Antonio Cairoli has held the red plate already this season, after the opening round victory in Qatar, and while the Italian legend will go to round eight in Germany with the red plate, it isn’t about leading now that is driving the Red Bull KTM Factory rider at this point of the season.
Having won Grand Prix’s in Qatar and Italy, it’s been a little up and down since. Poor starts, and small mistakes have robbed the eight times world champion of major points, and while his speed is not a question mark, he needs to improve his first corner position to really crack another GP win.
Teutschenthal could be the perfect place for that, as Cairoli has had success there in the past and the rough and tumble of the German circuit plays right into the hands of the experienced Italian.
Antonio was kind enough to answer our questions after his podium finish in Latvia.
With Tim Gasjer’s crashes in Latvia, Antonio Cairoli now leads the MXGP standings by 17 points.
It was a good day for you in Latvia, and it’s also good to see your speed so good this year. You are often the fastest guy, just bad starts or some small mistakes. How did it feel?
Yes, I am really fast this year. Like last year I was not the fastest one on many occasions. This year the speed is there and my condition is good, but the starts are mixed. I get big holeshots, or last. Again today, first moto bad start—outside the top 15—and then I try and do my best to come to the front, but it is very difficult, everybody is very fast and the track was very sketchy. We saw a lot of crashes this week, and I couldn’t come higher than fifth place. That wasn’t the best, because I want to at least finish top three. I struggled passing guys and by the time I passed the others were gone.
And your second moto?
Second moto, I thought ok. We go for a better result. I first tried to get a good start, a pretty good one. [Arminas] Jasikonis was lucky, because he nearly hit the gate and got a big holeshot. I lost my focus [due to Jasikonis jumping early], but still I got a good run out of the gate. I almost took the holeshot in the first corner, but then I went too wide and I went off the track. I got back on in sixth place and tried to find the spots to pass. I made to third place, but I struggled with Boby [Evgeny Bobryshev] and I saw it was easy to crash. I tried to stay in attention, but the first guys took a gap. I passed Boby and tried to catch Tim [Gasjer]. I caught him, but he made a big crash in the waves and I got a little scared after seeing that. A lot of crashes and Jeffrey [Herlings] was really fast on this track. This kind of soil is always good, but for me it is important to keep it on two wheels and fight for the win.
How difficult is that? The passing, because you can see you are really fast, but passing is just impossible sometimes. How frustrating is that and how do you keep mentally strong to keep trying to pass?
It’s tough, especially this year. The bikes have made a big step and it allows you to do very good things. Everyone is very fast, especially in that first 10 or 20 minutes. Everyone is fast and everyone can hang on. Gajser, you never see that, what some riders can do. It’s motocross and we have to deal with it and move on. I can improve in the start and I am happy with my speed and condition. I hope we can do our objective to win races and score as many points as possible.
In 2015 and 2016, injuries hampered the eight-time world champion, but he is back on form in 2017.
It’s early in the season, but to have the red plate back. Does that mean anything to you?
I don’t really care at the moment. Like you said, it’s very early and a lot of races to go. My main goal is to finish top five. That is important for the championship. A lot of guys can win a GP—now Jeffreymdash;so a lot of guys winning. This is good for the championship and if you are one of those five guys, it’s good for the championship.
Is it nicer to be battling like this, or would you prefer winning all the time like sometimes in the past?
It is nicer in one way because you can make some passes and it’s more exciting—more adrenaline. But of course it is also frustrating, because can’t do our own lines and you can’t do your own speed. So in that way it is difficult to maintain the focus. I know I can go faster but with it like it is now, you always have to be careful that nobody hits you and you have to ride differently.
Last question. Teutschenthal—that is a track that really suits you, because you need a lot of experience and you really have to be smart there. Do you look forward to that? Because those tracks you are good on.
I like Teutschenthal a lot because its rough, technical, and not wide open like some other tracks. We will see. I look forward to every weekend, because my condition and speed are good, but I am frustrated about my starts. When I get a bad start I don’t like that at all. I get holeshots or outside the top 10, sometimes outside the top 20 and I will work on that before Germany.
Ray Archer images