Red Bull KTM factory riders Tony Cairoli and Max Nagl gave KTM two more podiums in the MX1 GP of Portugal on Sunday

MX 1

Clement Desalle – 1st: "I hadn't ridden since Valkenswaard and came here to get as many points as I could, so to win is a surprise and feels very good. After the first moto I did not have any pain in my shoulder and I saw it was possible to win. When I crashed on the waves in the second moto I thought 'No! This is not possible' but I pushed hard to reach second again and I'm very happy. This is my first win for the team and for Suzuki and even though it came at an unexpected time I am enjoying it a lot! I am still recovering with my shoulder so I must not get carried away."

Tony Cairoli - 2nd:“It was a good weekend for me and I like this track. I’ve always been on the podium here since I started to race in the world championships. It was a good result. For sure I wanted to win but it was not possible. I had a bad start in the first race and only finished fifth. But I had a good start in the second and could win one moto. I like this track but today it was difficult with the rain and only one line so it was not as nice as in other years.”

Max Nagl - 3rd: It’s true that this isn’t my favorite track. Two years ago it was a mess then I was fifth last year and now third, so it’s getting better. I had a good start in the first race and it was really easy for me. I was just cruising and I made the gap bigger every lap. So I expected a lot from the second race but at the start there was a lot more grip and I was sitting too far back. The front wheel lifted and I had to use the clutch twice so I didn’t get the holeshot. I lost a lot of places in the first two laps but then I found my rhythm and I came back from tenth to fifth. That cost me a lot of energy and then I wasn’t able to fight for a better position at the end.”

Xavier Boog - 4th: "It was a great weekend for me, with everything going well on both days. I fought my way to 4th in the qualification race on Saturday which gave me an inside gate, so important at a track like this where the riders drift wide at the fast first turn. That meant I made two great starts, especially in the second moto when I held second place for a couple of corners. I found a good rhythm on the first lap in both races and that makes the racing so much easier. When Cairoli was chasing me in the last few laps of the opening moto I never let him get right on to my rear wheel; I focused on Philippaerts who was third and that helped me to keep my concentration. My start in the second moto was my best of the season; Desalle and De Dycker passed me quickly, but I came back at De Dycker and he was holding me up in the end; I might even have made the podium, but I lost drive when I touched his rear wheel and Desalle was able to ride around us for the overall win and I ended up 4th but now I know I can challenge for the podium."

Sébastien Pourcel – 8th: “I crashed at the start of the qualification race on Saturday, and that made my weekend difficult as the rain created big ruts and made it difficult to pass. I could only get back to 17th which meant I was in the middle of the gate and anything can happen from there. I had a good jump from the gate in the first race, but there was a lot of confusion at the first corner. I came out mid-pack but was able to recover to finish 8th. The first corner was again difficult in race two and then I collided with another rider later in the first lap; that left me 24th, but I put in some good lap times to recover to 9th place at the finish. The result should have been better, but at least I know that I have the speed and I’m sure when I can get through the first turn with the leaders I am ready for a podium result. That will be the goal for the next GPs, and I will focus on the qualification to get a better place at the gate.”

Steve Ramon – 9th: "It was tough out there and I had a lot of pain. My riding was not too bad but my start position meant the races were difficult. It was not easy to pass in the first moto but things were ok. In the second I was feeling good with the bike and was passing people but then I made a mistake and lost the front wheel before the finish-line jump and the front brake lever bent; so I could not use it anymore. I finished 12th and I'm not happy with that but I have to accept it because the GP went wrong yesterday for me. It is shame because things were going so well before the crash in the Heat. I think I will need a few days to rest as my leg is quite sore. Let's hope Spain is a bit better."

MX 2

Marvin Musquin – 1st:“This was a great weekend for me and for KTM. It was not easy with Jeffrey and Ken behind me in the first moto and we had some good fights. I had the best start in the second moto. I got the holeshot and it was better to be in the lead. I saw that Roczen was behind me but I was focused and I stayed in front. Then he crashed two laps before the end. Now I am in the lead in the championship and I have the red plate and I am looking forward to the races in Spain next weekend.”

Jeffrey Herlings – 2nd: “It was a really good weekend for me. I was second in my heat so I had a good starting grid. I got the holeshot in the first moto and I led until two laps before the end when I got passed by Marvin and Ken and eventually finished third. Then I had some problems with my speed and the lines at the start of the second moto but I got past Osborne at the half way mark and in the end Ken made a mistake and I finished second overall, which was amazing.”


Ken Roczen – 3rd: "Last year was my first GP race here and I did well and I expected to do better this time. I had two good starts and the second moto was cool, especially to race with Marvin. We were both riding smooth and fast and the moto was long. It was a shame about the crash but there was nothing I could do. The backmarker was in front of us from the pit-lane, nearly half a lap, and he did not move despite all the blue flags. I made a small mistake coming to the uphill triple and could not jump it, so I made a double and he landed on top of me and we had a pretty big crash. My footpeg came off, so I just wanted to stay on the bike and get some points. It was not easy to pass here but if you have a good eye then you can normally find somewhere to try."

Steven Frossard – 5th: “I like this track and was expecting some great result, but I made a small mistake when I was holding 4th place in the qualification race on Saturday and that wrecked my weekend. I broke the handlebars so it was impossible to finish the race and that meant I had to start from the outside of the gate; it’s impossible to get a good start from there here in Agueda, and it was even worse when I crashed at the first corner in the first race. I came back through the entire field to finish 11th even though I didn’t take any risks; the track was so rough after the rain and I didn’t want to crash again. I had a good jump out of the gate in the second race but everyone went wide at the first corner again of course and once more I had to battle through the pack to finish 5th. My lap times were similar to the leaders, so with better starts for sure I would have been battling for the podium result I had expected this weekend.”

Arnaud Tonus – 6th: "The goal was to get two top-10 finishes today so I am pleased I could do it. I wanted to stay consistent because I could not really find my rhythm on that track; I kept focussed and did not want to crash as it was very slick out there. The start was so important because overtaking was not easy at all but the bike worked really well and I was happy with how I could get out of the gate. Overall we got some good points for the championship position."

Jeremy Van Horebeek – 9th: “The starts just didn’t work for me this weekend; I had three races and crashed twice in the first few corners. The first crash came already in qualification and that meant I only had 11th choice of gate. Then I had another crash at the start of the first moto; I damaged my front brake in the crash so I couldn’t push hard and was only able to score a few points. The second start was much better; at least I didn’t crash but I was still only tenth after one lap, and that is too far back if you aim to battle for a podium. I came back to fourth with Steven following me through; we both had good lap times during the race but we need to be in the top five at each start to race with the leaders. I hope we will have better luck in Spain; I won there last year so I have great memories from this track.”