Maggiora has been a famous Motocross track early in the 80’s, and everyone was excited to be back on this legendary and traditional circuit, which offers exciting racing in front of a huge crowd.

Dylan Ferrandis had an unfortunate weekend after the success of his home GP one week earlier. His bike was damaged in a collision during the early stages of the Qualification race, and Dylan had to stop in the pits to replace his broken gearbox level; he got a poor grid position, which seriously hampered his chances for Sunday. Another collision in the opening GP moto left him at the back of the field but the teenager showed great speed to fight back from last to eleventh place at the finish. Quickly advancing into the top fifteen of race two he suffered more bad luck when a rock struck him in the face and forced his retirement, but he retains his top ten world ranking despite the misfortune.

Mid-season signing Jason Clermont continues to improve dramatically since being given the opportunity to work in such a professional environment and recorded a double-figure scoreline for the second consecutive weekend. His relative inexperience at GP level cost the youngster several places after he lost his rhythm later in the moto, but he regrouped well during the interval to charge from fifteenth to tenth in race two to claim twelfth place overall on the day.

Australian Meghan Rutledge was for the first time working among the Bud Racing staff, and was pleased with the advices she got from former World Champion Jacky Vimond. Runner up in the qualifying race and later in the first heat behind Chiara Fontanesi, Meghan was unfortunate in the second heat as she crashed during the opening lap and had to come back from twenty eighth to ninth. Fourth of the GP, she remains second in the standings.

Jason Clermont: “I had a very good start in the first race but I went wide in the first corner and I was eleventh after one lap. I couldn’t find a solution to pass the riders in front of me and eventually I lost my rhythm and dropped back to finish fifteenth. The track was faster for the second race and I found some good lines to finish eleventh. The track was nice but very fast, and I’m not used to these conditions but I learned a lot this weekend.”

Dylan Ferrandis: “It was not a good weekend, totally different from Ernée. In the qualifying race I was involved in a crash, and my gearbox lever was broken; I lost two laps to repair it and so I only qualified twenty-ninth. From the outside it was nearly impossible to have a good start, and in the first race I was in the pack when another rider hit me; that left me last but I got back to eleventh with good lap times. The second start was similar, and I was in fifteenth place when I got a stone in my face and had to go back to the paddock.”

After winning the opening moto, cruel luck struck Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1’s Clement Desalle when the Belgian was four laps away from a sure-fire podium-finish in front of 38,000 spectators today at a hot Maggiora for the Grand Prix of Italy.

Desalle had comfortably aced the opening race for his second chequered flag of the year, but an electrical problem forced his first retirement since 2010 and saw a seventh trophy of the season slip away.

Maggiora was a ‘roll back of the years’ for the FIM Motocross World Championship that visited the iconic and redeveloped venue for the first time this century for the ninth round of 17 in the series. The hillsides were packed with fans expectant of more stellar action in the competitive MX1 class and the hard-pack track was rolling, rutted and slippery.

After a difficult Saturday qualification heat, Desalle started superbly in the first moto of 35 minutes and two-lap duration and began chasing World Champion Antonio Cairoli. When the Italian crashed ‘#25′ inherited the lead and then eased his way to a seven-second victory. With a full 25 points in the bag Desalle was then foiled with a mid-pack start for the second moto and needed at least a quarter of the distance to work his way into fourth. As sometimes happens in a technical sport, Desalle was robbed of a deserving spray of champagne in what was his first mechanical upset since the Brazilian GP at the end of 2010.

Team-mate Kevin Strijbos enjoyed a top-five start in the first moto but his lack of feeling around Maggiora plagued him at crucial moments and he could do no better than seventh place. A flattened track in the second race saw the Belgian gain more confidence and stature; and although he was seventh once more, crossed the finish with a better sensation about his performance.

Desalle is third in the MX1 world championship points table and 83 behind Cairoli and 32 adrift of Maggiora-winner Gautier Paulin. Strijbos is still fifth and just in front of Tommy Searle.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 now finally enjoys a free weekend after one month and travel across three continents. Three consecutive Grands Prix in Sweden, Latvia and Finland then follow into the month of July.

Clement Desalle:

“Everything was good in the first moto; the start, running second and then taking over after Cairoli’s crash. I had a good rhythm and set good lap-times and just controlled the gap until the end. I didn’t take any risks and I felt really positive for the second moto. The start was so important here and unfortunately I was out of the top five. I fought hard to get back to fourth and suddenly the bike stopped. It was so unlucky and it just feels like we are always fighting something. We have a free weekend now and I don’t think I will ride and just do some good training next week.”

Kevin Strijbos:

“In the first moto I had a good start and thought ‘OK, let’s try and go with them’ but I just didn’t have the speed or any answer for them. I couldn’t see where they were winning time. I was pretty bad out there. In the second moto things got better and the lines came to me. It suddenly became more fun and the jumps were easier. Two top 10s mean that it has not been a good day but I have to take it. I’ll think about the second moto though and I really want to thank the team because they changed so much and worked so hard to try and find a solution. Even though it is the same bike I have ridden all year, I was just searching for something to help me feel more comfortable and clear my mind. Too bad I didn’t get the results today. It is good to finally have a week off now; after GPs and the American trip we have been pretty busy.”

MX1 Moto1:

1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 39:15.768;
2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:07.677;
3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.885;
4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:18.838;
5. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:24.491;
6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:27.572;
7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:54.258;
8. Xavier Boog (FRA, KTM), +0:55.629;
9. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), +1:03.755;
10. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +1:05.871;

MX1 Moto2:

1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 40:06.399;
2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), +0:10.337;
3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), +0:30.330;
4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), +0:38.201;
5. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:41.906;
6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), +0:54.265;
7. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), +0:57.269;
8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), +1:30.183;
9. Xavier Boog (FRA, KTM), +1:31.308;
10. Milko Potisek (FRA, Yamaha), +1:33.087;
23. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), -4 lap(s);

MX1 Overall results:

1. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 45 points;
2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 42 p.;
3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 40 p.;
4. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 34 p.;
5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 30 p.;
6. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 28 p.;
7. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 27 p.;
8. Davide Guarneri (ITA, KTM), 25 p.;
9. Xavier Boog (FRA, KTM), 25 p.;
10. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 25 p.;

MX1 FIM Motocross World Championship (after 9 of 17 rounds):

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 417 points;
2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 366 p.;
3. Clement Desalle (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 334 p.;
4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, KTM), 319 p.;
5. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1), 271 p.;
6. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 266 p.;
7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, Honda), 220 p.;
8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, Kawasaki), 205 p.;
9. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 180 p.;
10. David Philippaerts (ITA, Honda), 145 p.;

Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Max Anstie and Jeremy Seewer both grabbed hard-earned points but endured some bad luck at the Grand Prix of Italy and the Maggiora circuit for the ninth round of 17 in the FIM Motocross World Championship today.

Maggiora was back as a Grand Prix host for the first time since 1999 and after renovations and redevelopment to the site – that has gained mythical status for the crowds and atmosphere at past events – the circuit north of Milan again shook to the sounds of a busy 38,000 crowd.

Anstie showed flashes of promising lap-times and ran inside the top six in both free practice sessions. The Brit was unfortunate to be held-up at the start of the first GP moto and pushed from the bottom half of the pack to reach 13th place. His poor luck with starts continued in Moto2 as a second corner pile-up affected both ‘#14′ and his team-mate. Anstie recovered his factory RM-Z250 but then couldn’t avoid another rider in front of him and suffered a heavy fall that left him battered and the Suzuki worse for wear. At that point Anstie was forced to retire.

Seewer used the Grand Prix for further practice and training on the RM-Z250: The young Swiss will be in action in Germany next weekend and then prepping for the third round of eight in the European EMX250 campaign in Sweden where he is second in the championship with two podium results. The teenager had to withdraw from Moto1 after a tumble and then rear brake failure while the same melee that held-up Anstie in the second moto also caused Seewer to hit the ground. But he saw out the moto to at least claim two points for 19th

The team now heads back to Germany to prepare for the third meeting in the ADAC MX Masters series at Aichwald before embarking on a three-week, three-race trek taking in Grands Prix at Sweden (Uddevalla), Latvia (Kegums) and Finland (Hyvinkaa).

Max Anstie:

“Not a very good day. I got out of the gate pretty good but something happened in the first corners and I went up the hill with what felt like most of the pack in front of me again. I was trying so hard but on this kind of track sometimes you just need to calm down a bit. I had a different approach to the second race but I bogged a bit on the start and then on the second corner loads of us crashed. I got back up and thought ‘let’s go and dance’ because my speed was good out there. I followed a guy up the hill and he went completely sideways and I just smashed into him. The bike hit me and I was upside-down on the hill. I smashed my leg and winded myself. The bars were damaged and the bike was bent. I went to the pits but I was two laps down by then. The tide has to turn at some point because we have done so much work. We are flat-out and I just need to bring it together and stop struggling.”

Jeremy Seewer:

“Hard day and not my weekend! I didn’t have the speed on Saturday. My start was not perfect for the first moto because the track had been watered and it was really slippery. I crashed and then had to stop after about 15 minutes because my rear brake broke. In the second moto my jump from the gate was much better, but because I was in 21st position I was pushed wide. Then in the second corner Romain Febvre crashed just a metre in front of me and I went down also. A few people rode over me and the front brake was locked when I picked up the bike…no luck.”