The Englishman had looked solid throughout training and immediately swept into the top six in race one as he continues to make advances at the starts. The tight nature of the competition at the sharp end of racing in MXGP meant that he was unable to move further upfield even though the racing was close and Tommy eventually dropped just one place in the final two laps to fellow Kawasaki rider Jordi Tixier. The racing was even closer in the second moto as Searle started fifth and lost just one place to the current world champion in a race in which just four seconds separated him from third place. Sixth overall in the GP, Tommy retains twelfth place in the points standings.
Jordi Tixier of the Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team took an immediate liking to the Swiss track as he posted third place in the first practice session but he found himself in tight traffic throughout the opening GP moto, starting seventh and finishing sixth in a closely-fought race despite setting the second fastest lap time of the race. Race two followed a similar pattern as he advanced from tenth on lap one to seventh at the chequered flag, the combination of the two moto results giving him seventh overall in the GP.
Teammate Clement Desalle set fifth fastest time in both practice sessions and was the early leader of the qualifying race before eventually coming home a safe third to promise much for race day but his starts in the GP motos were not quite as good and Clement had to settle for third in the opening moto after a solid ride from an initial fifth which also took him to second. The Belgian had every prospect of a podium finish but another rider hit his rear wheel on the opening lap of the race and, unable to remount his bike until the entire field had passed, he completed the opening lap twenty-fifth. A further incident with another rider after he had recovered to seventeenth cost him two places again and he had to be satisfied with sixteenth at the close. Clement remains ninth in the championship standings.
Tommy Searle: "Sixth overall today in Switzerland and I enjoyed the track and the races, for my best weekend of the year. A couple of decent starts made life easier; it was close in the second moto and I was just a couple of seconds away from third place but I just couldn't make the passes I needed, and also did a mistake. Thanks to the team for working so hard these last few weeks. I feel I’m strong at the moment, nothing goes wrong and the team is really focus on me so we can do some improvements.”
Jordi Tixier: “I’m a little bit frustrated by the final result, as I had a great feeling with this track this weekend and posted some good results in the practice session, but I struggled at the starts and we all know that it’s impossible to get a good result without a good start. I was between tenth and fifteenth each time; we need to work with the team to find solutions as it’s the part of the puzzle that is missing at the moment to get top five results. I had good lap times in the races; I posted the second fastest lap in the first race, and as I have no more pain or troubles with my wrist I remain confident for the rest of the season. It was a great event with many fans, a good promotion for our sport.”
Clement Desalle: “I had a good qualifying race on Saturday; I was leading for a few laps and then Cairoli and Gajser passed me but third was ok for the gate pick. Today my starts were average, but in the first race I was able to come back to third, not so far from second place. It was a good race and I knew that the podium was possible, but soon after the second start another rider slid out in a corner and hit my front wheel. I crashed, and was unable to take my bike straight away after as it happened at an unsighted place for the other riders and it was dangerous. I lost a lot of time, I lost my rhythm, but I was back from twenty-seventh to seventeenth when another rider again hit my front wheel so I could only salvage a few points in this race.”