2008 FIM MX1 / MX2 World Motocross Championship Round 04
Grand Prix of Bulgaria, Sevlievo
De Reuver best Honda rider at Sevlievo – MacKenzie
holds onto fourth in series standings
Italian rider David Philippaerts increased his lead in the
FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship taking the overall win
at round four of the series held in Sevlievo, Bulgaria. The
super-fast hillside circuit saw the two races held in very
different conditions – strong sunshine and a dry track
for moto one and under cloudy skies on a dampened circuit
for moto two – although the racing was fast and furious
in both 35-minute plus two lap motos.
Dutchman Marc De Reuver was Honda’s strongest performer
in MX1 taking fifth place overall riding his factory CRF450.
The Honda Martin Racing rider scored a fine third place in
moto one to take his maiden MX1 podium appearance of the year
before backing that up with a solid second moto fifth. De
Reuver’s team-mate Julien Bill and CAS Honda’s
Billy MacKenzie were also able to race their Hondas to top-10
finishes while American CAS Honda rider Mike Brown just missed
out in 12th place overall.
Sebastien Pourcel took pole position during Saturday’s
qualifying session with a time of 1:46:767 while MacKenzie
was best Honda rider in fifth, De Reuver was 10th, Bill 12th
and Brown a disappointing – by his standards –
22nd place some 3.571 seconds down on the French pole sitter.
Sunday’s moto one saw Billy MacKenzie and MX1 series
leader Philippaerts exit turn one side by side but the Italian
edged into the lead before turn two allowing MacKenzie to
watch his lines and bide his time as he waited to attack the
leader. But rather than being the aggressor MacKenzie found
himself hunted down by De Reuver who moved into second as
arm pump forced the Scotsman to spiral down to 15th by the
race’s end. De Reuver held the pace of the leader until
he too lost his rhythm mid-race allowing Spaniard Jonathan
Barragan by and into the runner-up position. De Reuver hung
tough for third to secure his maiden MX1 podium of the year.
Swiss Honda Martin Racing rider Julien Bill also scored by
far his finest performance of the year so far with a hard
fought for sixth place after he battled through the pack from
ninth. CAS Honda’s Mike Brown suffered similarly to
his team-mate with arm pump but was able to tough it out to
12th.
After a heavy half hour shower between races, track conditions
were much slicker for moto two which was led by Barragan until
he crashed on the very last lap allowing Pourcel to steal
victory. De Reuver and MacKenzie were Honda’s best performers
this time in fifth and sixth while Bill and Brown also navigated
inside the top-10 with eighth and 10th place finishes. Barragan’s
mistake not only lost the overall win for the Spaniard as
it also knocked De Reuver from third to fifth in the final
standings.
Despite suffering his worst result of the year in moto one
MacKenzie stays as Honda’s leading rider in the MX1
championship in fourth place now 49 points behind the leader.
De Reuver jumps up to ninth, Brown rises to 11th and Bill
also climbs to 16th.
Honda scored their first Motocross World Championship podium
of the year with 17-year-old American female rider Ashley
Fiolek who scored third overall on an LS Motorsport CRF250
in the opening round of the five-event Women’s World
Championship. Fiolek finished behind Livia Lancelot and Maria
Franke but ahead of the reigning Women’s World Cup champion
Katherine Prumm on her way to third in her debut in World
Championship competition.
The FIM Motocross World Championship continues next weekend
in Mantova with the Grand Prix of Italy on May 18.
Roger Harvey – Honda Off-Road coordinator
“It was good to see Marc De Reuver running the pace
we know he is capable of and him finishing third in moto one
on a circuit that probably doesn’t suit him too well
– with it being hardpack – is excellent. He was
very unlucky not to score his first podium of the year –
coming into the last lap he was third overall but when Barragan
crashed he dropped to fifth – so I’m quite disappointed
for Marc and the Martin team because it would be nice to see
him on the podium.
“The rate at which Billy MacKenzie dropped off the
pace due to arm pump in moto one was quite disappointing.
It’s sort of understandable a circuit like this with
there being so many big hills and it’s also very fast
in between. Of course it’s the same for everybody and
it’s a shamehe could do no better than 15th. The second
moto was slightly better for Billy, he felt his arm pump coming
and just had to back it off a bit.
“Mike Brown also suffered with arm pump today –
he’s suffered badly with it before so we could almost
expect it – but he still rode quite well and got a great
start in moto two from a gate where he was at a big disadvantage.
“Julien Bill made a great overall improvement today
and he finished well in both races for the first time this
year.
“I’d like to give Ashley Fiolek a special mention
who is an American Honda supported rider who came to ride
in the Women’s World Championship. Thanks must go to
the LS Motorsports who supplied a bike and technical support
and in return got their first podium in World Championship
motocross when Ashley finished third overall. Congratulations
to Ashley and thanks to American Honda for allowing her to
come across.
“Also a mention must go to Marvin Musquin who rides
for the NGS Honda team who had an excellent ride in the first
moto even though he was in an incredible amount of pain with
his leg. What had happened was that a stone had fallen inside
his boot and was rubbing against his leg causing quite a bit
of discomfort. I was especially pleased with how hard he charged
all race – even at the end – and Marvin is definitely
someone we’ll be looking at for the future.
“Overall I’m quite pleased but our MX1 results
should have been a lot better than what was achieved. We’re
at Mantova next weekend and that should suit all our riders
so I’m looking forwards to that.”
Marc De Reuver – Martin Honda
“The timed qualifying session was really hectic and
I did a fast lap which I thought would be good enough for
top five but when they told me I was only 10th I was really
surprised but all the times were very close so I was still
quite happy.
“I know that on this track it’s important to
get a good start and that’s exactly what I did in both
races and I was also quite aggressive in the early laps.
“In both races I lost my rhythm a little bit, made
some mistakes and lost a little bit of time but then I came
good again at the end of the races. Since Portugal things
have been getting better and better for me and today I only
missed out on the podium because Barragan crashed on the last
lap of moto two. Top five is good and next week is a good
track for me.
“We did some testing on the suspension in Italy last
week and now the bike is working really well for me and things
just keep getting better and better now my confidence is coming
back.”
Julien Bill – Martin Honda
“In the first moto I had a mid-pack start but I came
through the pack from 12th to sixth and I was fighting with
the best riders and so I was really happy with my speed and
my fitness and I feel it was a good race.
“In the second race I also didn’t get such a
good start and I found it a little bit more difficult as the
track was rougher but in the final five laps I was catching
Coppins and I’ve got to be happy with that. I finally
finished eighth in moto two and so my results this weekend
have been a massive improvement for me. I’ve also climbed
up in the points standing and so I hope I can continue with
this kind of results.
“The next few GPs are all on hard tracks which is good
for me and so I hope I can keep getting top eight results
and maybe even improve on that. I’d like to get on the
podium but I realize all these guys are really fast and very
strong so it will be tough but I will keep on trying.”
Billy MacKenzie – CAS Honda
“The first race is one that I want to forget ever happened.
I almost holeshot – I definitely got to the first corner
first – and for the first 10 minutes I was feeling good,
I was behind Philippaerts and that’s exactly where I
wanted to be – I wanted to be putting the pressure on
him – and I was just waiting to pick my moment. I made
a little mistake and De Reuver went by and then I messed up
every single corner of the next lap and from there I just
pumped up – it was the worst I’ve had all year.
“I struggled for the whole race after that point and
I was getting passed everywhere, whenever I went wide someone
would get me on the inside and vice versa. I just couldn’t
do anything right and I was just going slower and slower.
Being back in 15th place is not good enough and I was very
annoyed and so was everybody else so I knew I had to do better
in the next one.
“Philippaerts cut me off at the start of the second
race but I found myself in third and was feeling very comfortable
on the bike. Barragan and Philippaerts pretty much took off
and I didn’t really have an answer for them even though
I kept them in sight for two or three laps. I was pushing
quite hard and I could feel my arm pump coming so I was hanging
on going up the hills and then when I’d get to the corner
at the top I could barely turn the thing so I calmed it down
a bit and let the bike do all the work. I was behind De Reuver
and on some parts of the track I would catch him and on other
parts he’d pull away, I found some good lines and caught
him a little and then the next lap he found them too! I’m
happy to finish the day with a top six because if I’d
have had another race like the first I wouldn’t have
enjoyed the trip home at all.”
Mike Brown – CAS Honda
“In the first race I rode a little tight in the beginning
and got arm pump for half of the race – it was so bad
I couldn’t even use the clutch. In the last 15 minutes
I loosened up and I started riding a lot better and overall
it was an okay ride and I pulled through to 12th.
“In moto two I got a great start and was around fourth
place but a couple of guys passed me and then I crashed on
the inside of a corner and struggled to restart the bike.
I was a long way back and so then I had to pull through the
pack again. Overall I’m happy with the way I rode even
if my results weren’t as good as I’d like them
to – or they should – have been.”
Ashley Fiolek – LS Motorsport Honda
“I wasn’t sure really what to expect when I came
here it’s a lot different from home so I just tried
to do my best and then see what happened. I’m definitely
glad that I got on the podium – there are so many fast
women here and it’s tough to do well so I’m pleased
I finished where I did especially with the mud. The women
I normally race with in America are fast but here is where
the fastest women in the world are and that’s why I
came here to race with them. I’m gonna keep on working
and training hard and hopefully I can win a moto next weekend.”
2008 FIM MX1 / MX2 World Motocross Championship
Round 04, Grand Prix of Bulgaria, Sevlievo
MX1 Race 1
1 PHILIPPAERTS David (Yamaha Monster Motocross Team)
2 BARRAGAN Jonathan (AXO KTM Silver Action Team)
3 DE REUVER Marc (Honda Martin Racing)
4 COPPINS Joshua (Yamaha Monster Motocross Team)
5 RAMON Steve (Team TEKA Suzuki-WMX1)
6 BILL Julien (Honda Martin Racing)
7 LEOK Tanel (Kawasaki Racing Team Europe)
8 POURCEL Sebastien (GPKR Team)
9 DESALLE Clement (Team Suzuki Inotec)
10 DE DYCKER Ken (Team TEKA Suzuki-WMX1)
11 NAGL Maximilian (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
12 BROWN Mike (CAS Honda)
13 NEMETH Kornel (KTM Sarholz Racing Team)
14 PRIEM Manuel (Kawasaki Racing Team Europe)
15 MACKENZIE Billy (CAS Honda)
MX1 Race 2
1 POURCEL Sebastien (GPKR Team)
2 PHILIPPAERTS David (Yamaha Monster Motocross Team)
3 RAMON Steve (Team TEKA Suzuki-WMX1)
4 BARRAGAN Jonathan (AXO KTM Silver Action Team)
5 DE REUVER Marc (Honda Martin Racing)
6 MACKENZIE Billy (CAS Honda)
7 COPPINS Joshua (Yamaha Monster Motocross Team)
8 BILL Julien (Honda Martin Racing)
9 NAGL Maximilian (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
10 BROWN Mike (CAS Honda)
11 DE DYCKER Ken (Team TEKA Suzuki-WMX1)
12 PRIEM Manuel (Kawasaki Racing Team Europe)
13 SCHIFFER Marcus (KTM Sarholz Racing Team)
14 LEOK Tanel (Kawasaki Racing Team Europe)
15 NEMETH Kornel (KTM Sarholz Racing Team)
MX2 Race 1
1 CAIROLI Antonio (Yamaha Red Bull De Carli)
2 SEARLE Tommy (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
3 RATTRAY Tyla (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
4 SWORD Stephen (Molson Kawasaki Racing)
5 PAULIN Gautier (Molson Kawasaki Racing)
6 MUSQUIN Marvin (NGS Team)
7 BOOG Xavier (Team Suzuki Inotec)
8 BOISSIERE Anthony (KTM HDI MX Team)
9 VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (Champ-KTM)
10 GONCALVES Rui (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
11 SIMPSON Shaun (KTM UK)
12 MONNI Manuel (3C Racing)
13 AUBIN Nicolas (Ricci Racing Yamaha)
14 DOUGAN Jason (SUSO MVR-D Suzuki)
15 ARANDA Gregory (CLS)
MX2 Race 2
1 SEARLE Tommy (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
2 SIMPSON Shaun (KTM UK)
3 AUBIN Nicolas (Ricci Racing Yamaha)
4 BOOG Xavier (Team Suzuki Inotec)
5 RATTRAY Tyla (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
6 BOISSIERE Anthony (KTM HDI MX Team)
7 GONCALVES Rui (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
8 VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy (Champ-KTM)
9 ARANDA Gregory (CLS)
10 GUARNERI Davide (Ricci Racing Yamaha)
11 MONNI Manuel (3C Racing)
12 MUSQUIN Marvin (NGS Team)
13 NUNN Carl (SUSO MVR-D Suzuki)
14 DOUGAN Jason (SUSO MVR-D Suzuki)
15 TERREBLANCHE S. (Beursfoon Suzuki MX Team)
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