Racing started today at the outstanding facilities of Beto Carrero with both MX1 and MX2 qualifying races in the fourth round of the FIM Motocross World Championships.

The grand stands of the Honda Grand Prix of Brazil were already almost full today and the warm Brazilian public enjoyed watching Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings dominating their respective heats with superb authority.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cairoli started the day obtaining the best time lap of the pre-qualifying practice just some seconds before the session was finished.

The Italian took the holeshot and he managed to keep the lead until the end. Cairoli admitted that he enjoyed racing today in Beto Carrero even if the track was a bit muddy as a consequence of the rain early in the morning.

Second of the qualifying race was Kawasaki Racing Team’s Gautier Paulin, who made a really good start, but he could not catch Cairoli and rode second from beginning to the end.

Rockstar Energy Suzuki World’s Clement Desalle did not start at the front with the top four riders, but he managed to catch Australia’s Dean Ferris, who was riding fourth, by the middle of the qualifying race.

With two laps to go, the Belgian overtook Eugene Bobryshev and crossed the finish line third. Tomorrow, Desalle will have one of the best positions at the starting grid, so he might be able to fight for the overall victory tomorrow.

The positive surprise of the MX1 qualifying race was the presence of Ice1Racing’s Ferris fighting for the top five positions of the heat.

The Aussie has been recovering from an injury and after today’s performance he seems to be fully fit to be one of the MX1 riders to take into account to finish at the top five positions.

Today, he had an excellent start and he rode fourth during the first half of the heat, but he could not keep Desalle behind him and Ferris crossed the finish line in the fifth position.

Christophe Pourcel was only 20th at today’s qualifying race, but he will have a second chance tomorrow to show his real potential to the Brazilian fans during the main event.

However, the bad news comes on the side of Steven Frossard, who was not able to take part in the heat due to the heavy pain he is suffering in his right knee.

The French rider will not take part in tomorrow’s races and he will try it again in two weeks time in Saint Jean d’Angely during his home grand prix.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Herlings won his second qualifying race today with superb authority in MX2.

The Dutch young rider was also the fastest in today’s pre-qualifying session and he actually crossed the finish line of the qualifying race with 25 seconds advantage over Tommy Searle, who was second.

The second position of the MX2 qualifying race was for Team Floride Monster Energy Kawasaki Pro Circuit’s Searle, who rode a solid moto keeping the second position from beginning to end.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeremy Van Horebeek did also a consistent race and he kept his initial third position until the chequered flag.

Monster Energy Yamaha’s Christophe Charlier proved once more that he is fully fit from his foot injury as he managed to finish fourth in the MX2 qualifying race.

KTM Diga Racing’s Jose Butrón did also a really good qualifying race and he crossed the finish line in the fifth position.

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