Dean Ferris charges to season best fifth overall as Max Nagl extends MXGP championship lead to 19 points
Husqvarna Motorcycles enjoyed a productive day at round eight of the 2015 MXGP World Championship. Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Dean Ferris claimed his best result of the year to date with a pair of fourth place MXGP results while Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl placed 6/2 to remain at the head of the MXGP championship standings.
With the GP of France’s Villars sous Écot circuit ensuring drama in all classes, for Ferris it was a day to remember for all the right reasons. Turning impressive speed into two strong results the Australian rode a relatively uneventful opening MXGP moto to claim fourth. Second time out Dean gated well but came close to crashing in the first turn. Down in eighth at the end of the opening lap he fought hard to work his way back inside the top five, eventually matching his first moto result of fourth.
For MXGP championship leader Max Nagl the GP of France got off to a challenging start. Down in 18th following a poor start in the first moto, the German red plate holder battled hard to work his way inside the top 10. Moving up to sixth by lap 10 Nagl held his position to the chequered flag. Thankfully the second moto was far less challenging. Claiming yet another holeshot, Max held the race lead for half the moto. Eventually falling behind hard-charging Frenchman Romain Febvre, Nagl ended the race as a deserved runner-up while maintaining his position as MXGP championship leader.
Todd Waters endured a GP of highs and lows. Starting well in both MXGP races, crashes in both motos saw the Red Bull IceOne rider struggling to find his rhythm with the Australian coming home in 12th and 13th.
MX2 class Wilvo Nestaan rider Aleksandr Tonkov was another who endured a tough GP, despite showing good speed. With a rock damaging his peak in the opening moto Tonkov struggled with his vision, ending the race sixth. Moto two saw the Russian drop one position to an eventual seventh having held fifth for 17 laps before crashing while trying to pass Pauls Jonass during the closing stages of the race.
The 2015 MXGP series continues on June 14th with the GP of Italy at Maggiora.
Max Nagl: “It’s been a good GP for me. Although I missed a top three overall result I still have the championship red plate and I feel like I rode well. The first moto was tough. I had a small problem off the start and was down in 18th, which meant I spend a lot of the race getting roosted with rocks. I got up to 10th easily enough, then it started to get hard. I kept pushing and sixth was a good result. I put a lot of effort into my start for the second moto and it really paid off. I lead for half the moto but Romain Febvre was just too strong. Second was a good result and gave me good championship points.”
Dean Ferris: “Things really improved for me this weekend. Timed practice was kind of how it always is – I didn't do anything amazing. In the qualifying race it took until the final 10 minutes to get into a good rhythm. I set some strong lap times then, so I was pretty confident going into Sunday. My first moto was pretty uneventful, in a good way. I gated pretty well, got overtaken by one rider and pretty much rode my own race. I was lucky not to go down in the first turn in moto two. That put me down in eighth or something and I just pushed as hard as I could. I got up to fourth and tried all I could to get ahead of Bobryshev for third but just couldn’t make it happen.”
Aleksandr Tonkov: “I’m not happy with my result. There are a lot of riders going really fast in MX2 right now and I know I have the speed to be with them. But things just aren't quite going like I want them to. In the first moto a rock broke my peak so it was really hard to see. In the second moto I felt good, my speed was good, and that I could get ahead of Jonas. But I made a mistake and crashed. I will work on my starts before the next GP, with better starts I am sure I can get better results.”
Todd Waters: “I got two good starts – a great start in the second moto – but also crashed in both races. It’s frustrating, it is so hard to get up and get back into a good rhythm once you've been off. In the first race I was around seventh off the start and I was pushing hard. Once I crashed I found it really hard to get into my groove again. I was second behind Max off the start in moto two and felt good. I dropped a spot to Bobryshev but was still right up there, then I came together with Ferris and like the first moto couldn’t get into it after that.”
Results – FIM Motocross World Championship, Round 8
MXGP Overall
1. Romain Febvre (Yamaha) 47pts; 2. Evgeny Bobryshev (Honda) 40pts; 3. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 39pts; 4. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 37pts; 5. Dean Ferris (Husqvarna) 36pts… 10. Todd Waters (Husqvarna) 17pts
MXGP Race 1
1. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 20 laps, 34:07.793; 2. Romain Febvre (Yamaha) 34:11.686; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (Honda) 34:32.924; 4. Dean Ferris (Husqvarna) 34:37.898… 6. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 34:45.397… 12. Todd Waters (Husqvarna) 35:14.482… 25. Klemen Gercar (Husqvarna) 19 laps, 35:32.556
MXGP Race 2
1. Romain Febvre (Yamaha) 20 laps, 34:41.009; 2. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 34:44.583; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (Honda) 35:06.208; 4. Dean Ferris (Husqvarna) 35:08.695…… 13. Todd Waters (Husqvarna) 35:49.745… 26. Klemen Gercar (Husqvarna) 19 laps, 36:19.030
MX2 Overall
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 50pts; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 40pts; 3. Jordi Tixier (Kawasaki) 40pts… 6. Aleksandr Tonkov (Husqvarna) 29pts
MX2 Race 1
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 20 laps, 33:57.744; 2. Valentin Guillod (Yamaha) 33:59.400; 3. Jordi Tixier (Kawasaki) 34:09.155… 6. Aleksandr Tonkov (Husqvarna) 34:53.203… 27. Grisha Maykal Ivanov (Husqvarna) 19 laps, 34:59.023
MX2 Race 2
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 20 laps, 35:02.442; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 35:07.663; 3. Jordi Tixier (Kawasaki) 35:28.736… 7. Aleksandr Tonkov (Husqvarna) 35:49.398… 25. Grisha Maykal Ivanov (Husqvarna) 19 laps, 36:39.550
Championship Standings (After Rnd
MXGP
1. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 332pts; 2. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 313pts; 3. Clement Desalle (Suzuki) 291pts… 8. Todd Waters (Husqvarna) 138pts… 15. Dean Ferris (Husqvarna) 101pts… 24. Rui Goncalves (Husqvarna) 33pts… 29. Nathan Watson (Husqvarna) 12pts
MX2
1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 358pts; 2. Valentin Guillod (Yamaha) 246pts; 3. Pauls Jonass (KTM) 245pts… 5. Aleksandr Tonkov (Husqvarna) 218pts… 22. Anton Lundgren (Husqvarna) 26pts… 35. Grisha Maykal Ivanov (Husqvarna) 6pts