FIM Motocross made a controversial debut in Mexico over the weekend. Image: Ray Archer.

The fourth grand prix of the FIM Motocross World Championship was held in Mexico on Sunday, where Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings handed another double victory to KTM.

Despite many of the GP stars abandoning Saturdays qualifying session, there was very exciting racing in both classes and the big crowd present in the GP could enjoy watching the best riders in the world racing with their Mexican idols.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cairoli obtained the second GP win of the season in Mexico after going 1-3 in today’s races. In the first heat, after the first ten minutes the Italian found his rhythm and managed to overtake Clement Desalle and Christophe Pourcel.

At the start of the second heat Cairoli almost crashed and was down to sixth and he then pushed really hard to finish third and obtain the final overall victory.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Desalle finished second in both heats and he missed the first step of the podium for just one point. The Belgian rode a consistent first moto, and in the second one he moved from third to first and exchanged the lead with Davide Philippaerts during the last minutes of the race.

In the end, Philippaerts imposed an incredible rhythm and Desalle had to settle down with the second place. Monster Energy Yamaha’s Philippaerts had a really tough first heat, as he suffered a heavy crash at the start of the first race and had to enter the pitlane.

However, the Italian did not give up and finished tenth. Philippaerts made an outstanding second heat, moving from sixth to first imposing a superb rhythm, and obtained the third overall position.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Ken De Dycker ended fourth overall, being tight in points with Philippaerts. This weekend De Dycker obtained the best result of the season after finishing third in the first heat.

He didn’t have such a good second race and could only cross the finish line fifth and this is why he missed the opportunity of being on the podium today.

It was one of the best weekends for Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Tanel Leok finishing fifth overall thanks to his 6-6 result. In the first heat, the Estonian had to fight really hard to go from an initial 12th position up to sixth, but in the second one he managed to ride a consistent moto from beginning to the end.

Pourcel took the holeshot of both heats, but could not keep the lead in neither of the two. In the first moto, he got some green fence stuck on his back wheel and had to pull out while he was fourth, whereas in the second race he was not able to keep the rhythm of his pursuers and crossed the finish line fourth.

Australia’s Dean Ferris finished 12th in both motos for ICE1RACING in a promising 11th overall, but he wasn’t 100 percent satisfied.

“I got a good start and was able keep my tenth position quite awhile,” Ferris explained. “Yet for some reason I’m not feeling good with my riding at the moment. Even though 12th position gives good points, I know I’m not riding to my potential.

“But with patience and practice it will come together.”

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Herlings had another perfect weekend and managed to win both heats with superb authority. In the first moto Herlings was fifth in the opening lap, but he then quickly moved up to the lead in the fourth lap.

From then on, the Dutch rider imposed his rhythm even having some problems with his goggles since the very beginning of the race. In the second heat, he had a good start and managed to lead the race from beginning to end, crossing the finish line with almost 25 seconds advantage over the second classified Tommy Searle.

Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Searle was on the second step of the podium this weekend in Mexico after finishing second in both heats. The British rider could not start in the front in the first race and he struggled a little bit to climb up to the final second position.

In the second race, Searle had a good start but he made a mistake in the first lap and went down to ninth. However, he managed to recover himself really quickly and he achieved crossing the finish line second once again.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek was back on the podium this weekend and he managed to keep the second position of the championship one point ahead Searle. Van Horebeek took the holeshot in both heats and in the first one he managed to keep the lead during the first three laps.

The Belgian rider pushed so much to chase Herlings, that by the end of the race he had run out of energy and finished third.

Click here for detailed results