Herlings secures second-consecutive MXGP victory in Switzerland
Yamaha's Paturel clinches career-first MX2 grand prix win.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Jeffrey Herlings and Kemea Yamaha Official Team’s Benoit Paturel have claimed victories in their respective categories at Switzerland’s 15th round of the 2017 MXGP World Championship last weekend.
Herlings captured the overall with an dynamic 6-1 scorecard, which put him atop of the leaderboard after tying on points with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Gautier Paulin.
The eventual overall victor was 15th off the start in race one and was forced to work his way through the field, as Paulin strung together consistent 4-2 results.
Third for the day was championship leader Antonio Cairoli (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who continues to hold a firm advantage in the standings, while the top five was rounded out by Romain Febvre (Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing) and Max Anstie (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing), who was second in race one.
The first outing also saw a thrilling performance from Wilvo Yamaha MXGP’s Arnaud Tonus, who took an inspiring moto victory, although in race two, he would be hit by another rider while remounting from a crash, ultimately ending his weekend.
In MX2, Paturel broke through for his maiden victory in the quarter-litre category with 2-1 moto scores, defeating race one winner Jeremy Seewer (Suzuki World MX2) for the overall with a healthy seven-point margin.
Pauls Jonass (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was third as he maintains the championship lead with a 49-point lead, while Thomas Covington (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) and Jorge Prado (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) were credited fourth and fifth respectively.
Youthful Australian Hunter Lawrence (Suzuki World MX2) was 13th overall after failing to finish the opening moto due to hard crash, however he was able to bounce back in race two to take an impressive seventh place result.
Compatriot Jed Beaton (Carglass Honda) was fifth overall in his return to the EMX250 championship, racing to second in race two, while Western Australian Caleb Grothues (Husqvarna) was 26th to conclude the weekend.
The next round of the MXGP World Championship is scheduled for this weekend at Uddevalla in Sweden, marking the 16th stop of the series.