Clement Desalle (25), Max Nagl (2) and Antonio Cairoli (223) fight for air space.
The Monster Energy Grand Prix of the U.S. started in rain on Sunday and finished in sunshine, giving the spectators and the racers the best Glen Helen Raceway has to offer. The track was incredible no matter what the weather was doing, and the fans lined the fences to watch the best racers in the world compete.
WORLD VET CUP: THE RAIN CHANGES THE GAME
Mats Nilsson.
Moto two of the World Vet Cup race on Sunday saw much different weather and track conditions than on sunny Saturday, but the racers didn't let that deter them from battling for points and the overall win. With rain falling quickly, the racing was even more of a challenge for the World Vet Cup racers with longer lap times and a tricky track. The rain stopped Dubach and King from doing the Triple Step-Up and Double-Down—which Nilsson couldn’t do. And without this two to three second a lap advantage—Nilsson was suddenly competitive on Sunday (he wasn’t a threat to the American and Kiwi as long as the big jumps were in play).
Yesterday's race winner, American Doug Dubach found himself in third place—then he got a flat rear tire. Even with a flat Dubach still managed to hold onto a podium finish, proving that he's a talented and fast rider. Points leader Mats Nilsson from Sweden took the lead in the early morning mud, thriving in the rainy conditions, followed closely by Darryll King of New Zealand. The top three finished in those positions, and Nilsson holds onto his red number plate with is first-place finish and first-place overall. King crossed the line in second place, giving him third overall, and Dubach finished third for second overall. American Shawn Wynne finished fourth overall on a two-stroke TM 300 machine, which should make Wynne and TM the cause celebs of the two-stroke world.
MOTO ONE: 250 CLASS IS ALL ROCZEN
Ken Roczen.
The first moto of the 250 class class saw crowd favorite Ken Roczen, the German rider aboard his Red Bull Teka KTM, take the lead right out of the gate and hold onto it throughout the 35-minute-plus two lap moto. Roczen extended his cushion to about 15 seconds with two laps to go, and took the checkered flag without feeling any heat from the racers behind him.
Current 250 World Champion Marvin Musquin (1) is staying in the USA to do the AMA Nationals. Photo: Ray Archer
Jeffrey Herlings took up the second-place spot at the start and didn't let go throughout the entire race, while Max Anstie of Great Britain worked his way up to third by the time the checkered flag waved. Harri Kullas from Finland finished fourth, and fifth place went to Tommy Searle after a brave display of racing, losing his goggles to the thick mud and continuing to race hard for position.
On the U.S. front, Travis Baker was looking to become the top-finishing American, but Zach Osborne passed him with only a few minutes left in the race. Osborne finished the race in ninth, and Baker rounded out the top 10.
MOTO ONE: 450 CLASS GOES TO DESALLE
Clement Desalle.
The first moto of the 450 class class promised to be a great race as the clouds started to part, the rain stopped and the wind picked up. Clement Desalle of Belgium got a great start on his Rockstar Energy Suzuki and took over the lead on the third turn of the race. Italian Antonio Cairoli wasn't far behind aboard his Red Bull Teka KTM, and the two leaders stretched out from the rest of the pack as the laps wore on.
The sun appeared and the track dried quickly, with ruts taking hold of the bikes in sections throughout the race course. Desalle, who put in the fastest lap of the race with a time of 2:58.457, held onto the top spot despite Cairoli mounting a charge in the last lap.
Cairoli finished second, Max Nagl from Germany took his Red Bull Teka KTM to third, followed by Kevin Strijbos from Belgium, and fifth place went to Italian David Philippaerts on his Monster Energy Yamaha. Christian Craig took his Troy Lee Designs Honda to the eighth spot in the moto, making him the top American in the race.
250 MOTO TWO: THE SUN SHINES ON ROCZEN
Jeffrey Herlings does a fly-by over Glen Helen. Photo: Ray Archer
By the time the second 250 class moto hit the starting gate, the track conditions were completely different than the first 250 class moto. While mud wouldn't be an issue, the ruts and the tough Glen Helen obstacles were. Again, Ken Roczen and his KTM took the lead immediately followed by Jeffrey Herlings. Tommy Searle, of the Monster Energy Kawaski Pro Circuit team, took third early and stayed there for the entire race.
American Scott Champion had a great start, challenging Roczen for the holeshot, but eventually faded to 12th by the end. Travis Baker of Troy Lee Designs rode all the way up to fifth place at the beginning, only to be displaced by fellow American Zach Osborne by the midway mark, and then Baker eventually fell back to 16th place.
With two laps left, Osborne made yet another great pass, this time overtaking Max Anstie, for fourth place and pushed the Brit back to fifth at the checkered flag.
Ken Roczen finished the 250 class races of the USGP in first overall with his phenomenal 1-1 finishes. Ken said, "I was going for the win in both motos, and I had two good starts and we all rode a clever race. The track was really muddy in the first race, and then in the second race they had to water the track. It was very different, but good."
Jeffrey Herlings took second overall with his matching 2-2 finishes, and Tommy Searle finished third overall with a 5-3 race tally.
450 MOTO TWO: SAME WINNER, DIFFERENT CHASER
Clement Desalle was caught on the last lap of both 450 motos, but held on for the wins. In moto one Cairoli came out of no where to latch onto Desalle and, in moto two, it was Max Nagl.
The second 450 class moto saw Kevin Strijbos take his Suzuki to the lead right off the gate, followed by Clement Desalle. Antonio Cairoli got off to a less than stellar start with some issues and wasn't in the top 20 on the first lap. Desalle moved to the front of the pack, leaving Strijbos to follow in second, Evgeny Bobryshev on his Honda in third, Rui Goncalves from Portugal in fourth and Max Nagl rounding out the top five.
Shaun Simpson.
Nagl made some great passes and found himself in second position halfway through the race, just as Antonio Cairoli made his way toward the top 10. Desalle won the race, with Nagl finishing second, Bobryshev in third, followed by Goncalves and early leader Strijbos rounding out the top five. Christian Craig was the top-finishing American in the race with his 14th-place run.
Desalle took first overall with his 1-1 finish for the day at Glen Helen and became the points leader in the series. Max Nagl finished second with a 3-2 scorecard, and Evgeny Bobryshev followed in third with a 6-3 tally.
MARTY MOATES CUP: AND THE FIVE GRAND GOES TO ZACK
Zach Osborne. Photo Yamaha-Racing
Also on Sunday, the Marty Moates Cup was awarded to Zach Osbourne for the second year in a row in a special ceremony held after the final 450 class race of the 2011 Monster Energy Grand Prix of the United States. Along with the cup, Zach also received the $5000 Marty Moates award, sponsored by Lucas Oil, which is granted to the top finishing American rider racing the USGP. “I was in a lot of pain through both the first and second motos. I had the Moates Cup on my mind all day, though. I really wanted to win.” The Marty Moates award was created to honor the memory of Marty Moates, who became the first American rider to take the overall victory in USGP history at Carlsbad Raceway in 1980.
STEFAN EVERTS: LEGEND AND HERO
Ten-time World Motocross Champion Stefan Everts was presented with the Legends and Heroes of Motocross Award during a special ceremony between motos on Sunday. The award was created to recognize those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of motocross, and has been granted to other motocross greats like David and Gary Bailey, Danny LaPorte, Mike LaRocco and Broc Glover. Everts still holds the record for the most World Motocross Championships, and retired from racing in 2006 with 101 GP victories under his belt.
German Max Ngl (2), Belgian Steve Ramon (11), Russian Evgeny Bobryshev and Spaniard Jonathan Barragan (7) prove that Honda, KTM, Suzuki and Kawasaki are about equal on power. Photo: Ray Archer
450 CLASS MOTO 1 RESULTS
1. Clement Desalle
2. Antonio Cairoli
3. Max Nagl
4. Kevin Strijbos
5. David Philippaerts
6. Evgeny Bobryshev
7. Anthony Boissiere
8. Christain Craig
9. Jonathan Barragan
10. Steven Frossard
Bobby got third overall—Evgeny Bobryshev that is.
450 CLASS MOTO 2 RESULTS
1. Clement Desalle
2. Max Nagl
3. Evgeny Bobryshev
4. Rui Goncalves
5. Kevin Strijbos
6. Shaun Simpson
7. Steve Ramon
8. Jonathan Barragan
9. David Philippaerts
10. Xavier Boog
David Philippaerts—sixth. Photo: Yamaha-Racing
450 CLASS OVERALL RESULTS
1. Clement Desalle
2. Max Nagl
3. Evgeny Bobryshev
4. Kevin Strijbos
5. Antonio Cairoli
6. David Philippaerts
7. Rui Goncalves
8. Jonathan Barragan
9. Anthony Boissiere
10. Christian Craig
Let's form a band. Herlings, Roczen and Searle with their custom-made Dean guitar trophies.
250 CLASS MOTO 1 RESULTS
1. Ken Roczen
2. Jeffrey Herlings
3. Max Anstie
4. Harri Kullas
5. Tommy Searle
6. Gautier Paulin
7. Arnaud Tonus
8. Christophe Charlier
9. Zach Osborne
10. Travis Baker
250 CLASS MOTO 2 RESULTS
1. Ken Roczen
2. Jeffrey Herlings
3. Tommy Searle
4. Zach Osborne
5. Max Anstie
6. Marvin Musquin
7. Nicolas Aubin
8. Christophe Charlier
9. Joel Roelants
10. Jordi Tixier
250 CLASS OVERALL RESULTS
1. Ken Roczen
2. Jeffrey Herlings
3. Tommy Searle
4. Max Anstie
5. Zach Osborne
6. Harri Kullas
7. Christophe Charlier
8. Nicolas Aubin
9. Joel Roelants
10. Jordi Tixier
WORLD VET CUP MOTO 1 RESULTS
1. Doug Dubach
2. Darryll King
3. Mats Nilsson
4. Ryan Hunt
5. Kevin Barda
6. Shawn Wynne
7. Alfredo Camps
8. Valdur Kahro
9. Larry Jackson
10. Roger Jakobsson
WORLD VET CUP MOTO 2 RESULTS
1. Mats Nilsson
2. Darryll King
3. Doug Dubach
4. Brian Wheeler
5. Roger Jakobsson
6. Shawn Wynne
7. Alfredo Camps
8. Phil Lewis
9. Lorry Jackson
10. Edgar Foedish
WORLD VET CUP OVERALL RESULTS
1. Mats Nilsson
2. Doug Dubach
3. Darryll King
4. Shawn Wynne
5. Alfredo Camps
6. Roger Jakobsson
7. Ryan Hunt
8. Kevin Barda
9. Larry Jackson
10. Phil Lewis
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