Antonio Cairoli interview - Belgian GP
By Geoff Meyer | 20 Jun 2012
It was a special day for two riders last weekend. The Grand Prix of Belgium proved to be a really interesting event, with a beautifully prepared circuit, great Sunday weather and a massive crowd in attendance.
Italian Antonio Cairoli and British rider Tommy Searle walked away with the MX1 and MX2 overall victories and both showed brilliant skills around the technical circuit.
Cairoli really enjoyed the racing and he took his time and produced just what was needed to pick up his 47th Grand Prix victory.
Despite standing on top of the MX1 podium on Sunday, the Saturday qualification didn’t go that well for Cairoli.
“For me it’s always difficult to make a quick lap in qualification, I did a lot of laps and I didn’t find the good lap, only my last lap in qualification was good. I know from this track you can get a holeshot from the outside, so I didn’t care about the pole position.
What Cairoli did enjoy the most was the toughness of the Belgian circuit. Many spectacular aspects of the circuit made for great racing and it was clear the riders were having fun.
“I really liked this track. In France I didn’t feel comfortable, but I won, but in Belgium I really enjoyed it, I felt great with the track. It’s a track I can express myself and have fun on the bike. When I feel good I push and when I don’t feel good I don’t push. I am not looking to win all the time, just get enough points, which is the key to winning the Championship.”
Once Sunday came around and the circuit had dried out the real action began and for a rider like Cairoli the chance to show his true talents gave the large crowd a lot to cheer about.
“Sunday the track was really good, and thanks to the rain and preparation from the organizers the track was really grippy and soft in some places, which was good. I felt good at the track and also I was riding safe, no risk. First moto I pushed early and then pushed a little harder near the end. Clement was pushing and the others came close, but my riding was good enough to get the win.”
“I got a good start in the second moto and I was able to win. I dropped back to seventh, but made some passes and it worked and I am really happy. The track was not easy to pass, but from yesterday they changed it well; good job to the organizers, it was a great track.
As for taking some time out now between the Grand Prix of Belgium and the next Grand Prix in Sweden Cairoli isn’t looking at doing too much on the bike.
“I think I’ll go to the beach, I miss it a lot, and the whole month in Belgium has been rainy. I will just relax and I have some appointments with some sponsors that are near the beach.”
Next up is the Grand Prix of Sweden on July 1. With Cairoli edging towards that magical number of 50 GP wins, there is no doubt that many of his rivals will be working hard to stop the Italian from reaching that amazing goal.
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