MAX NAGL SECURES EIGHTH OVERALL AT CHALLENGING GP OF FRANCE

Courtesy of Husqvarna Motorcycles

German star earns two top 10 moto finishes in Saint Jean d’ Angely

Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl wrapped up round ten of the 2016 FIM Motocross World Championship with eighth overall, managing to keep his hopes of reaching the top three in the MXGP championship standings alive despite battling through sickness.

Looking to fight for a fifth podium result this season in the MXGP class, the German star was left with a mountain to climb after suffering with food poisoning and being forced to spend the day before the GP of France in hospital. Making the most out of a difficult weekend he fought hard and managed to secure seventh and 10th in each MXGP moto, collecting 25 precious points towards his championship campaign.

Racing in front of his home French fans, Nagl’s teammate Christophe Charlier showed once again this season that he has the speed to challenge for the top in MXGP. Racing his FC 450 to 10th in moto one the Frenchman found himself battling for a spot inside the top six in moto two before a small mistake dropped him to 14th at the chequered flag.

Enjoying a GP of mixed emotions Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s MX2 rider Max Anstie came back stronger after a first moto crash to take the holeshot in race two. Making some impressive passes in the first few corners the young Brit lead the opening part of the second moto before settling for a strong runner-up result behind Jeffrey Herlings.

In what was arguably his most successful GP so far in MX2, Conrad Mewse showed impressive speed to wrap up the weekend with 12th overall. After a great start in moto one the 16-year-old Brit managed to stay close to the leading group and finish in eighth position. Battling his way from 21st at the end of lap one in race two, he went on to cross the line in 18th place.

Returning to competitive action after his ankle injury, Thomas Covington showed good speed and a potential to be among the contenders for the top in MX2. Despite an early mistake in race one the American fought back to an eventual 10th place finish. Getting a good start in moto two, he suffered a slow-speed crash and was forced to abandon the race.

  

The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team will return to action at round 11 of the FIM Motocross World Championship in Great Britain on June 18/19.

Max Nagl: “It’s been a very difficult weekend for me. I got food poisoning on Thursday so as soon as I arrived in France I went to the hospital and was forced to spend the whole day there. I decided to race this GP but the truth is that I was feeling extremely tired during the whole weekend because of the sickness. Even my reaction time and concentration were really bad and I think that’s why I couldn’t get the starts I’d hoped for. I had two bad starts and then I couldn’t get a competitive race pace in any of the two motos. I tried many different things but nothing seemed to work so I’m happy with eighth overall from this GP. My goal now is to take some time off to help my body recover from the sickness and then immediately get back to work for the GP of Britain.”

Christophe Charlier: “Overall, it’s been a positive GP for me. Despite crashing in the qualifying race I rode great in both final motos improving on my speed as the racing went on. I got a good start in the opening moto and battled with the top guys to end up in 11th position. Then in the second moto I started in eighth place but a small mistake dropped me to 14th at the end of the race. I feel that my riding in both motos has been good and I’m happy we’re making steps towards the right direction. I feel stronger now. The plan is to continue working hard in order to come back even stronger in the United Kingdom.”

Max Anstie: “It’s always nice to race in France. The first race didn’t go to plan. I didn’t get a good start and then I crashed. Obviously I didn’t have the best race in moto one, but came back a lot stronger in race two. We’ve made a few changes with the bikes in between the races and I think we made the right decisions. In the second moto I got the holeshot and had some really good battles with the top guys, making some great passes as well. I just finished behind Jeffrey, which was nice to get a little bit of confidence back. I’m happy with my performance in the second race and we can now go from there. It’s a shame we’ve been a bit inconsistent but this second race was really good. We now head to my home GP and I’m looking forward to going back to Matterley Basin.”

Conrad Mewse: “We’ve worked hard after the last GP. We made some big improvements with the bike and with myself and that gave me extra confidence to push this weekend. Saturday went well for me and I got away with a 13th place in the qualifying race. I had my best race so far in the first moto. I got a great start and finished eighth. It was my career best result and I was really happy with it. Then in the second race I started outside the top 20, but pushed hard to finish 18th for 12th overall. I’m really happy with how the weekend went. I might have struggled to find my feet in the first rounds but now I’ve had one good race and one good GP so hopefully I can continue from there. Next up is my home GP and I know that if I can get good starts I can battle for top results.”

Thomas Covington: “It feels really good to be back racing and I was happy with my riding during the weekend. In the first moto I messed up the start and came last in the first turn. But I fought back and ended up finishing in 10th place. I was pretty happy with that, especially since I hadn’t been racing for so long. In the second race me and Max has a great start and I was riding pretty good inside the top five for a couple of laps. Then I just had a small crash in the corner after the finish line and ended up breaking my front brake lever. It was a bit of a bummer not to finish the race but overall I’m happy with how I’m riding after being away for so long. The bike feels great and I’m looking forward to the following GPs.”

Results – FIM Motocross World Championship, Round 10

MXGP Overall

1. Romain Febvre (Yamaha) 47pts; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 47pts; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (Honda) 38pts… 8. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 25pts… 13. Christophe Charlier (Husqvarna) 17pts… 16. Jake Nicholls (Husqvarna) 8pts… 20. Rui Goncalves (Husqvarna) 5pts… 31. Marco Maddii (Husqvarna) 0pts

MXGP Race 1

1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 19 laps, 34:27.904; 2. Romain Febvre (Yamaha) 34:28.514; 3. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 34:58.050… 7. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 35:13.458… 11. Christophe Charlier (Husqvarna) 35:40.331… 13. Jake Nicholls (Husqvarna) 35:48.958… 21. Rui Goncalves (Husqvarna) 18 laps, 34:37.135… 30. Marco Maddii (Husqvarna) 35:47.539

MXGP Race 2

1. Romain Febvre (Yamaha) 19 laps, 34:12.917; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 34:22.560; 3. Evgeny Bobryshev (Honda) 34:53.261… 10. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 35:20.732… 14. Christophe Charlier (Husqvarna) 35:46.260… 16. Rui Goncalves (Husqvarna) 35:51.012… 27. Marco Maddii (Husqvarna) 18 laps, 35:30.980

MX2 Overall

1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 50pts; 2. Benoit Paturel (Yamaha) 42pts; 3. Jeremy Seewer (Suzuki) 38pts… 9. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 22pts… 12. Conrad Mewse (Husqvarna) 16pts… 16. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 11pts

MX2 Race 1

1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 19 laps, 35:23.550; 2. Benoit Paturel (Yamaha) 35:29.344; 3. Jeremy Seewer (Suzuki) 35:44.266… 8. Conrad Mewse (Husqvarna) 36:32.742… 10. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 36:41.225… 21. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 18 laps, 35:50.053

MX2 Race 2

1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 19 laps, 35:03.580; 2. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 35:06.089; 3. Benoit Paturel (Yamaha) 35:13.797… 18. Conrad Mewse (Husqvarna) 18 laps, 35:07.296

Championship Standings (After Round 10)

MXGP

1. Tim Gajser (Honda) 432pts; 2. Romain Febvre (Yamaha) 408pts; 3. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 372pts; 4. Max Nagl (Husqvarna) 342pts… 12. Christophe Charlier (Husqvarna) 159pts… 20. Jake Nicholls (Husqvarna) 57pts… 26. Rui Goncalves (Husqvarna) 15pts

MX2

1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 497pts; 2. Jeremy Seewer (Suzuki) 363pts; 3. Pauls Jonass (KTM) 332pts… 9. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 227pts… 18. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 81pts… 24. Ben Watson (Husqvarna) 39pts… 32. Conrad Mewse (Husqvarna) 17pts… 39. James Dunn (Husqvarna) 5pts… 44. Lars van Berkel (Husqvarna) 3pts  Was this post helpful? Add yours to our service or subscribe to our feed above.