Going 1-1 in any Grand Prix is magic, but what we witnessed last weekend at the Matterley Basin circuit in the south of England was just amazing. Italian Antonio Cairoli and British rider Tommy Searle showed what class riders they are they both went 1-1 and did it in a fashion that was just brilliant.

"What a great event," Cairoli said. "It's always my favourite circuit, but this whole experience was special. We need to see more of these types of events, because it brought everyone together. The parade lap at the start of the race was really a nice moment for everyone. To see the little kids, how happy they were and what it meant to them to be on the same track as us was something I won't forget."



"The track was just perfect, really technical and difficult, and the crowd in England are always making a lot of noise. It's been a really good experience for me, to win both my motos and win the Grand Prix, move further ahead in the Championship points. I feel really strong at the moment."



As for Searle, his Grand Prix was even more impressive than that of Cairoli. The Kawasaki rider battled hard with MX2 series leader Jeffrey Herlings and on both occasion got the better of the Dutchman. Searles two wins looks perfect, it was hard to spot any mistakes and he confronted the pressure cooker like atmosphere like Grant Langston or Alessi Chiodi might have done in the past.



How this guy hasn't had even more success in the sport astounds me, but it also says a lot about his competition.



"What a great feeling," Searle said. "The crowd was just pushing me to another level, each time I rode around the part of the track where the most fans were, I just felt more energy. When I started hitting 57 lap times I really felt good, I don't think anyone else the whole weekend hit laps times like that, at least not at that point."



"I had so many people I didn't want to let down and even after the first moto I felt like, ok, I've won a moto, let's go home now, we have made people happy. I would have been settled with that at that point, but obviously doing it again in the second moto was a really great end to a great weekend."



Now Searle and Cairoli will head to Lierop in Holland, a circuit the Italian has won a couple of World Motocross Championships. Had he not had his misfortune in Sweden, he probably would have won another there, but with a 55 point lead he can arrive in Holland with a great feeling of building on that points lead. Searle has to deal with a totally different Herlings though, if he can end the weekend on the podium it's pretty much a victory, but the British rider hasn't given up on being World MX2 Champion in 2012, so expect something special.

Photo: Antonio Cairoli - Ray Archer image

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