MX2, La Baneza, Spain, 20 June 2011
Tommy Searle of Kawasaki Team CLS maintained his challenge for the FIM World MX2 Championship with his 5th podium finish of the season in the Spanish round at La Baneza. The British rider was again in startling form as he charged through the field to take over second place in the first moto and close down the leader Ken Roczen until backmarkers cost him the chance of victory on a track which only had one really fast line for most of the lap. The two leaders had left the remainder of the field nearly half a minute behind and, knowing that the overall victory in the event of a tie would be decided by the second race result, Tommy concentrated all his efforts on getting quickly to the front in the second encounter. With his first holeshot of the season he did just that, but an unfortunate wrong choice of line on the heavily-watered track saw his rival nip past and a few more errors settled it. Nevertheless Searle has not lost any ground in the title chase as he actually pulled back six points on previous leader Jeffrey Herlings, and the Brit goes to Sweden for the start of the second half of the series full of confidence.

Searle's teammate Max Anstie had a most unfortunate accident during Saturday's qualification race. Having chased through the pack, he was just about to grab fourth place when he lost control in the rhythm section and cartwheeled down the track, eventually being hit in the back by his own bike. Max bravely went to the start of the opening GP moto despite heavy bruising to the lower back and hip, but had to withdraw from the race after half an hour when it became evident that the pain was too great for him to challenge for points.

Dylan Ferrandis, Kawasaki Bud Racing's challenger for the European MX2 championship, once again proved that he is the standout rider in the series as he swept to two more clearcut victories. The French teenager has now won the last five motos and, despite being forced to sit out the series opener through injury, is now only five points from the series lead with three rounds remaining.

Tommy Searle: “I feel that we made another step this weekend, even if I didn't win the GP. I’m very happy with my first race. I had some good lines, and I felt really good on the bike. I had a decent start and passed Herlings and Aubin to get to second and close down Roczen, but there was only one good line round most of the track and I lost time behind lappers. I started thinking about the overall win when I got my first holeshot of the season in the second race. That was great ! I had a good jump out of the gate, and the bike was perfect, but then I made a silly mistake during the first lap when I went wide in a corner. That's how Roczen passed me and it took me a couple of laps to find a good rhythm again. It was really hot and sticky today; normally I’m strong in these conditions but after about 15 minutes I felt a little tired. I didn’t get the right food in the hotel on Saturday evening, and I think that it affected my shape today.”

Max Anstie: "It took me some time to get used to the track during practice, but I was really starting to move in the qualifying race and had already passed several riders when I came up behind Coldenhoff. I wanted to get past him quickly but I made a big mistake in the waves and flew over the bars. My bike hit me hard in the back and I was in a lot of pain, but I didn't want to let the team down so I decided to start the GP. I kept going for half an hour in the first race, but the pain was just too much for me to challenge for points, so the only thing to do was to stop and sit out the second race so that I can come back strong in Sweden."

Dylan Ferrandis: “It was another good weekend, with two different races. On Saturday the track was in great shape. I did my best race of the season, and set a new record as I beat my rivals by 46 seconds ! On Sunday the track was not as good, and my start was not so good, but I made some good moves during the first lap to already get to fourth; after five laps I was already leading. It’s great to win five races in a row and to fight back to within just five points of the leadership of the series. Many people are trying to persuade me to do some GPs this season but it’s up to the team to decide; we can now win the European MX2 title and that’s important for all of us.”