Cairoli & Searle Take Bastogne
Photo: KTM Images
The 2012 FIM MX1 and MX2 Motocross World Championship series christened a new venue this weekend in Bastogne, Belgium for the 2012 Grand Prix of Belgium. The weekend started out shaky after rain forced the cancellation of the Saturday qualifying races, but come time for Sunday’s racing, Mother Nature had moved on and left a great circuit for racing.
In the MX1 Class, Antonio Cairoli was simply on another level. In moto one, the five-time world champion grabbed the holeshot and walked away from everyone, and in moto two, he showed he did not need a holeshot to win. Antonio rounded turn-one around tenth and, by the halfway point of the race, made his final pass of the day on the local Belgian Clement Desalle, checking out to go 1-1. Cairoli extended his MX1 World Championship points lead to 47 points. The two riders that stood on the box with the Italian were Desalle who went 3-3 for second overall and Frenchman Christophe Pourcel who went 5-2 for third overall in the GP.
In the MX2 Class, the fans saw Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings and Englishman Tommy Searle swap moto wins. In moto one, Searle had the early lead but was passed on lap one by Herlings and left behind. Herlings ended up winning moto one by a solid, eleven-second margin. I am not sure what Searle ate between motos, but in moto two, he was on a whole new level. The #100, after an early-race back and forth battle with Herlings, secured the lead and checked out. It was a complete flip-flop from moto one, and Tommy cruised off for a thirteen-second win and a 2-1 for the overall GP win over Herlings’ 1-2. With the tie in points, Herlings retained his twenty-four point lead as the series heads into a week off. Finishing third overall in Belgium with a 3-3 score was Jeremy vanHorebeek.
Check out highlights from the races in the video below.