Great results for AXO at the GP of Limburg: Tony Cairoli sealed a double moto victory to win the Gran Prix in the tricky sands of the Lommel circuit on Sunday and teammate Max Nagl made a great return to the podium finishing third, even if he is riding with a back injury. Both riders have raced with the brand new AXO 2012 X-plosion gear…have a look at the pictures!!

Tony has won both motos in classic “Cairoli style”. In both outings in the deep sand, the Italian world champion was fast out of the start but did not race without incident. A couple of small crashes made him lose positions, he then had the fans on their feet with excitement as he set out to hunt down the riders who passed him with the kind of determination that has already rewarded him with multiple titles.

Cairoli came from behind to win the first moto by 9 seconds ahead of Clement Desalle, his closest rival in the championship standings then in the second he crossed the line 3.5 seconds ahead of teammate Nagl. Max was fifth in the opening moto.

While Tony’s season was slow in getting underway while he struggled to overcome some small injury problems, he now has a substantial 52-point lead over Desalle in the season’s standings and is now well placed to defend his MX1 world championship title.

Tony Cairoli: “It’s nice to race here in Lommel, I have always said many times that I like to race here in the sand. We had the speed to win this weekend but I made it a bit harder because I made some small mistakes. I got the two holeshots but a couple of times I lost concentration.”

It was a particularly rewarding week end also for AXO rider Max Nagl, who is riding with a back injury and after the next race in Loket in the Czech Republic will consult with specialist concerning a longer-term solution to the problem. Despite this, Max was very happy with his weekend’s ride.

Max Nagl: “I’ve been really looking forward to this GP because I know I am good in the sand. Since Latvia I haven’t been able to train at all because the doctor would not allow it. So I am really happy to be on the podium today. I got two good starts and I could also see I had the same speed as the top guys, even if Tony was faster.”

All the paddock and the fans have suffered the shock of Steve Ramon's heavy crash and hospitalisation during qualification on Saturday. The former World Champion hit the sand head-first and initially lacked sensation in his limbs. The condition was caused by spinal shock and fortunately the consequences did not involve any broken bones and only nerve damage in his neck and other scrapes. Ramon will be moved from the local hospital to another unit closer to his home today, but the signs are initially positive for his recovery. Get well soon Steve!