Max Nagl struggled a little bit on the Belgian track but he succeeded in being on the second step of the podium after his third and second place on today’s races. Third was home rider Clement Desalle who finished third and fourth in the heats.   



Ken Roczen did not win both heats but his first and second places made him win his first GP of the season. Second of the MX2 class was race two winner Jeffrey Herlings and third was current Championship leader Marvin Musquin. 

Belgian Pascal Bal won his home round in Lommel and his victory has left the FIM Veterans World Cup to be decided on the last round in Lierop. Second was red plate holder Mats Nilsson and third was Erwin Hendrickx.

  

MX1
 

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX1’s Cairoli was back at the top of the podium and proved that Lommel is like his second home GP – as mentioned in the back of his racing pants through the patch “I also live in Lommel”. The Italian dominated both heats from beginning to end choosing the best lines of a track which is known as one the roughest of the Championship. Cairoli has now increased the advantage in the Championship with second classified Desalle being now 79 points behind the leader.

  

The second step of the podium was for his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX1 teammate Nagl who recovered his confidence after a long time absence from the podium due to his collarbone injury from the French GP. The German took both holeshots of today’s races and although he managed to follow Cairoli’s lines and kept himself steady at the top, he admitted that he was riding on the edge.   



For third classified Rockstar Teka Suzuki World MX1’s Desalle it was not the weekend he had expected, as he wanted to show his Belgian fans why he is second in the standings of the Championship. Once again the Belgian starred in a tight battle with Philippaerts both in heat one and two, with Desalle passing the Italian in both occasions to finish third and fourth. 

Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross’ Philippaerts could not keep the rhythm of his rivals and after starting third in both heats he could only finish fourth and fifth. However, he could have had the possibility of being on the podium if he had not crashed during the second race, but he had to settle down for a fourth position overall.  



Fifth classified was LS Motors Honda’s Leok who missed the podium due to his numerous mistakes in race one, where he could only be 13. During the second moto he moved up from ninth to second showing everybody his speed and potential on the sand. 

Belgian De Dycker was just sixth overall in his home GP, where last year succeeded in winning the race, and his compatriot Ramon finished eighth in a race where he experienced many ups and downs. Ramon was fighting for the top three in both races but Lommel’s ruts made him crash twice losing all his chances for being on his home GP podium. 

Gonçalves had to work really hard to finish seventh.  

The Portuguese did not have really good starts but recovered in both heats to take sixth and seventh.

Bobryshev was not lucky in Belgium this weekend and finished eleventh overall. The Russian was involved in a tumble in the start of the first race but pushed really hard to reach the tenth position. However, he made a mistake and dropped back to an eventual 12th. On the second moto he did not have a good start either and could only finish ninth. 
Japanese Yu Hirata finished 31st but he is looking forward to being back next weekend on the Bonver Grand Prix of Czech Republic in Loket. 

Kawasaki Racing was unlucky this weekend not having Boog on today’s races due to his left leg injury during yesterday’s qualifying race, Pourcel could finish neither of the heats and Barragan was 14th on his first race after his long absence.   



MX1 Championship top ten: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 484 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 405 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 364 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 348 p.; 5. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 341 p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), 299 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 276 p.; 8. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 249 p.; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 244 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), 213 p.; 


  

MX2 


Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2’s Roczen succeeded in winning his first GP of the season and in showing his skills on the sand of Lommel. He overtook five riders in the first race to take the lead and open a consistent gap from his pursuers. After the day’s first win, Roczen settled for second in the final heat. The German rider could not hide his happiness after winning the GP as he has been very close to the victory many times but misfortune has always been his biggest rival. At the moment he is still second in the Championship but he is 78 points behind red plate holder Musquin and 23 points ahead of third classified Frossard.

  

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX2’s Herlings had a bittersweet ending with the second position obtained in one of his favourite sandy tracks. The Dutch led the first race for a couple of laps but a mistake in one of the deep ruts in the Lommel track made him lose the lead and could only finish third. However, the second race was dominated by the sand specialist, riding safely up to the checked flag and being able to clinch the second step of the podium. 



The rostrum was completed by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing MX2’s Musquin who struggled more than what he expected, and despite his usual outstanding starts on his KTM machine, he could not keep the rhythm of the frontrunners. He is still on the top of the MX2 standings but he will have to focus on next weekend’s race in Loket, a track which has never brought him good results –a broken foot in 2008 and a technical problem in 2009- if he wants to reinforce his leadership.  



Nestaan JM Racing KTM’s Roelants finished fourth in his home Grand Prix with a fourth and fifth position in the races, which he got after two solid recoveries. 

Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross’ Paulin completed the top five with a seventh and a fourth place and moved up two positions in the standings of the Championship. The French will now arrive eleventh at the next Grand Prix. Kullas finished right after Paulin and was tied in points with seventh placed Simpson. 

Frossard finished eighth after winning his maiden GP in Sweden. The French rider knew that it would not be an easy weekend for him as he could not score any points in last year’s GP. On the other hand, his teammate Van Horebeek finished ninth overall.   



MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 480 points; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 402 p.; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 379 p.; 4. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 371 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 298 p.; 6. Zach Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 290 p.; 7. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 274 p.; 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 268 p.; 9. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Suzuki), 266 p.; 10. Harri Kullas (FIN, Yamaha), 233 p.; 

MX2 Manufacturers: 1. KTM, 529 points; 2. Suzuki, 426 p.; 3. Kawasaki, 388 p.; 4. Yamaha, 379 p.; 5. Honda, 92 p.; 6. TM, 18 p.;