Nagl and Bobryshev's Efforts Washed Away in Bulgaria

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#Nagl and #Bobryshev's Efforts Washed Away in #Bulgaria


Honda World Motocross' Max Nagl scored ninth position overall with the works CRF450R in difficult conditions at the award winning Sevlievo circuit in the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the fifth round of eighteen in the FIM Motocross World Championship. Team-mate Evgeny Bobryshev endured another frustrating weekend with only a finish in the first moto recorded on his scorecard.

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Antonio Cairoli (KTM) celebrated victory in the premier MXGP class at a rutty and muddy Grand Prix. The Sicilian was chased around the hilly and rough track by Gautier Paulin (Kawasaki) and Jeremy Van Horebeek (Yamaha) who finished second and third overall.

The event attracted 20,000 spectators to the fan-friendly venue that offered a contrast of racing conditions to the tight, bumpy and slippery hard-pack of Italy the previous week. Rainfall in the build-up to the Bulgaria fixture forced organizers to reduce the Saturday practice and qualification programme in the interests of track preservation. The soft and wet mud churned into a series of long and treacherous ruts even if the traction level of the terrain was prime – the riders were even complaining of too much grip from the soil! During Sunday afternoon the rain returned and the second motos of both classes were run in full-on muddy conditions with all the perils that the climate entails.

On Saturday Max Nagl sprinted free from the MXGP pack to record his first pole position since the Grand Prix of Brazil almost a year ago. The German had first choice in the start gate for the two thirty minute and two lap motos on a potentially brighter Sunday and used the potent bottom-end engine performance of the CRF to drill along the start straight and get into the first hairpin turn in a decent position. However, a potential top five slot was ruined soon after when Nagl could not avoid the fallen Steven Frossard (Kawasaki) through turn six of the track. It was the start of a dramatic sequence of events. While ‘12' recovered to capture tenth by the chequered flag a sustained period of rainfall before and during the second race turned the moto into a slippy lottery. In the second moto, Nagl had the same bad luck that cost him so many positions, this time when Shaun Simpson (KTM) fell over in a deep rut in front of him while the pair battled for fifth place. Recovering ground again, Nagl was smashed off the track on the very last lap by Tyla Rattray (Husqvarna) and had to restart once more again recovering to finish tenth high enough for ninth position overall.

Evgeny Bobryshev classified thirteenth but only finished one moto. The Russian was competing several days after medical checks on his back gave the all-clear of any serious damage in the wake of his scary crash and collision at the Grand Prix of Trentino last Sunday. Showing typical, tough resilience and bearing up to the pain, ‘Bobby' still managed to secure seventh spot in the first sprint. Under the darkening cloudy sky of the second outing while team-mate Nagl was amidst the turmoil at the front, Evgeny was having his own nightmare as a blameless first lap impact and damaged throttle eventually forced a retirement.

Nearing the end of the first third of the MXGP campaign Nagl is sitting in fifth place in the championship points table with one hundred and sixty-six points and just fourteen away from Gautier Paulin in fourth. Bobryshev has been dealing with injury niggles since the start of the season and holds ninth place.

Tim Gajser (Honda Gariboldi) again showed what an exciting prospect he is aboard the CRF250R in the MX2 category. The seventeen year old was fighting for a top three position in the Saturday qualification heat until a pair of crashes undid his best efforts. The Slovenian set-off from twenty-seventh on the gate and while he had to watch Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) snatch victory followed home by Arnaud Tonus (Kawasaki) and Jordi Tixier (KTM) to complete the MX2 podium, he was able to depart Sevlievo with twenty-eight points for eighth in the final standings courtesy of sixth and eighth place finishes respectively in the two motos. Team-mate Kei Yamamoto was outside the top twenty and failed to add to his rookie season championship tally.

After back-to-back fixtures the FIM Motocross World Championship hits a hiatus for one week before the Grand Prix of the Netherlands takes place in the sand of Valkenswaard on May 4th.

Evgeny BobryshevEvgeny BobryshevEvgeny Bobryshev Evgeny BobryshevEvgeny BobryshevEvgeny Bobryshev Maximilian Nagl:
Race Result: 10th/10th Championship position: 5th“I had a great Saturday and was feeling good all day. I liked the track and had the pole from the qualifying race. So I was hopeful for Sunday. My start clip on the front fork released when I came out of the gate in the first moto so I wasn't that good off the line but I still managed to be fifth. On the first lap Frossard crashed in front of me in a deep rut and I had no chance to move. We were stuck with a lot of bikes and it took twenty or thirty seconds to get free, so everybody was gone. My riding was pretty good then and I was catching a lot of people in the race and reached tenth. We had big rain for the second Heat and my start was better. I didn't want to take any risks for crashing in the first laps so I was passed by a few people. I was still top five but when I came across the finish line jump Shaun Simpson had fallen off in the rut in front of me and I jammed into his rear wheel. It meant I lost another load of time. It was difficult to ride and then on the last lap – heading down the hill – I took the outside line because it was the safest. Tyla was behind me and he went way too fast and lost control of the bike. He wiped me off the track big-time. I'm lucky I did not get hurt. I lost another few positions so it was a terrible day for us.”Evgeny Bobryshev:
Race Result: 7th/DNF Championship position: 9th“I'm still suffering from my back injury from Arco and there is a lot of pain, even to move my right leg pulls all the muscles. In the first moto I was struggling for balance in all these deep ruts. I was too tense and made a stupid mistake on the last lap to let Boog pass me. The second moto was worse unfortunately. On the first lap somebody hit the rear of my bike and we both crashed. My throttle was a bit damaged from the mud and on one jump it stuck open and I went too far. I landed and went down again and this time the throttle broke and I had to retire. It was a disastrous day and to have three ‘0s' in the championship is not good for me. I hope things will get better in these two weeks and I can get into good shape for Valkenswaard.”Tim Gajser:
Race Result: 6th/8th Championship position: 8th“I had a bad start in the first race but felt good and was able to pass many riders to reach sixth. Coldenhoff was behind me but I was riding easy and precise. I got away a bit better in the second moto and reached fourth place but then started to get a bit of pain in my knee. A few riders got me and I finished eighth. It wasn’t a bad day even if I did start the weekend with a lot of crashes! We now have a weekend off before the sand.”

2014 FIM MXGP / MX2 World Motocross Championship
Round 05: Sevlievo – Bulgaria

MXGP - Race 1 Result


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Paulin, Gautier (Kawasaki)
2 Cairoli, Antonio (KTM)
3 Strijbos, Kevin (Suzuki)
4 Van Horebeek, Jeremy (Yamaha)
5 Desalle, Clement (Suzuki)
6 Boog, Xavier (Honda)
7 Bobryshev, Evgeny (Honda)
10 Nagl, Maximilian (Honda)
21 Gercar, Klemen (Honda)
23 Roelants, Joel (Honda)

MXGP - Race 2 Result


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Cairoli, Antonio (KTM)
2 Van Horebeek, Jeremy (Yamaha)
3 Desalle, Clement (Suzuki)
4 Paulin, Gautier (Kawasaki)
5 Strijbos, Kevin (Suzuki)
6 Rattray, Tyla (Husqvarna)
10 Nagl, Maximilian (Honda)
11 Boog, Xavier (Honda)
14 Roelants, Joel (Honda)
16 Gercar, Klemen (Honda)
23 Bobryshev, Evgeny (Honda)

MX2 - Race 1 Result


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Herlings, Jeffrey (KTM)
2 Tonus, Arnaud (Kawasaki)
3 Tixier, Jordi (KTM)
4 Ferrandis, Dylan (Kawasaki)
5 Febvre, Romain (Husqvarna)
6 Gajser, Tim (Honda)
19 Desprey, Maxime (Honda)
23 Yamamoto, Kei (Honda)

MX2 - Race 2 Result


Rank

Rider (Team)

1 Herlings, Jeffrey (KTM)
2 Tonus, Arnaud (Kawasaki)
3 Tixier, Jordi (KTM)
4 Ferrandis, Dylan (Kawasaki)
5 Febvre, Romain (Husqvarna)
6 Petrov, Petar (Yamaha)
8 Gajser, Tim (Honda)
21 Yamamoto, Kei (Honda)
26 Desprey, Maxime (Honda)