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GP of Czech Republic - Rider Comments

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Antonio Cairoli leads in Loket - Ray Archer image

News Monday 06th August 2012

The 2012 FIM World Motocross Championships have seen some really exciting and contraversial races. The GP held at the Loket circuit last weekend saw history as Antonio Cairoi reached the magical number of 50 GP wins, but there were many heroes in Loket. Here are their comments.

Tony Cairoli: “I am very happy with this victory because it is my fiftieth so it is special. Now Matterley Basin will be nice because it will be rough and I like it like that. Even if there is a lot of people riding on it they will prepare it very well and I think it should be a good race.”

Jeffrey Herlings: “My riding was good this weekend. I had an okay start in the first moto and I managed to get up to first after a few laps and go on the win. I was back at about tenth at the start of the second moto but I got up to second and then Tommy Searle made a move on me and I crashed. I got us pretty quickly and I just wanted to pass him again as quickly as possible. After that I just had to get past Jerre (van Horebeek) and take the overall win. For sure at Matterley Basin the crowd will all be supporting Tommy but I just want to go there, put down the hammer and hope to take the win.”

Tommy Searle: "The first race just about summed up my luck this season. I got a good start but another rider inside me on the gate never braked at the first corner and I was nearly last. I was second by half distance, but I had used so much energy that I had no chance to catch the leader too. In the second race I went for a pass on Herlings, we touched and he went down. I knew he would think I did it on purpose so I wasn't surprised when he hit me later in the race but I was missing my lines in the heat and just had to settle for third."

Christophe Pourcel: “I enjoyed the track; for sure it was slippery but it was also technical. I was able to take two good starts today, but in the first race I couldn’t pass Cairoli for the win. I got very close a couple of times but lappers got in the way and cost me time, though I have to admit that it would have been difficult to pass Tony anyway as he was riding well. We had a good battle again in the second race, and he was able to make a pass at the right moment to win. I made a small mistake in a corner when I was second so I had to pass back Nagl to get third position in the race and second overall. But it’s good to be back on the podium!”

Max Nagl: Even I was not expecting to do this well today. My plan was to get some good starts and just try to follow the others but in the first heat I was fifth at the start and finished third. That was amazing for me. I had a huge holeshot and was far in front in the second race and I even led for a couple of laps. Then I started to get tires because I am still only 80 per cent fit but the speed is there.”

Ken De Dycker: "I love the atmosphere of the Czech Grand Pix... but unfortunately the soil and the layout are not my cup of tea! Loket is quite fast and you definitely have to work hard to make your passes. Coming back from where I was in the start was just a bit too far off to push all the way to the front. So all things considered I am okay with sixth place overall. We now have some time to prepare for Matterly Basin and try some new stuff for the bike. I always love to race in England you know. On top of that Matterly Basin is an awesome track!"

Zach Osborne: It is great to be on the podium on what is such a special track. Today was a good result. I didnt set the world on fire but two fourth positions was a solid day. I didnt have the speed to run with Jeffrey and Tommy but I was the next best guy. Im looking forward to Matterley now. Its a circuit I like with a lot of ruts. I am going to train hard for it and today has given me a lot of motivation to work as hard as I can going into that race. It is tricky to come back mid-season from an injury because a lot of guys have good race pace and have done a lot more motos. It doesnt matter how much training you do, you cant really beat riding GPs week-in week-out. To be on the podium with two decent results and to get the ball rolling is really positive.

Jeremy van Horebeek: “It was a good day for me even though there was the technical issues in the first moto but I put that behind me and was super motivated for the second moto. I took the holeshot and I led right up till the last two minutes. Now I am going to keep working hard and try to take second at the end of the season. Now we will go to Matterley Basin as a strong team and we will try to win with fair racing on the track.”

Joel Roelants: “It wasn't a great weekend for me. I got a decent start in the first race but after a few corners Tonkov crashed and brought down Ferrandis and me. I was last but I found a good rhythm and got back to tenth. I didn’t ride so well in the second race; the track got really rough with deep holes and I crashed mid race to finish ninth.”

Valentin Teillet: “I’m a bit frustrated with sixth place in this GP even though it is a mental boost after my injuries this summer. I went training with Jacky and Dylan in Belgium after we got back from Russia and came here confident about my speed. In fact I did have good speed this weekend, but no luck. I was fifth, close to fourth, halfway through the first race but then I damaged my gearshift in a deep rut and selected a neutral just before a jump. That cost me three positions. My second start was nearly perfect and I was fourth for most of the race, but I felt tired during the last ten minutes and lost several places. I feel stronger each week but I missed three GPs with my injury and am still not back to 100% fitness.”

Mel Pocock: Its great to win four from four and keep that overall streak alive. Im a bit disappointed I missed out on the win on Saturday but Maxime was going really quick. It is not my ideal surface as a rider; I prefer mud or deep sand or berms to hit! Maxime got away from me in that first race and I made a mistake that cost me the race. I backed down the speed a bit to make sure of the points for second. Today he made a small mistake and dropped the bike, so I had the lead and rode error-free ahead of Gasjer. It was a hard weekend but I made it work for me. I had to learn out there. A lot of people have sent me messages that they have their tickets for the British Grand Prix next week. It will be a big race and Im really excited.

Dylan Ferrandis: “My first start was not very good and then in a corner I crashed onto another rider's bike; the engine stalled and the bike suffered some damage but I was able to come back to fourteenth by the finish. I was tenth after the second start, but I didn’t felt comfortable on this track and I could only manage to move forward to eighth; it's a learning year for me, and when we race tracks which are strange to me I have concentrate on scoring as many points as possible.”

Kevin Strijbos: “Saturday was good. I had a good start and I was riding well but today in the first race I got a bad start and I had arm pump really quickly; I don’t know what was wrong. I didn’t feel good and I could not find my rhythm. In the second race I just went out with a fresh mind and in the beginning it was ok but then I got tired and Bobryshev and Paulin passed me. So I’m really disappointed because I felt fine yesterday and I wanted to do good today especially to go for the top five. In the end it didn’t work out and on tracks like this I have so much pain in my lower back that I cannot sit as I want. I don’t know what to do now because it has been like this for many Grands Prix and every time it gets worse and worse, especially on hard pack tracks like this one. Maybe we need to make an operation and see if we are ready for England because something needs to be done as it is getting too painful and I need to do well especially to find a good ride for next season.”

Elliott Banks-Browne: “It was not such a good day today but we got some points on the board. I hadn’t been able to ride the bike for a long time before coming here due to my wrist injury, so I still need to get some time on the bike. Yesterday I had a little bit of arm pump in the heat race but I was riding good. In the first race today I got a good start and I was sixth for a couple of laps and then I had a crash but I got back going. I was riding comfortably eighth, but sweat came into my goggles and I could not see so I took them off. I got a little bit tired by the end and I finished twelfth. In the second race I got a really bad start and when I was going down the hill somebody hit me and I struck a bump and my wrist rolled over the handlebar; I was unable to finish. I tried to ride for three laps but I was in a lot of pain. It was not the overall I was looking forward to - but I think I had a good speed - so let’s see what I can do at the British Grand Prix.”

Xavier Boog: “I rode two good races today so I can be satisfied with fifth position; that is my best GP result for several weeks. I started the first race in second position but unfortunately I lost several positions during the first lap before I had settled into my rhythm. I had no difficulty to defend my sixth position for the remainder of the race and again in the second race I had a consistent ride to finish seventh. I rode an international race last week and finished on the podium so that helped my confidence and we’ll continue to practice in Holland over the next few days to prepare the rest of the series.”

Gautier Paulin: “I had a good feeling with the bike this weekend, and after a good start in the first race I was able to battle for a top five result; I made a few mistakes, but I had good lap times in the last part of the race. I got caught up with other riders in the first few corners of race two and I was only eighteenth at the end of the first lap. I found some places to pass and recovered to eleventh; it’s difficult to make passes here! But I’m pretty happy as I have a good feeling on the bike again, and we’ll continue to train in Holland to be stronger in the last GPs.”

Sébastien Pourcel: “I felt really comfortable on this track after finishing third in the qualification, but race day was completely different. The track was more slippery and in the first race I had a small crash when I was racing in eleventh position. I crashed again when I was holding twelfth in the second moto and retired as the bike was damaged.”

Jonathan Barragan: “Things didn’t go well and I didn’t feel good on the track. I’m not feeling confident and this also affecting my motivation. When you’re not happy with your riding it’s even harder to fight for every point. I had some bad luck in the first moto when the bike broke down in the last few laps and I couldn’t finish. For one reason or another, whether for crashes, bad starts or a bad feeling I’m not getting the results and I feel the pressure. I’m riding tense and need to get through this and find some confidence. We we’ll keep on pushing together with the team.”

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