Paulin wins again in Portugal

With a second consecutive win in MX1 just two weeks after the last event, Gautier Paulin crossed the line in the Portugal Grand Prix ahead of Antonio Cairoli and Clement Desalle.

With a second consecutive win in MX1 just two weeks after the last event, Gautier Paulin crossed the line in the Portugal Grand Prix ahead of Antonio Cairoli and Clement Desalle.

“It's fantastic competing against an opponent like Cairoli" – explained the Kawasaki team rider who races with an AGV AX-8 Evo helmet, "he's an expert, fast and a very fair rider. The track was much more difficult today than on Day 1 as humps and ruts had formed. It was very easy to make mistakes so I tried to be as careful as possible. I had a good first race and kept Tony under pressure until I managed to get past him and stayed there until the flag. In race two, I made a little mistake and got some mud into the rear brake. It didn't work for a while and by the time things got back to normal, Cairoli was too far ahead and I couldn't make up the gap”.

Paulin's second place finish and win in race one take him to just 38 points behind the leader in the provisional standings.

David Philippaerts finished in eighth, as he did two weeks ago, but this time was much closer to the leading riders. The TM team rider Shaun Simpson had a mixed day due partly to a few mistakes and a bit of bad luck and couldn't do any better than eleventh place overall.

Round seven will take place on 19 May at the Beto Carrero track in Brazil.