Image: Ray Archer.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli took his fourth qualifying race victory of the season at Matterley Basin on Saturday, while Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube’s Valentin Guillod put in a super-human ride to claim his first.

With almost perfect track conditions on one of the widest and most flowing circuits on the calendar, Cairoli made another statement with his second consecutive holeshot and qualifying race victory.

Early on, Wilvo Nestaan Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Dean Ferris occupied second plac,e but despite his solid fight to remain in that position, he eventually found himself still in the mix but back in sixth.

The first rider to shift up into second was the red plate holder Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Max Nagl who made an early charge on Tony Cairoli but ultimately had nothing for him.

Around mid race Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MXGP’s Clement Desalle knuckled down and put the move on Ferris and Nagl to take over second.

With Nagl dropping back to third, that wasn’t the end of his problems as Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin started laying in some hot laps. Paulin managed to work his way from fifth to third and remained there for the rest of the race.

The top three eventually settled into their positions while Nagl was forced to battle the determined young rookie Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre for fourth.

Febvre had actually been on the slice and dice the entire race after starting outside of the top ten. He impressively passed Nagl in the latter stages of the race but the MXGP veteran managed to get him back with two laps to go meaning the Frenchman had to be content with fifth.

Ferris finished the race in sixth, while one of the championship favorites, particularly among the British crowd, Hitachi Construction Machinery Revo KTM’s Shaun Simpson rounded out the top seven. Second of the Aussies, Todd Waters, qualified 12th.

MX2 kicked off the MXGP of Great Britain with an incredible qualifying heat race that went down to the wire. When the gates dropped Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team’s Jordi Tixier was quick to jump and instantly pulled half a bike length.

Remarkably by the end of the start straight the two Red Bull KTM Factory bikes of Pauls Jonass and Jeffrey Herlings had reeled him in with Jonass being the quickest to get on the gas around the turn and claim the holeshot.

Tixier managed to hold his own against Herlings while Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser and Guillod rounded out the early top five.

Half a lap in and Guillod was already on fire, he made light work of Gajser and wasn’t in any frame of mind to take it easy on the series leader, Herlings, either. Before long Guillod was up into third and pressuring the leaders Jonass and Tixier.

Around mid-race things started to heat up with both Tixier and Guillod pouncing on Jonass for the lead. Initially it looked as though Tixier had wound it up as he pulled a slight gap on Guillod who had also put space between himself and the two KTM’s of Jonass and Herlings.

Coming into the closing stages of the race Herlings took advantage of an error Jonass made when he dabbed his leg around a fast corner and almost chucked himself off the bike, while Guillod started to plot an attack on the defending champion Tixier.

On the last lap Guillod had chopped back the lead of Tixier and was all over him for pole. With half a lap to go the Swiss man executed a sweet pass for the lead when he pinned it around the outside of the Kawasaki rider on a sweeping turn.

Tixier didn’t give up on the fight though, but had to settle for second with Herlings, Jonass and Gajser rounding out the top five respectively a further fifteen seconds back.

Meanwhile, the gates were also racked with super talented female racers as Team One One Four’s Livia Lancelot took the first race win of round three of the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship.

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