GAUTIER PAULIN SECURES STRONG THIRD OVERALL IN GERMANY

Courtesy of Husqvarna Motorcycles

GAUTIER PAULIN SECURES STRONG THIRD OVERALL IN GERMANY ROCKSTAR ENERGY HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING STAR CLIMBS TO FOURTH IN THE 2018 MXGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PROVISIONAL STANDINGS Earning his third MXGP class podium result for the season, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing ‘s Gautier Paulin has moved up to fourth in the MXGP class’ provisional championship standings following two strong performances at the rough and rutted Teutschenthal track. Taking place at the spectacular hillside circuit in central-east Germany, round eight of the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship saw Gautier Paulin secure a second consecutive podium finish in the elite MXGP class. Demonstrating the potential of his FC 450 machine, the Frenchman claimed two impressive holeshots before going on to earn two third place results in the two MXGP motos. For Max Anstie, not getting good starts in either of the two MXGP motos left the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider with a mountain to climb. Securing 15/12 results the young Brit is looking for improved his results at his home GP in two weeks time. In the MX2 category, finishing eighth at the German GP Thomas Kjer-Olsen has maintained his third place in the class’ provisional championship standings. With a crash in the opening moto forcing the young Dane to settle for a 15th place result, Kjer-Olsen came back stronger to cross the line in fifth place in the second and final MX2 moto. Battling through two mediocre starts, American Thomas Covington wrapped up the German GP in 16th position. Remaining 11th in the class’ provisional points standings, the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing rider will look to go even higher in the remainder of the 2018 season. The Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team will return to action at the ninth round of the 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship in Great Britain on June 2/3. Gautier Paulin: “It’s been a great weekend. Getting two holeshots and two third place results at this rough track is a good confidence booster for the races to come. We’ve been working a lot with the team and to get two holeshots shows we’ve made some good progress. In both motos my speed was good and I managed to fend off all the attacks from behind. During qualifying on Saturday a stone hit my back and there was some pain in both final motos. The FC 450 was working great at this rough track and I really want to thank my team for the great job. We’ve been testing a lot and the results here in Germany show we are moving in the right direction.” Max Anstie: “I keep working and keep doing my best to get back to 100%. In Germany I did not manage to place myself in the best position after the starts and it was difficult to make up time. I did the best I could during this weekend and I hope the results will start coming. Missing a few GPs following my concussion I feel that I’ve been catching up until recently. I am happy that I had two good motos here in Germany and I will keep working to improve my results.” Thomas Kjer-Olsen: “I struggled to get a good pace at the track and a crash in the opening moto made it all harder. I was racing in sixth position and right after a jump I got together with another rider, both ending up on the ground. I got up pretty quick but couldn’t find my pace after that. In the second moto my start was a lot better and I felt better during the race. We had some good battles and I ended up crossing the line in fifth position. It might not have been the best weekend for us in terms of results but we take it as it is and move on.” Thomas Covington: “Despite some bad luck my speed was quite good here in Germany. In the opening moto I got caught up in some first lap crashes and lot quite some time. I worked my way up to 13th and that was the best I could do. In the following moto my start wasn’t that good and I ended up going down in the first turn. I started the race half a lap behind the leading group and slowly worked my way to 17th. My bike was working great throughout the weekend and the results could have been a lot better with some extra luck. Now it’s back to work and I’m hoping for some better results next time out.” Download high-res images from the GP of Germany here.  Results – 2018 FIM Motocross World Championship, Round 8  MXGP - Overall  1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 50pts; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 44; 3. Gautier Paulin (Husqvarna) 40… 12. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 15… 21. Tanel Leok (Husqvarna) 3 MXGP - Race 1  1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 18 laps, 34:00.399; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 34:16.654; 3. Gautier Paulin (Husqvarna) 34:24.427… 15. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 35:25.282… 19. Tanel Leok (Husqvarna) 35:51.757… 21. Klemen Gercar (Husqvarna) 17 laps, 34:15.269… 30. Ander Valentin (Husqvarna) 7 laps, 17:06.887 MXGP - Race 2  1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 19 laps, 35:12.176; 2. Tim Gajser (Honda) 35:40.796; 3. Gautier Paulin (Husqvarna) 35:45.039… 12. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 36:49.486… 20. Tanel Leok (Husqvarna) 18 laps, 35:38.367… 22. Ander Valentin (Husqvarna) 36:05.565… 29. Klemen Gercar (Husqvarna) 10 laps, 20:16.136 MX2 - Overall  1. Jorge Prado (KTM) 47pts; 2. Pauls Jonass (KTM) 47; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (Honda) 40… 7. Henry Jacobi (Husqvarna) 29; 8. Thomas Kjer-Olsen (Husqvarna) 22… 11. Brent Van doninck (Husqvarna) 16… 13. Iker Larranaga (Husqvarna) 14… 16. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 12… 20. Dylan Walsh (Husqvarna) 6; 21. Andrea Zanotti (Husqvarna) 2 MX2 - Race 1  1. Pauls Jonass (KTM) 18 laps, 35:15.756; 2. Jorge Prado (KTM) 35:17.177; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (Honda) 35:18.818… 5. Henry Jacobi (Husqvarna) 35:46.670… 10. Iker Larranaga (Husqvarna) 36:03.679… 13. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 36:20.005; 14. Brent Van doninck (Husqvarna) 36:23.829; 15. Thomas Kjer-Olsen (Husqvarna) 36:26.700… 28. Dylan Walsh (Husqvarna) 13 laps, 26:59.110; 29. Andrea Zanotti (Husqvarna) 11 laps, 23:39.553 MX2 - Race 2  1. Jorge Prado (KTM) 18 laps, 34:32.231; 2. Pauls Jonass (KTM) 34:37.248; 3. Calvin Vlaanderen (Honda) 34:42.298… 5. Thomas Kjer-Olsen (Husqvarna) 34:57.357… 8. Henry Jacobi (Husqvarna) 35:07.751… 12. Brent Van doninck (Husqvarna) 35:38.202… 15. Dylan Walsh (Husqvarna) 35:49.296… 17. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 35:58.074; 18. Iker Larranaga (Husqvarna) 36:08.980; 19. Andrea Zanotti (Husqvarna) 36:10.182 Championship Standings – After Round 8  MXGP 1. Jeffrey Herlings (KTM) 386pts; 2. Antonio Cairoli (KTM) 338; 3. Clement Desalle (Kawasaki) 278; 4. Gautier Paulin (Husqvarna) 258… 15. Max Anstie (Husqvarna) 96... 20. Tanel Leok (Husqvarna) 51… 26. Harri Kullas (Husqvarna) 15; 27. Ander Valentin (Husqvarna) 8 MX2 1. Pauls Jonass (KTM) 351pts; 2. Jorge Prado (KTM) 329; 3. Thomas Kjer-Olsen (Husqvarna) 288… 8. Henry Jacobi (Husqvarna) 157… 11. Thomas Covington (Husqvarna) 134… 14. Iker Larranaga (Husqvarna) 122… 19. Brent Van Doninck (Husqvarna) 65… 34. Dylan Walsh (Husqvarna) 6… 38. Andrea Zanotti (Husqvarna) 2

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