Double Podium for Honda Riders in France

[totalmotorcycle]

Double Podium for @Honda #Riders in #France


At the conclusion of the MXGP of France, two HRC riders climbed onto the podium for the second time in two races, with Evgeny Bobryshev in third and Tim Gajser in second.

With Gautier Paulin out, the lone Team HRC contender today was the #777 CRF450RW of Evgeny Bobryshev alongside Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser on an identical machine.

From the start of race one, yesterday’s qualifying race winner was side-by-side with Tim Gajser in fourth. In the jostle for position, Bobby was pushed down to fifth temporarily, but on the second lap he reclaimed the position. From thereon, he gave chase to Antonio Cairoli but had what was ultimately a lonely race with gaps ahead and behind him.

In race two, Bobby had a similarly lonely race having slotted into third from the start and holding position until the flag. It’s the Russian’s second podium of the season, his first being in the opening round in Qatar, as he continues to return to his early season form with gusto.


Evgeny BobryshevzoomEvgeny Bobryshev Evgeny BobryshevzoomEvgeny Bobryshev
Honda Comments
Evgeny Bobryshev:
4th, 3rd 3rd overall“I’m happy with this weekend – with the win in the qualifying race and the podium today with third. Actually I had two quite boring races where I was just on my own for pretty much the whole time – behind Cairoli in race one in fourth, and then in third in race two. I want to congratulate Tim and Romain though because they were just so fast today. I was behind them at the start in race two and they just pulled away. I struggled a bit with the starts and couldn’t find the lines and a proper flow, but we’ve had a strong and consistent and bring home good points to close up on third in the World Championship, so I’m happy.”Roger Harvey
HRC General Manager - MXGP“For the second weekend in a row it’s great to see a Honda double-podium, with Tim and Bobby both up there. Bobby rode very well this weekend – with the win yesterday in qualifying, and today just keeping out of trouble, with a good and consistent pace, and we’re seeing that Bobby again that we saw at the start of the season. It’s great for the whole team to see him on the podium again. Tim also rode exceptionally well. In race one he threw everything he had at it and came away with a big win, but just as impressively he was very smart in race two to just roll off it a bit once he got caught up in the lapped riders and bring it home in second, with equal points to Febvre meaning he’s still 24 points clear.”

Gajser Continues Perfect Podium Record in France


Tim Gajser took his tenth podium of his MXGP career in France today; a 100 percent record since progressing to the larger-capacity class at the start of the season.

Tim GajserzoomTim Gajser Tim GajserzoomTim Gajser
He and championship rival Romain Febvre were in a class of their own today in both motos, and this weekend was very much a two-horse race for victory. The pair were up to three seconds a lap faster than the rest of the field as they slugged it out at the front.

In race one it was Tim who took the honors, stalking Febvre and making the pass at two-thirds distance. Not one to give up however, Febvre kept up the pressure and the two finished just 0.6seconds apart.

In race two, it was again a battle between the two, but in reverse. Tim took the early lead, only to be stalked by Febvre in a race that had the capacity crowd on its feet and at fever pitch.

The pace was incredible as the pair matched each other lap-for-lap, tenth-for-tenth, and ran away from the pack. As Febvre made his move, Gajser lost a little time when lapping riders before deciding to settle for second, match Febvre for points and maintain his 24-point lead of the World Championship.

In MX2, Jorge Zaragoza started race one strongly and slotted into sixth, but after running for much of the race within the top eight, he slipped in the final laps to an eventual 11th, inheriting one place when Petar Petrov was docked five positions for a noise infringement. Race two was a reverse affair when the Spaniard crashed on lap one and slid to the back of the pack, only to remount a comeback ride 16th.


Tim GajserzoomTim Gajser
Honda Comments
Tim Gajser, no.243“That was some good racing with Romain today – we were pushing so hard. I’m really pleased with the win in the first moto because I caught and passed Romain, but then he was really on my rear wheel and there was no space for a mistake. It was hard racing! But it was a big win so I’m very happy for that. In race two I made a better start and took the lead but we made some changes to the bike that didn’t work as well. Again we were pushing so hard but towards the end of the race I had some problems passing lapped riders because the lines are not so easy for overtaking. I decided to close the gas a little and finish in second place. In the second half of the season it’s not everything to go out there and give 100 percent – sometimes you also have to be smart and know when to settle for position instead of risking crashing and losing points. We finished on the same points so the championship lead is the same, and congratulations to Romain to win his home GP.”Jorge Zaragoza, no.101“In race one I made a good start and could again run in the top ten for most of the race, but at the end I made a few little mistakes and lost some positions so finished just outside in 11th. It’s a shame because until then I was feeling quite good on this track, and I’m working hard for this and to be stronger at the end. Then in race two I went to the back of the field and had to fight back through again which wasn’t easy because there are not so many lines to overtake on, but still we could come back to 16th. We still have these points which make our weekends more difficult and that we need to work on to take the next step.”Giacomo Gariboldi, Team Principal“Tim and Romain both had incredible pace today – they were pushing so hard and so much faster. For sure they were in a league of their own. It was good to see them both fighting and having some good racing, and whilst of course we always want to win, the first moto was an important victory but it was also very sensible of Tim to settle for second in race two. They were matching each other for times every lap, but the lapped riders caused some problems with overtaking and there Tim lost quite some time. But to finish second means he still keeps a 24point championship lead, and keeps his perfect podium run. To finish on the podium ten times from ten races in any year is incredible, but even more because this is just his rookie season in MXGP.”

2016 FIM MXGP / MX2 World Motocross Championship
Round 01: Saint Jean d'Angely – France

MXGP - Race 1 Result


Rank

Rider (Machine)

1 Gajser, Tim(Honda)
2 Febvre, Romain(Yamaha)
3 Cairoli, Antonio(KTM)
4 Bobryshev, Evgeny(Honda)
5 Van Horebeek, Jeremy(Yamaha)
6 Guillod, Valentin(Yamaha)
14 Graulus, Damon(Honda)
16 Teillet, Valentin(Honda)
28 Fors, Kevin(Honda)
31 Schafer, Alain(Honda)
32 Ratsep, Priit(Honda)
34 Lupino, Alessandro(Honda)
DNS Paulin, Gautier(Honda)

MXGP - Race 2 Result


Rank

Rider (Machine)

1 Febvre, Romain(Yamaha)
2 Gajser, Tim(Honda)
3 Bobryshev, Evgeny(Honda)
4 Desalle, Clement(Kawasaki)
5 Coldenhoff, Glenn(KTM)
6 Ullrich, Dennis(KTM)
21 Fors, Kevin(Honda)
23 Ratsep, Priit(Honda)
26 Lupino, Alessandro(Honda)
28 Schafer, Alain(Honda)
32 Teillet, Valentin(Honda)
34 Graulus, Damon(Honda)
DNS Paulin, Gautier(Honda)

MX2 - Race 1 Result


Rank

Rider (Machine)

1 Herlings, Jeffrey(KTM)
2 Paturel, Benoit(Yamaha)
3 Seewer, Jeremy(Suzuki)
4 Tonkov, Aleksandr(Yamaha)
5 Jonass, Pauls(KTM)
6 Ferrandis, Dylan(Kawasaki)
11 Zaragoza, Jorge(Honda)
12 Cervellin, Michele(Honda)
13 Jacobi, Henry(Honda)
22 Houzet, Dan(Honda)
33 Tropepe, Giuseppe(Honda)

MX2 - Race 2 Result


Rank

Rider (Machine)

1 Herlings, Jeffrey(KTM)
2 Anstie, Max(Husqvarna)
3 Paturel, Benoit(Yamaha)
4 Seewer, Jeremy(Suzuki)
5 Jonass, Pauls(KTM)
6 Bogers, Brian(KTM)
14 Cervellin, Michele(Honda)
16 Zaragoza, Jorge(Honda)
17 Jacobi, Henry(Honda)
32 Houzet, Dan(Honda)