MOTOCROSS MXGP OF SPAIN 2016

GP9: Spain (Talavera de la Reina) - Race podiums for Desalle and Ferrandis

Back racing after being injured in Latvia, Clement Desalle claimed in Talavera de la Reina his first MXGP of the season during the opening race of the Spanish GP. He scored a fourth overall in his class, while Dylan Ferrandis also got a fourth with a podium result in the first MX2 race.For the first time this season the Kawasaki Racing Team had a full line up in Spain, and collected his first good result of the season with Clement Desalle. Fifth in qualification, the Belgian rider had two good starts and got a third and a sixth position. “It’s great to be back in the first three! For sure I missed the overall podium by a few points but it's been some time since I finished one race in the top three. It’s a good comeback; my feeling with the bike was better this weekend but we still need to work as I didn’t spent so much time on it since February due to my injuries. Today the start was so important that you couldn’t afford to miss it; the first one was good, but at the second one I lost a few positions through the first few corners. Since Latvia at the start of the month I’ve only been able to train four times but I felt ready to come here and to actually race is the best training you can have,” said Clement. Shaun Simpson and Jordi Tixier, two other Scott athletes in the MXGP class finished tenth and twelfth.In the MX2 class Dylan Ferrandis narrowly missed the podium; winner of the qualifying race and runner up in the first heat, the Frenchman didn’t got a good start in race two and got a fifth position after a crash. “It was a tough weekend on a track where I have some bad memories after my knee injury here last year. It was very difficult to find the best settings for the bike, as the weather and the track conditions were continually changing on both Saturday and Sunday. In the first race I had some difficulty with the front fork settings and couldn’t keep the lead; I didn’t want to take risks as I got some arm pump so I just concentrated on securing my second position. We made some changes for the second race and the feeling was better, but I got a bad start and in the first corner another rider hit me and damaged my front brake; I was back to sixth behind Tonkov when I lost the front wheel and crashed, and then recovered to fifth. I had a better feeling in the second race, but I'm frustrated that I just missed the podium.”Already leader of the European MX250 class, Danish Thomas Kjer Olsen got another double win in Spain, and is now leading the series ahead of Australian Hunter Lawrence and American Darian Sanayei, two other Scott athletes.The series will continue next weekend in France, for the tenth of eighteen rounds.

Results MXGP.

1.Gajser (SLO, Honda)

2.Nagl (ALL, Husqvarna)

3.Paulin (FRA, Honda)

4.Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), Scott Athlete

10.Simpson (GBR, KTM), Scott Athlete

12.Tixier (FRA, Kawasaki), Scott Athlete

MXGP World standings:

1.Gajser, 385

2.Febvre, 361

3.Cairoli, 338

7.Simpson, 210

14.Desalle, 117

Results MX2.

1.Herlings (PB, KTM)

2.Paturel (FRA, Yamaha)

3.Jonass (LET, KTM)

4.Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), Scott Athlete

MX2 World Standings

1.Herlings, 447

2.Seewer (SUI, Suzuki), 325

3.Jonass, 300

6.Petrov (BUL, Kawasaki), Scott Athlete, 210

9.Ferrandis, 200