In a day that saw Jeffrey Herlings wipe out and take down Honda’s Tim Gajser, KTM’s Tony Cairoli took the MX1 and Elite titles and Jorge Prado the MX2 crown in the final round of the Italian motocross championship at Ottobiano. KTM’s official press release says:

MX1
Tony Cairoli got away well in the MX1 race to pick up the holeshot on the KTM 450 SX-F, but minutes later, teammate Jeffrey Herlings, who was racing in his first premiere class moto and was sixth at the start, tangled with Slovenian Tim Gajser and both riders went down. Herlings retired from the race while Cairoli hung onto the lead through the first two thirds before Belgian Jeremy van Horebeek overtook him. He settled for second place after demonstrating to the opposition that he is in very good pre-season shape.

Cairoli: “We had another good weekend here in Ottobiano and we got five wins and a second in these first races, so I’m really happy about how everything is going. The preparation with Glenn (Coldenhoff) and the team has been very good and we’re looking forward to the first GP. It’s important to get the wins but most important is the see that you feel great, the bike is working very well, you feel confident and that you’re happy with your riding.”

Cairoli’s teammate Glenn Coldenhoff also has a strong elite race and he too was positive about the pre season preparation. “We’ve had some good races here and I’m happy that I raced all three rounds. We learned a lot and it was good training and good tracks so it was perfect preparation for the GP season. We did a good job and the bike is working well so I go to Qatar with quite a lot of confidence. I know I have the speed and everything just needs to come together.”

MX2
Jorge Prado, racing in his first full season with the factory team was once again very quick out of the gates as MX2 riders took to the track. He too led for most of his race before Italian Michele Cervellin seized the advantage and went to the front. Prado’s second place was good enough to wrap up the MX2 title and the result clearly boosted the 16-year-old Spaniard’s confidence going into the final showdown in the elite class race.

Elite Class
Prado charged out of the gates in the elite race on his KTM 250 SX-F to grab the holeshot prize for the championship, but premiere class teammate Cairoli was close behind. While the Italian and two other 450 riders quickly took control, and Cairoli went on to secure another decisive win, Prado hung onto fourth place until the final laps. He was fifth at the line and clearly the fastest MX2 rider in the competition.

Prado, summing up his Italian International Championship said he and the team had made continual improvements over the three races and he was happy to have been on the podium every weekend. “I got the holeshot today in the first race and I was able to make a big gap to the second rider but towards the end I got some arm pump and had to slow down a bit and finished second.” Prado said then he was determined to wrap up the series with a strong second (elite class) race. “I wanted to see where I am at the moment. I took the holeshot but the first three riders passed me pretty quickly. I had a long fight with Butron and we passed each other quite a few times. Then Febvre made the pass with just two laps to go. Top five against the big bikes is good for me. I’m feeling confident and I think I’ve learned a lot, so I need to keep my feet on the ground and keep working.”

Austrian KINI KTM Junior Racing teams Rene Hofer finished overall third (4-4) in 125 class on his KTM 125 SX.

Lacapelle-Marival Masters Motocross International 2017
Red Bull KTM MX2 factory rider Pauls Jonass of Latvia, following on from his win last weekend at the Hawkstone International opted to compete in France at the LaCapelle-Marival Masters Motocross International. Unfortunately Pauls crashed hard while in the lead in the MX2 race and had to retire with a mild concussion. Both Jonass and Herlings will have precautionary medical checkups early next week, the team confirmed.

Results MX1 Ottobiano 2017
1. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL), Yamaha, 30:17.197 min (16 laps)
2. Tony Cairoli (ITA), KTM, +9.882 sec
3. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS), Honda, +11.444
4. Tanel Leok (EST), Husqvarna, +36.138
5. Valentin Guillod (SUI), Honda, +1:12.737 min
Other KTM
7. Jose Butron (ESP), KTM, +1:23.818
34. Jeffrey Herlings (NED), +14 laps
35. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED), +14 laps

Final Standings Internazionali D’Italia Motocross 2017 after 3 of 3 rounds
1. Cairoli, 340 points
2. Van Horebeek, 320
3. Bobryshev, 200
4. Tim Gajser (SLO), Honda, 196
5. Leok, 165
Other KTM
8. Butron, 122
11. Coldenhoff, 100

Results MX2 Ottobiano 2017
1. Michelle Cervellin (ITA), Honda, 30:20.976 min (16 laps)
2. Jorge Prado (ESP), KTM, +26.256 sec
3. Samuele Bernardini (ITA), TM, +32.451
4. Calvin Vlaanderen (RSA), KTM, +40.838
5. Giuseppe Tropepe (ITA), Suzuki, +54.672
Other KTM
8. Brian Bogers (NED), KTM, +1:08.943 min
9. Nicholas Lapucci (ITA), KTM, +1:10.076

Final Standings MX2 Internazionali D’Italia Motocross 2017 after 3 of 3 rounds
1. Prado, 300 points
2. Cervellin, 280
3. Bogers, 165
4. Bernardini, 159
5. Benoit Paturel (FRA), Yamaha, 155
Other KTM
6. Julien Lieber (BEL), KTM, 146
14. Pauls Jonass (LAT), KTM, 65 (DNS Rd. 2 & 3)

Results Elite Class Ottobiano 2017
1. Cairoli, 30:13.503 min (16 laps)
2. Van Horebeek, +16.685 sec
3. Butron, +38.959
4. Romain Febvre (FRA), Yamaha, +39.344
5. Prado, +49.904
Other KTM
6. Coldenhoff, +58.013

Final Standings Elite Class Internazionali D’Italia Motocross 2017 after 3 of 3 rounds
Two best results count
1. Cairoli, 240 points
2. Van Horebeek, 200
3. Febvre, 145
4. Gajser, 140
5. Butron, 130
Other KTM
6. Coldenhoff, 125
9. Prado, 80

Photos Stefano Taglioni/ KTM Images