Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/270748
IN THE WIND P26 PAULIN, HERLINGS TAKE WORLD MX OPENER F renchman Gautier Paulin and Dutchman Jeffrey Herlings got the 2014 World Motocross Championship started with wins in their respective classes at the Grand Prix of Qatar on March 1. Monster Energy Kawasaki's Pau- lin nabbed his win in the MXGP class (formerly MX1) with a 3-1 tally and Red Bull KTM's won the the MX2 division with a 2-1. Honda's Max Nagl came away with a somewhat surprising win in the first MXGP moto, the vet- eran racer holding off defending champ Tony Cairoli at the end. Red Bull KTM's Cairoli worked his way up from a bad start while nursing a sore ankle that he suf- fered earlier in qualifying. Paulin finished third ahead of French CLS Kawasaki Monster Energy rider Steven Frossard and Yamaha's Jeremy van Hore- beek of Belgium. In the second moto, Paulin charged to victory over Frossard and Cairoli. Fourth went to Nagl, a result that earned him second overal while Cairoli took third with a 2-3. Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna's Tyla Rattray did not compete, although he tried. The South Af- rican was hampered by a finger injury and had to withdraw before the racing got underway. Herlings struggled with his starts in both MX2 motos. In the first outing, the defending champ was so far back at the start that he had to spend the entire 30-minuted moto battling his way up. He eventually caught up to leader Dylan Ferrandis, but couldn't make the pass and had to settle for second. Herlings again got off to a slow start in the second moto, but was able to slip past leader Arnaud Tonus of Switzerland for the win and the overall victory. Ferrandis dropped to sixth in the second moto, but it was still good enough to give him second overall, while Husqvarna's Ro- main Febvre got on the podium with a 5-4. American Thomas Covington (Kawasaki) had a standout sec- ond moto in the MX2 class. He was in contention for the win, holding down second place for much of the race before drop- ping back to third two laps from the end. Covington dropped out of the first moto after the second lap. Jeffrey Herlings (84) didn't get good starts but still came away with the MX2 victory in the Grand Prix series opener in Qatar. BRIDGESTONE INVADES PHILLIP ISLAND Y amaha's Jorge Lorenzo was the fastest of the factory riders on the first day of the much-an- ticipated three-day MotoGP tire test at Phillip Island on Monday, March 3 and while happy to be at the top of the timesheets after his struggles in Sepang, this test was all about tires. After last year's tire debacle at the Australian Grand Prix, a result of Bridgestone not being pre- pared for the high-speed circuit's new surface, the tire company scheduled this test with the three factory teams: Yamaha, Repsol Honda, and Ducati (still testing factory tires although they recently de- clared they'll race in the Open class). Bridgestone's format the first day of the test was