NEUQUEN (Patagonia Argentina), 19 March 2017 – The best motocross riders in the world took to the fast, square-edged Neuquen track today for the 3rd round of the 2017 FIM Motocross World Championship,where Team HRC’s Tim Gajser and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass were victorious.

Team HRC’s Tim Gajser came into Sunday in the pole position after qualifying first on Saturday. He kept true to his qualifying form and won race one ahead of Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek and race two just over 5 seconds ahead of Team HRC teammate Evgeny Bobryshev. With his performance Gajser takes over the red plate heading into Leon, Mexico. Gajser later in the press conference said, “I’m really happy, its actually a perfect weekend and it couldn’t be better! I was enjoyed all weekend!”

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek had his best results of the year finishing 2-3 for second overall. After a good pre-season Jeremy struggled in the first two rounds of the championship but he is now looking like a contender for wins. In the post race press conference he stated, “My preseason was really good, in Qatar and Indonesia I don’t know what happened…I‘ve regrouped, me and my team made some changes to the bike, both today and yesterday I felt like myself, I felt comfortable and ready to fight for wins.”

Meanwhile Team HRC’s Evgeny Bobryshev, who was admittedly not feeling very well due to a virus, fought through pain and his 5-2 results gave him his first overall podium of the year. Bobryshev passed both Desalle and Van Horebeek in race 2 giving team HRC a 1-2 race finish and both riders on the overall podium. Bobryshev said “I’ve been sick for a few weeks and coming here I didn’t really expect to be on the podium…Today I was feeling better and stronger…I’m really pumped  for sure to be 3rd overall.”

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin worked his way forward in both races. Gautier was in 8th on the first lap of race 1 and at times, he was in a three way battle with his Husqvarna teammates but he would lead the three with a 6th place at the finish. In race 2 he started one better in 5th on the first lap but would pass the early leader Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desallefor 4th which is where Paulin would finish receiving 4th overall on the weekend.

Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing’s Romain Febvre also made his way forward as he started 11th in race 1 but made quick work and in one lap was 7^th, he then continued to move ahead for a 4th place finish. In race 2 he had a similar start with a 10th but eventually moved into 5th until a fall cost him the position and left him to finish 8th for 5th overall.

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Clement Desalle looked good throughout weekend. The Belgian finished 3rd in race 1, he then rocketed out of the gate in race 2 behind Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Glenn Coldenhoff and then lead the first 3 laps before falling back to 10th. His 3-10 finishes put him in 6th overall.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli was perhaps the one rider who had the hardest charge. Cairoli struggled on both starts and he was positioned as low as 22nd in race one before finishing 9th and 15th in race 2 before working his way to 5th. Cairoli showed the heart of a champion and recouped valuable points.

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl traditionally does well in Argentina and though it may not be the results he was hoping for his consistent top ten finishes landed him in 8th overall.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings had his best result in MXGP thus far finishing 7th in race 2 and taking 9th overall. It is clear he is determined to improve and expects to do so in the following rounds.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass took the second overall and 1-1 finish of his MX2 season in Patagonia Argentina today. The Latvian started well and by the finish of both races he separated himself from the rest of the field. Jonass said “I really enjoyed this track and I really enjoy racing here, I’m very happy with the final results”. 

Meanwhile the other Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Jorge Prado Garcia had good starts taking both FOX holeshots. He then battled with his teammate before losing ground, his 2-3 finish put him on the second spot of the overall podium. Jorge stated “It was a really good battle, I really enjoyed it, I lost a little bit of energy there in the second race but I found a little bit more and was able to get a second place overall.”

Team Suzuki World MX2 Team’s Jeremy Seewer admittedly struggled with his race 1 start, from 8th on the first lap he moved his way up to 5th. In race 2 he started 3rd and he was able to make his way around Jorge Prado Garcia’s bike but it was not close enough to challenge Jonass. Jeremy took the 3rd overall but more notably the points lead and the red plate.

Kemea Yamaha Official MX Team’s Benoit Paturel was impressive in race 1 and his 2nd place finish had him leading the points coming into race 2. His luck changed in race 2 though when his possibility of taking the red plate disappeared as he went down and his 9th place finish put him one spot off the overall podium for a 4th. Benoit now sits third in the championship standings.

The American rookie, Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki Racing’s Darian Sanayei had the best weekend of his MX2 career. He qualified 3rd on Saturday and followed it with 6-4 finishes on Sunday. Sanayei was 2nd in race 1 before being passed by Pature, he then slid out while trying to retaliate. The American showed some speed and looked to be a podium contender after his 5th overall.

LRT KTM’s Julien Lieber came into Patagonia Argentina with the red plate but he lost invaluable ground in the championship after going down and remounting in 31st position on lap 2. He eventually passed 14 riders to finish 16 in race 1. Race 2 was a different story and he finished 5th. Lieber would end the weekend 10th overall and slip to 4th in the championship.

NEXT ROUND

The next round of the 2017 FIM Motocross World Championship will take place on the weekend of April 2^nd in Leon, Mexico.

MXGP PATAGONIA-ARGENTINA – QUICK FACTS

Circuit length: 1550m

Type of ground: dark soil

Temperature: 26°C

Weather conditions: sunny

Weekend Crowd Attendance: 29,500