Guillem Farres (Triumph) wins qualifying race, Längenfelder finishes 4th

MX2 qualifying race at ‘The Oriental Beauty Valley MXGP of China’ in Shanghai. The infrastructure of the track, which is laid out as a stadium complex, has been further improved this year. The grandstands were fitted with a water mist system for external cooling. It sprays ultra-fine water droplets, thereby lowering the ambient temperature.

Triumph works rider Camden Mc Lellan was the fastest in qualifying. The South African was 0.9 seconds faster on his fastest lap than World Championship leader Camden Mc Lellan (Triumph). Simon Längenfelder (KTM) qualified in 4th place behind Sacha Coenen (KTM).

MX2 Qualifying

1. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA), Triumph, 1:41.363

2. Guillem Farres (E), Triumph, -0.947

3. Sacha Coenen (B), KTM, -1.264

4. Simon Längenfelder (D), KTM, -1.597

5. Liam Everts (B), Husqvarna, -2.387

6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LV), Yamaha, -2.388

7. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LV), Yamaha, -2.589

8. Maxime Grau (F), Honda, -2.930

9. Julius Mikula (CZ), KTM, -3.900

10. Kay Karssemakers (NL), Kawasaki, -4.509

Farres unstoppable

Simon Längenfelder took the holeshot in the qualifying race, but as early as the second corner, Guillem Farres overtook the defending champion on the inside to take the lead. Sacha Coenen started in third place and attacked Längenfelder. On lap 5, the Belgian used the momentum from the outside lines, cleared a double jump in one go and overtook the German. Camden Mc Lellan fought his way up to fifth place over the course of six laps, initially having to hold off Liam Everts. On lap 11, he overtook Längenfelder on the same section of the track where Coenen had previously overtaken him.

In the end, the gap at the front narrowed once again. The top three were separated by just 1.1 seconds. Liam Everts closed in on Längenfelder once more in the final two laps, but it was no longer enough to mount an attack.

Second qualifying win for Farres

An astonishing detail: for Guillem Farres, this was only his second victory in a qualifying race this season. With this win, the Spaniard extended his lead at the top of the standings by a further two points and, ahead of Sunday’s races, now leads by 52 points over Camden Mc Lellan. If he manages to extend this lead to 60 points or more, he will be crowned MX2 World Champion ahead of schedule. Simon Längenfelder saw his deficit to fourth place increase from 80 to 83 points.

MX2 Qualifying Races

1. Guillem Farres (E), Triumph, 24:46.352

2. Sacha Coenen (B), KTM, -0.583

3. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA), Triumph, -1.104

4. Simon Längenfelder (D), KTM, -5.167

5. Liam Everts (B), Husqvarna, -7.092

6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LV), Yamaha, -13.341

7. Kay Karssemakers (NL), Kawasaki, -29.114

8. Julius Mikula (CZ), KTM, -31.473

9. Byron Dennis (AUS), KTM, -33.178

10. Karlis Alberts Reisulis (LV), Yamaha, -1:00.953

World Championship Standings

1. Guillem Farres (E), Triumph, 816 points

2. Camden Mc Lellan (RSA), Triumph, 764, (-52)

3. Sacha Coenen (B), KTM, 755, (-61)

4. Simon Längenfelder (D), KTM, 733, (-83)

5. Liam Everts (B), Husqvarna, 702, (-114)

6. Janis Martins Reisulis (LV), Yamaha, 612, (-204)