MOTOCROSS MXGP OF TEUTSCHENTHAL 2017
GP8: Teutschenthal - Podium and MX2 leadership for Jonass
Scoring his sixth podium of the season in Germany, Pauls Jonass is strongly leading the MX2 World Championship after eight rounds. He was next to Hunter Lawrence on the podium. The young Australian celebrates his first ever GP podium with a second position behind team mate Jeremy Seewer. The series continues next week in France, and Pauls will again have the red plate on his factory KTM.
Winner of the European MX2 round last year in Teutschenthal, Hunter Lawrence was one of the fastest riders of the class this weekend. He fought for the podium in both races to score his best ever result in what was only his eighth Grand Prix. “It’s such an awesome feeling to go one and two for Suzuki and a great way to round off the weekend. In the first moto I was fourth and then second moto I was third so my best moto finishes; and of course my first podium. I’m so happy and I can’t wait to ride next weekend now. We finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together and it’s just a nice refresher for everyone in the Suzuki World team who all work so hard. When I crossed the line I had no idea what the points situation was and I was actually a little disappointed because I felt I could have even finished higher, but when Jeremy crossed the line and Harry Everts came up to us and told us, it was really cool, a really special moment,” said Hunter.
Third overall Pauls Jonass saved important points for the series as he didn’t feel so confident with the track. “I got two holeshots and led the first race until a tip-over. I lost a bit of confidence with the track and made some mistakes so to still finish second was really good. Teutschenthal is not my favourite track and doesn't suit my style so well and I didn't find the flow in that second moto. I tried to improve but was fighting the track a bit. Anyway third overall and only losing five points in the championship was not so bad. We’ll look forward to the next GP and getting those back,’ analysed the leader of the series who keeps a strong advantage. Both Julien Lieber and Jorge Prado had a mixed weekend, with bad starts and crashes on the rough German layout.
In the MXGP class Clément Desalle had another strong weekend, but once more after Latvia the Belgian just missed the podium for a few points. “ I started my weekend step by step, as the track was really strange on Saturday due to the rain, and I have to say that they did a good job this weekend considering the conditions. I had good starts again this weekend and that’s very positive; in the first moto I was third but got passed by Paulin when I made a small mistake. I came back on Paulin and I was feeling faster than him but I couldn’t overtake him, which was frustrating as a top three was possible. In the second moto I was third behind Cairoli and Paulin and had a good rhythm, a good speed and a good feeling but Herlings was really fast and passed me. I came back on Paulin again but I made another small mistake, lost my rhythm and again had to be content with fourth,” he explained. Arnaud Tonus had a top ten result in the first heat but crashed in the second, while Jordi Tixier missed the second race after crashing pretty hard during the first heat.
Results MXGP :
1.Cairoli (ITA, KTM)
2.Herlings (PB, KTM)
3.Paulin (FRA, Husqvarna)
4.Desalle (BEL, Kawasaki), Scott Athlete
15.Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), Scott Athlete
MXGP World Championship Standings:
1.Cairoli, 305
2.Gajser (SLO, Honda), 261
3.Paulin, 260
4.Desalle, 246
11.Tonus, 145
Results MX2 :
1.Seewer (SUI, Suzuki)
2.Lawrence (AUS, Suzuki), Scott Athlete
3.Jonass (LAT, KTM), Scott Athlete
8.Lieber (BEL, KTM), Scott Athlete
11.Prado (SPA, KTM), Scott Athlete
MX2 World Championship Standings:
1.Jonass, 325
2.Seewer, 288
3.Kjer Olsen (DAN, Husqvarna), 264
4.Lieber, 249
7.Prado, 175
11.Lawrence, 137