The Swiss sensation was third overall while his Wilvo Yamaha teammate Shaun Simpson recovered from a crash at turn two to finish 1-point shy of the top ten, in eleventh. Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing's Jeremy Van Horebeek put in a gritty ride for seventh overall despite being under the weather in the days leading in, while his teammate Romain Febvre overcame adversity for thirteenth.
The fifth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship in the Trentino province of Italy provided a rock hard, stony, clay based track with loads of elevation. In the opening race, Wilvo Yamaha's new rookie sensation Arnaud Tonus had the highly animated Italian crowd on their feet as he chased the hometown hero and eventual GP winner Antonio Cairoli home for second place. Another hair-raising ride for seventh in the final moto saw the mega talented Swiss rider hit a career milestone with his first podium appearance in the MXGP class.
Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing's Jeremy Van Horebeek wasn't convinced his body would cope this weekend after being ill all week. The Belgian showed no signs of weakness as he soldiered on to bank solid points in both races for seventh overall.
Shaun Simpson handed Wilvo Yamaha Official MXGP their first piece of silverware with his grand prix win at round two and would like to add another to the cabinet as soon as possible. Unfortunately, this weekend was not working in his favor with a couple of small crashes robbing him of a top ten finish.
It was another frustrating ride for Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing's Romain Febvre who is struggling to get his ducks in line and find that same rhythm that took him to the title in 2015. The Frenchman ran a strong pace in the Qualifying Race where he finished fourth, but was only managed thirteenth place in the overall classification.
The next round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place next weekend, April 22nd and 23rd, in the sand of Valkenswaard, The Netherlands.
"I feel like I've taken a big step in the right direction, I had a good feeling on this track and my YZ450F was working really good. In the second one my start was not so great, but I got up to sixth and then Antonio Cairoli passed me but I stayed there for the whole race. Overall I am really happy for the team as well, they've been great."
"Yeah it was a good weekend, I was really sick after Mexico, I did nothing for two weeks and then I went to the Belgian Championship and tried to race. I won there but I was throwing up afterwards, so I wasn't sure if I could have the power this weekend. In the end it was okay, I just missed the starts, but my speed was good, I had a really good atmosphere with the team, the bike was great. I had a good weekend, just not quite what we hoped for."
"This weekend was always going to be tough for me because I don't normally ride too well here. I was 18th in Qualifying yesterday so I didn't have the best starting position. I tried to cut inside Antonio Cairoli in the first race but it didn't work. The first race, I rode pretty solid, made a couple of passes and finished tenth so I was quite happy with that. In the second race I was in about sixth or seventh and then Antonio pushed me up against the bank at turn two, and the third turn there was absolute carnage as well. All in all, I've got some homework to do this week and should come out swinging at the next round in Valkenswaard."
"I don't know what to say. I just feel like I don't know why the speed is not there. I will keep working."