The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team went to Montevarchi in italy this weekend to contest the opening round of the Italian Championship specifically designed to fine tune their equipment and performances ahead of the World Championship season.
While Tony Cairoli concentrated on testing equipment and was happy to finish second in the MX1 class and overall sixth in the Elite class, it was a strong result for Dutch rider Jeffrey Herlings who won the MX2 class ahead of his KTM factory teammate Jeremy van Horebeek. Jeffrey and Jeremy also put in a strong showing in the Elite class to finish 3-4, despite a crash by Jeffrey and some arm pump problems for Jeremy.
“I really liked it here, it was a brand new track for me,” Jeffrey said. “I won the MX2 race and I finished third when we rode together with the MX1 guys and that was also alright. I had a crash in the second race, otherwise maybe I might have been able to stay in the front but it happened and I am not making any excuses. Anyway I am really happy with my riding and I think it is already a big improvement on last year.”
Tony Cairoli said he had enjoyed the weekend’s ride and underlined that the team was here to test and fine tune ahead of the World Championships.
“I liked the way I started the day today. I had a bit of practice but then I wasn’t feeling so good so we changed the settings for the race and the bike was going really well,” he said. “I took the holeshot in the Elite race but then I didn’t feel so comfortable with my riding. I had some small problems with my goggles but we are trying out different stuff at the moment and these races are also for testing this kind of stuff.”
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Results MX1 1, Steven Frossard, France, Yamaha 2, Tony Cairoli, Italy, KTM 3, David Philippaerts, Italy, Yamaha 4, Davide Guineri, Italy, KTM 5, Anthony Boisserie, Italy TM Results MX2 1, Jeffrey Herlings, Netherlands, KTM 2, Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM 3, I. Monticelli, Italy, Suzuki 4, A. Lupino, Italy, Husqvarna 5, A. Tonkov, Russia, Honda Results Elite 1, Steven Frossard, France, Yamaha 2, David Philippaerts, Italy Yamaha 3, Jeffrey Herlings, Netherlands, KTM 4, Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM 5, Davide Guinari, Italy, KTM 6, Tony Cairoli, Italy, KTM