Vialle takes over championship lead after second in Andalucia

After an excellent debut for Honda HRC PETRONAS last time out in Argentina, Tom Vialle takes over the championship-leading red-plate after his second-place finish in qualification at the MXGP of Andalucia.

Held at the new GP facility in Almonte, this sandy circuit has really tested the fastest motocross riders on the planet, but Vialle showed that his skills in the soft stuff are still up there with the best when he grabbed the holeshot, before riding to a comfortable second place. After his 50 points in Bariloche, Argentina, the Frenchman now holds a four-point lead and will look to extend that when they take to the track tomorrow for the two points scoring motos.

Unfortunately, despite being fastest in both free and timed practices, Jeffrey Herlings finished just outside the top 10 in qualification, as a first turn crash left him remounting way behind the rest of the field. Passing 19 riders in the 13 laps, the Dutchman put on a massive charge, dicing through the field before running out of time as he neared the points-scoring positions. It wasn’t what the red-plate holder was hoping for coming into the weekend, but his speed isn’t in doubt, and he’ll be trying to maximise his points total, just like he did in Argentina when he went one-one and scored 50 points.

A week of sickness really hindered any hopes that Ruben Fernandez would be able to stand on the podium at his home GP – like he did 12 months ago. The Spaniard has battled as hard as he could and was close to getting in the top 10 before a crash ruined his momentum, but he’ll be hoping to feel better tomorrow and try to score some decent points and please the massive number of Spanish fans who are supporting lining the fences, supporting their hero.

In the MX2 class,  Valerio Lata also finished 11^th, just missing out on points as he tries to get himself back into world championship action, after a nasty crash in Argentina last time out. A fourth place in free practice showed promise, but a seventh in timed practice and then a tough qualification race showed there is still work to be done before the Italian can mix it up with the best 250cc riders on the planet once again.

While today didn’t go to completely as planned, the two motos tomorrow offer up 50 points to all the riders, and all four of them are motivated to show this large Spanish crowd that they belong at the front of the field.

MX2 Qualification
1. Sacha Coenen (BEL, KTM), 25:19.366; 2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA, Triumph), +0:03.021; 3. Guillem Farres (ESP, Triumph), +0:05.149; 4. Simon Längenfelder (GER, KTM), +0:06.568; 5. Janis Martins Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:09.961; 6. Mathis Valin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:10.497; 7. Liam Everts (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:33.532; 8. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LAT, Yamaha), +0:42.496; 9. Kay Karssemakers (NED, Kawasaki), +0:44.722; 10. Jens Walvoort (NED, KTM), +0:51.704; 11. Valerio Lata (ITA, Honda), +0:52.806;