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Clement Desalle at the 2017 Grand Prix of Qatar
NEWS

Double podium bounty at Qatar MXGP

Feb 262017

420 lights splashed the motocross Grand Prix circuit at Losail, Qatar for the first round of nineteen in 2017 MXGP and Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle was crackling among the vibe of electricity to post third position overall and release his account for a strong crack at the title with a podium trophy. Monster Energy Yamaha’s Romain Febvre was also a top three runner in the second moto when the wide, quick and jumpy track was at its roughest and most treacherous.

Clement Desalle at the 2017 Grand Prix of Qatar
For the fifth year in a row MXGP opened at the internationally renowned venue a short distance outside the capital of Doha and for the first eastern hop for the FIM World Championship (with nineteen rounds the longest series in the FIM portfolio) of the ‘flyaways’. The wide and jumpy course benefitted from work on the racing surface that meant the terrain was finer and ultimately rougher and rutted. Some surprisingly rainy weather in the fortnight building up to the Grand Prix also helped churn the desert soil.
Clement Desalle at the 2017 Grand Prix of Qatar
World Champion Tim Gajser used the attributes of the new CRF450RW to sweep to Pole Position on Friday evening but the Slovenian was powerless to deal with Tony Cairoli’s pace in the first moto. While Romain Febvre hit the floor twice it was the speed and guile of Desalle that assisted the Belgian’s Moto1 push past Evgeny Bobryshev and into second place. Monster Energy Yamaha’s Jeremy Van Horebeek was a steady fifth.
Romain Febvre at the 2017 Grand Prix of Qatar
A light and brief Qatari evening shower added a glisten to the scarred surface before the second set of 30 minute and 2 lap races in both MXGP and MX2 classes. In the premier division Cairoli was irrepressible but Febvre was much improved: the 2015 world champion keeping adrift of Desalle to record a top three classification and end his weekend on a positive note. It was the Kawasaki man who would appear first on the Grand Prix ‘box’ however and bag his first 2017 trophy.

“It is really good to start the year on the podium,” #25 enthused. “I was not happy with how things were going on Friday. It was hard to pass, it was not easy riding out there and I wasn't pleased! It was much better today. I had a good feeling on the bike and that is very important for me and I had some good starts. I changed my mentality a little bit but so much depends how and where you are after the second corner! Today I could make a difference. The first race is done now and we can look ahead.”

Romain Febvre at the 2017 Grand Prix of Qatar

“I think third was my place today,” Febvre commented on his second race performance. “Tony and Gajser were really fast and I couldn't fight with them yesterday. It was a shame in the first moto because I made two mistakes and lost the chance for third place on the podium. I was not feeling so sharp on the track or the bike…so I’m happy to take that third in the second race.”

 

Jeremy Van Horebeek was a solid sixth while Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Tommy Searle missed the Grand Prix due to a knee injury.

 

Benoit Paturel and Alvin Ostlund at the 2017 Grand Prix of Qatar
In the MX2 class Kemea Yamaha’s Benoit Paturel was co-star of a close and entertaining duel in both motos with Pauls Jonass and played second fiddle to the Latvia by just over a second at each waving of the chequered flag. There was little to separate the athletes and two of the names both heavily tipped to be in contention for the 2017 crown.

“It’s good to start the season like this…but I pushed so hard to win!” a pleased but also slightly disappointed Frenchman said. “It was hard to pass because just one line was good and fast. Pauls was a little bit better than me but I will try to beat him in the next race. I think it will be very close between us this year. We have worked really hard for this speed.”

Vsevolod Brylyakov at the 2017 Grand Prix of Qatar
Elsewhere there were some decent signs from the likes of Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Vsevolod Brylyakov; ‘Seva’ finished seventh overall but set the fastest lap in Timed Practice and morning warm-up and should have been in the running for podium champagne if crashes in both races forced the Russian to charge back through the order.

MXGP continues to move east and for the first time this century will land into the motorcycle-racing crazed territory of Indonesia and the brand new facility at Pangkal Pinang next weekend.

THIS ARTICLE FEATURES:

Clement Desalle at the 2016 Monster Energy MXGP of USA Clement Desalle

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Romain Febvre at the 2017 pre-season race in Sardinia, Italian Championship round one Romain Febvre

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