Making a solid start to the 12th round of the FIM Motocross World Championship were two of the most predictable pole position candidates, Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin and Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie.

It was an impressive start to the qualifying race for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s team of wounded riders Tommy Searle and Antonio Cairoli.

Searle held a tight line around the inside to take the holeshot while Cairoli only had twenty-second pick at the gate but railed the outside line and emerged in third behind Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Todd Waters.

Cairoli, who is still struggling with a fractured elbow, went right to work on Waters for second. The duo rubbed plastics a couple of times which resulted in Cairoli nudging Waters out of the main line while going wide open through a fast section of the track.

As they headed into the following turn, Cairoli went in too hot, buried the front end and was thrown off of his bike. After another crash later in the race, 18th was the best he could salvage.

Soon after Cairoli’s mishap, Waters hit a kicker on the tabletop heading into the waves and went down, which allowed Team HRC’s Gautier Paulin, who was being hounded by Yamaha Factory Racing Yamalube’s Romain Febvre and his teammate Evgeny Bobryshev, to inherit second place.

After leading the early stages of the race, Searle started to fade ever so slightly which gave Paulin the opportunity to pounce with a textbook move up the inside. Febvre capitalised on Paulin forcing Searle off line and went by too.

Paulin and Febvre then went neck and neck all the way to the finish with less than a second separating them at the chequers – Paulin taking his second qualifying heat victory of the season.

Bobryshev eventually got around Searle, who had a few hairy moments, for third while Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s rookie Glenn Coldenhoff put in a solid ride to round out the top five.

Dean Ferris crossed the line as leading Australian in a lowly 17th position, while Waters was a non-finisher following his incident. His status for today’s motos remains unconfirmed.

In MX2 qualifying it was Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Anstie who put the sand skills he boasts to good use. Chasing Anstie all the way to the finish was Honda Gariboldi’s Tim Gajser, who is yet to prove himself in sand this year.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pauls Jonass also got off to a killer start and rode a lonely third all the way home.

Meanwhile back in fourth, Dutchman, HSF Logistics Motorsport Team’s Brian Bogers put in a solid performance as he tried his best to hold off two of Switzerland’s finest Standing Construct Yamaha Yamalube’s Valentin Guillod and Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe’s Jeremy Seewer.

Guillod used his super smooth style and scrubbed around the outside of Bogers for fourth, while Seewer left it until the final hour but finally managed to make a pass stick with less than a quarter of a lap to go to round out the top five.

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