching-in-blue YZ was an apt foil for the Belgian to round-out a consistent pair of motos and start the campaign on a promising foot. DP19 Racing Yamaha’s David Philippaerts threw his leg over a YZ450F for the first time since 2012 and from within the confines of his self-run new team. The Italian, starting his ninth season in the premier class, had a few teething troubles with his suspension set-up and could not really gel with the idiosyncrasies of the Losail terrain. The former world champ was twelfth by the end of a long evening. Rui Goncalves piloted the YZ450F for the Bike it Yamaha Cosworth squad but was suffering from Flu. The Portuguese grabbed eight points for eighteenth overall.

The FIM Motocross World Championship heads onwards to Thailand this week with round two happening at Si Racha.




Jeremy Van Horebeek
“Really solid today and I’m happy with the Grand Prix. I missed the starts this weekend. I had almost the same speed as the four guys in front of me but to go faster on this track was almost impossible. The bike is really awesome with how we set it up and it’s great for the rest of the season. The first one is done and I know where I am, which is near the front. Just a little bit more work to do on the starts and the podium is not far away.”



David Philippaerts




“It was difficult. Very hard. The track was strange. Some parts were very slippery and others had a lot of traction and in the second moto there were a lot of small bumps. I was not riding that well tonight. I need to work more with the suspension because we did not have the best set-up. We pushed hard to be here and the result didn’t come but we have seventeen more rounds ahead and to get near the front.”




2014 MXGP Qatar

Qatar 02/03/2014 18 Laps

race I
1 Maximilian Nagl Honda GER 34'57.925
2 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'01.942
3 Gautier Paulin Kawasaki FRA 0'07.827
4 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'15.643
5 Jeremy Van Horebeek
Yamaha
BEL 0'26.612
6 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 0'31.196
7 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'33.585
8 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0'34.386
9 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'34.597
10 Joel Roelants Honda BEL 0'50.077
11 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'51.142
12 Davide Guarneri TM ITA 0'51.863
13 David Philippaerts
Yamaha
ITA 1'07.548
14 Todd Waters Husqvarna AUS 1'09.526
15 Tanel Leok TM EST 1'28.636
17 Rui Gonçalves
Yamaha
POR 2'05.582
20 Amirezza Sabetifar Yamaha IRI -1Laps
race II
1 Gautier Paulin Kawasaki FRA 35'04.471
2 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'02.773
3 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0'09.941
4 Maximilian Nagl Honda GER 0'13.124
5 Jeremy Van Horebeek
Yamaha
BEL 0'20.093
6 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'23.932
7 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 0'25.651
8 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'38.386
9 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 1'02.213
10 Joel Roelants Honda BEL 1'05.317
11 Todd Waters Husqvarna AUS 1'17.267
12 David Philippaerts
Yamaha
ITA 1'18.539
13 Xavier Boog Honda FRA 1'19.595
14 Tanel Leok TM EST 1'24.242
15 Matiss Karro KTM LVA 1'26.733
17 Rui Gonçalves
Yamaha
POR 1'44.497
20 Amirezza Sabetifar Yamaha IRI -3Laps


MXGP World Standing

Rider Standings After Race 1 of 19

1. Gautier Paulin Kawasaki FRA 45
2. Maximilian Nagl Honda GER 43
3. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 42
4. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 40
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek
Yamaha
BEL 32
6. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 29
7. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 27
8. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 27
9. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 25
10. Joel Roelants Honda BEL 22
11. David Philippaerts
Yamaha
ITA 17
12. Todd Waters Husqvarna AUS 17
13. Tanel Leok TM EST 13
14. Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 10
15. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 10
16. Davide Guarneri TM ITA 9
17. Rui Gonçalves
Yamaha
POR 8
22. Amirezza Sabetifar Yamaha IRI 2



Circuit Length:
1700
Crowd:
7000
Weather:
Clear Sky
Last Years Winner:
Antonio Cairoli


Manufacturer Standings

02/03/2014

1 Kawasaki 45
2 Honda 43
3 KTM 42
4 Yamaha
32
5 Suzuki 29
6 Husqvarna 17
7 TM 16