MXGP: Cairoli Wins 90th GP in MXGP of Riga

A familiar name returned to the top step of the MXGP podium after the second moto in the Grand Prix of Riga.

Off the start, it was a first career MXGP holeshot for Ivo Monticelli on the factory GASGAS, as he beat Antonio Cairoli and Jorge Prado around the first corner. 

The Italian was quickly passed by his compatriot, Cairoli, however, and the #222 went on to set the pace in the opening stages. 

Behind, Jeffrey Herlings had, for a change, made a good start and was running inside the top six from early on in the moto. He soon made his way through to second place, passing Mitch Evans and Monticelli on the way. From there, the Dutchman seemed fairly content to sit behind Cairoli for a while and it looked like the #84 was settling down ready for another push later in the moto. 

That was the case until Arminas Jasikonis began applying pressure to the 2018 World Champion. At that point, Herlings realised he needed to pass Cairoli, and he did so with 24 minutes left on the clock on the back straight over the Monster Energy tabletop. Cairoli was then backed up – unintentionally – by Herlings in the corner at the end of the straight, and that allowed Jasikonis around Cairoli’s outside. 

The #84 and #27 then pulled away from the Italian, to the tune of a couple of seconds. As the race progressed, Herlings was also able to fashion himself a meaningful advantage over Jasikonis of around two seconds. 

Things changed dramatically in the final minute, however, as Herlings crashed entering the waves section. As he was picking his bike up, Cairoli went down as well in avoidance. Whilst Herlings was on the floor, Jasikonis had been able to go through and, after he had been pressuring Cairoli for three or four laps, Jeremy Seewer passed the two Red Bull KTMs for second place. 

Herlings was now riled up, having thrown away not only the moto win but also the GP overall. He rode the fastest lap of the race on the final lap in an effort to reclaim what he had lost, but it was not enough. 

Jasikonis was able to hold on at the front, despite pressure from Seewer, to take his first race win in the MXGP class. Having taken two third places in Valkenswaard back in March, the performances in Latvia are proving Jasikonis to be something of a dark horse in 2020, and with one GP still to go in Kegums before the series takes a (relatively) short breathe #27 will fancy his chances of climbing onto the podium for the second time this year. 

As it was, the race win was only enough for fourth overall for Jasikonis. Somewhat symmetrically, Antonio Cairoli’s fourth place in the second moto was enough for him to take his 90th Grand Prix win and first of the 2020 season. It means that Cairoli has now won a GP in three separate decades, and at least one in each year since he turned professional in 2004. 

It was an important result also for Cairoli’s championship, as he took points out of Herlings and Gajser for the first time in 2020. Still, though, it is Herlings who leads the standings, and a difficult GP for Gajser means that the #84 will enter the fifth round of the season at the weekend with a 28-point advantage over the #243. Cairoli sits third, 41 points adrift of his Red Bull KTM teammate. 

Jeremy Seewer was able to hold on for second in the race and repel the advances of Herlings at the end. That was enough for the Swiss to equal the Dutchman’s 40-point haul in the Grand Prix and take second overall due to a better second race result than Herlings. Seewer now sits fifth in the championship, a single point behind Jasikonis and nine behind Cairoli. 

When Cairoli went down he once again twisted his knee, which could prove problematic once more in the Grand Prix of Kegums this weekend. The Italian’s pace dropped in the final two laps of the race as well, and he finished over 20 seconds behind Jasikonis in the end, but just under four seconds clear of Tim Gajser who put in a pretty solid performance to finish fifth in the second moto, no doubt riding hurt after his crashes in the first race. 

Sixth place went to Clement Desalle, ahead of Ivo Monticelli in seventh. Then came Gautier Paulin – who revealed after the race that he had picked up a broken finger the previous week – in eighth, Calvin Vlaanderen, and Arnaud Tonus who completed the top 10. 

Romain Febvre was not able to repeat the performances of the previous three races in Latvia, owing to a difficult start. But the Frenchman was able to come back to 11th place to secure fifth overall. Jordi Tixier was 12th, ahead of Jorge Prado, Jeremy van Horebeek and Mitch Evans who completed the top 15 after a crash. Michele Cervellin was 16th, ahead of Brian Bogers, Karlis Sabulis, Valentin Guillod and Anton Gole who completed the top 20. 

A big crash for Glenn Coldenhoff called an early end to his Grand Prix, which would have been disappointing for the Dutchman after winning the Latvian round the weekend before. It looks, though, like Coldenhoff will be fine to ride at the weekend in the MXGP of Kegums.