Kawasaki’s Gautier Paulin sealed his second MX1 GP win in a row at Agueda. Image: Youthstream.

Kawasaki’s Gautier Paulin won his second consecutive 2013 FIM Motocross World Championship event on the weekend with 1-2 heat finishes in the distinct red dirt of Agueda in Portugal, host of the season’s sixth round.

Frenchman Paulin started behind Red Bull KTM’s Antonio Cairoli in the opening race but managed to catch and pass his rival early on, building a lead which he rode to the wave of the chequered flag.

Italian Cairoli was in the mix until the closing stages, when he was thrown from his bike in a dramatic crash. He managed to remount and ride to third despite having a broken front brake, while Suzuki’s Clement Desalle moved through to second.

The battle between Paulin and Cairoli resumed in the second race, but a rougher track meant Paulin couldn’t make the forward progress necessary, settling for second.

“Of course I’m delighted with this GP win, especially after the great battle in the first moto with Antonio,” said Paulin.

“He wanted to win it as badly I did and for sure we both had a lot of fun, but I was able to pass him and then stay in front.

“It’s great to win two GPs in a row; it’s the first time in my career that I have achieved this and I want to thank all the people and partners who are behind me.”

Cairoli was happy to bounce back from his crash to record 3-1 results and score a good haul of points in the MX1 class.

“Paulin was trying to attack all the time but I was still able to win,” said Cairoli. “It’s a shame it wasn’t enough to win the GP but it was still good for the points and the championship.”

Desalle finished third for the grand prix despite his own troubles in the second race, crashing heavily and limping to fifth.

Fourth overall went to Cairoli’s teammate at factory KTM, Ken De Dycker, who was disappointed not to make the overall podium after Desalle made contact with his rear wheel in the opening race, resulting in an eventual seventh place finish.

Tommy Searle rounded out the MX1 top five on his Kawasaki, a solid result considering he suffered a broken finger in the opening race. He consolidated with sixth while and then rode to fourth in the second race to bank good points from the weekend.

Max Nagl, Jeremyvan Horebeek, David Philippaerts, Kevin Strijbos and Rui Goncalves finished in positions six through 10 at the close of racing.

MX2 proceedings were dominated by Red Bull KTM’s Jeffrey Herlings who won both races after taking two early holeshots and clearing out from the trailing field.

Herlings put together a perfect opening race, and despite a number of mistakes in the second race, was able to win by a margin of more than a minute, ahead of Australia’s Dean Ferris who is back in front-running form on the Monster Energy Yamaha.

“This weekend I did my best and I worked hard on my starts,” said Herlings. “I took the three holeshots and was leading in every lap.

“The speed was unbelievable. I was as fast as the MX1 guys so I couldn’t ask for more.”

Ferris finished sixth and second, keeping track with Herlings early in the piece in each race before the KTM rider moved clear.

He managed to recover from a small crash in the opening race to finish second overall, equal to his best finish in the MX2 field.

“This actually feels better than the first podium in Qatar because I was really sick there and couldn’t really soak up what it meant,” said Ferris.

“This one is a bit more special. I’ve been coming back from injury and battling forward for the past six weeks and I’m pretty much fully fit now.

“In the off-season I knew I could be a podium guy and hopefully now with some confidence I can establish myself as a regular.”

Jose Butron completed the MX2 podium, the KTM rider building another solid showing upon third and sixth place race finishes.

Jordi Trixier got the nod over Christophie Charlier for fourth, despite the pairing finishing equal on points.

Glenn Coldenhoff, Mel Pocock, Jake Nicholls, Alexander Tonkov and Max Anstie occupied positions six through to ten at the conclusion of the sixth GP of the season.

2013 FIM Motocross World Championship
Round Six – Agueda, Portugal
MX1 Overall Results:
1. Gautier Paulin
2. Antonio Cairoli
3. Clement Desalle
4. Ken de Dycker
5. Tommy Searle
6. Maximilian Nagl
7. Jeremy van Horebeek
8. David Philippaerts
9. Kevin Strijbos
10. Rui Goncalves

MX2 Overall Results:
1. Jeffrey Herlings
2. Dean Ferris
3. Jose Butron
4. Jordi Tixier
5. Christophe Charlier
6. Glenn Coldenhoff
7. Mel Pocock
8. Jake Nicholls
9. Alexander Tonkov
10. Max Anstie

Click here for detailed results