Rattray in top form at season's opening MX2 GP
 Red
Bull KTM factory rider Tyla Rattray sent a strong signal to
the opposition about his confidence and mental strength when
he clearly won both motos to take first blood in the MX2 season.
Racing on the heavy wet sand of the Valkenswaard circuit in
the Netherlands, the South African rider underlined the form
he has shown in pre-season racing by twice coming home in
front of title holder Antonio Cairoli. He registered fastest
lap time in both of the 17-lap races. Rattray has thus made
a stunning comeback to international racing after having been
denied a shot at the MX2 world championship title last year
when he had to undergo reconstructive knee surgery in the
closing stages of the season.
Red Number Plate for Tyla
The South African said he felt great about taking possession
of the coveted red number plate as championship leader, even
if it was only the first race of the season. "I did very
good work with my trainer during the winter and when I was
home in South Africa I worked a lot on my physical and mental
strength. I feel I am on the right track but it's only the
first GP so there's a long way to go."
Great expectations
KTM factory team boss Stefan Everts said it had been a great
weekend. "I have seen how well Tyla has been doing in
the last month and how strong and fast he is. I have great
expectations for him and I want him to do such a good job
in all the races."
Searle fourth
It was a disappointing day for teammate Tommy Searle who finished
fourth overall. In the first heat he was out in front but
crashed and lost the rhythm then he did not recover from a
bad start and failed to make the podium. "It was tough
today and the (wet, sandy) track was not easy. Now we go to
some hard tracks and they are my favourite."
Goncalves fifth
Rui Goncalves, the third factory rider of the Red Bull KTM
team finished fifth despite a crash in race two which left
him with a sore leg. "I was in the top five so now I
have to do a good job in Spain for me and the team,"
he said. Everts said the Portuguese rider, new to the team
in 2008 needed to relax and not put too much pressure on himself.
KTM supported teams
Riders from the new KTM supported teams also made an impression.
Shaun Simpson (KTM UK) was fourth and ninth in the two motos
and Jeremy van Horebeek was seventh in the first race and
GP Juniors Team Champ and teammate Joel Roelants was tenth
in both motos.
Results Race1
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT.
1 4 Tyla Rattray KTM
2 222 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha
3 2 Tommy Searle KTM
4 80 Erik Eggens Suzuki
5 24 Shaun Simpson KTM
6 10 Rui Goncalves KTM
Results Race2
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT.
1 4 Tyla Rattray KTM
2 222 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha
3 80 Erik Eggens Suzuki
4 10 Rui Goncalves KTM
5 2 Tommy Searle KTM
6 10 Rui Goncalves KTM
Standings
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT. POINTS
1 4 Tyla Rattray KTM 50
2 222 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha 44
3 80 Erik Eggens Suzuki 38
4 2 Tommy Searle KTM 36
5 10 Rui Goncalves KTM 33
06.04.2008
Max Nagl makes podium in first MX1 GP of season
Red Bull KTM factory rider Max Nagl exceeded expectations
to finish third on the opening GP at Valkenswaard in the Netherlands.
The German rider had said he hoped to be in the top five.
"We have been working hard and have done a lot of training
in the sand and this is the result of that hard work,"
Nagl said. Team boss Stefan Everts said he was "super
happy" with Nagl's race weekend. The 10-times world champion
said he had been working hard with Nagl in the run up to the
season. I have been giving him tips and he listens and works
hard on them. Today Max had a good start and rode a smart
race. He really showed his fighting spirit."
Holeshot
Nagl took the holeshot in the first moto but was overtaken
before he regained his composure and pushed again in the second
half to finish second behind the Belgian de Dyker. He had
a goods tart in the second moto but braked too early going
into the corner and tangled with Philippaerts. he then tucked
i behind Steve Ramon and finished in fifth place.
Barragan third in second moto
Jonathan Barragan of Spain, who has KTM factory rider status
for Team Silver Action made a good recovery after a crash
in the first moto to finish third in the second heat for overall
tenth. In the first race Barragan came unstuck in the sand
made heavy and difficult by rain on Saturday night. He was
nevertheless philosophical about the day's result and looking
forward to the next races. "The season is long and much
can happen," he said.
Results Race1
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT.
1 9 Ken de Dycker Suzuki
2 12 Max Nagl KTM
3 11 Steve Ramon Suzuki
4 19 David Philippaerts Yamaha
5 32 Manuel Priem Kawasaki
Results Race2
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT.
1 9 Ken de Dycker Suzuki
2 211 Billy Mackenzie Honda
3 7 Jonathan Barragan KTM
4 11 Steve Ramon Suzuki
5 12 Max Nagl KTM
Standings
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT. POINTS
1 9 Ken de Dycker Suzuki 50
2 12 Max Nagl KTM 38
3 11 Steve Ramon Suzuki 38
4 211 Billy Mackenzie Honda 33
5 19 David Philippaerts Yamaha 33
06.04.2008
Sven Breugelmans third overall in opening MX3
Sven Breugelmans, Belgian KTM rider of JM KTM Racing started
the season positively in the first MX3 GP of the season in
Talavera de la Reina in Spain to finish overall third.
Breugelmans, second in the MX3 world championship last year,
was fourth in the first moto and second in the second race.
Teammate Alvaro Lozano Rico took the holeshot in the first
race before tangling with Breugelmans who then worked his
way up from twelfth to a creditable fourth, with Lozano coming
in behind him at fifth.
Close battle for first
Breugelmans missed the start in race two but came charging
back to fight a valiant and close race with Tomas Allier in
the second moto, only conceding victory by two seconds. Teammate
Lozano crashed in the second moto and received a blow to the
shoulder with the bike, but was not seriously hurt. Riders
enjoyed early summer temperatures at the Spanish track with
temperatures between 25-28 degrees Celsius. Thousands of enthusiastic
fans flocked to the circuit to launch the season in style.
Team Boss satisfied
Jacky Martens of the JM KTM Racing Team said he was happy
with the weekend's racing. "We are not at our top speed
yet but it's a long season with 16 GPs and I want us to be
completely fit and up to speed after three GPs," he said.
Martens also he was very satisfied with his young KTM rider
Valentin Teillet who raced to overall second in his first
start in the European MX championships. "He did a good
job," Martens said. "Before today no-one had heard
his name but now they know who he is and what he can do."
Results Race1
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT.
1 17 Jan Zaremba KTM
2 8 Christophe Martin Husqvarna
3 180 Thomas Allier Husqvarna
4 2 Sven Breugelmans KTM
5 5 Alvaro Lozano KTM
Results Race2
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT.
1 180 Thomas Allier Husqvarna
2 2 Sven Breugelmans KTM
3 55 Cristian Beggi Honda
4 20 Patrick Caps Kawasaki
5 17 Jan Zaremba KTM
Standings
POS. RIDER MANUFACT. NAT. POINTS
1 180 Thomas Allier Husqvarna 45
2 17 Jan Zaremba KTM 41
3 2 Sven Breugelmans KTM 40
4 8 Christophe Martin Husqvarna 36
5 55 Cristian Beggi Honda 35
06.04.2008
Ivan Cervantes second in Round Six of E1 World Championship
Ivan Cervantes of the KTM Enduro Factory Team continued his
battle of attrition with arch rival Mika Ahola in the sixth
round of the Enduro 1 World championship on Sunday coming
in just 0.6 seconds behind his rival at the end of the day.
The race was held in the Spanish coastal town of Sitges, south
of Barcelona and presented the riders with hard and very dusty
surfaces, including some riding on the beach. "Ivan raced
very well today and it was very close between him and Ahola
all the way. There was only a gap of about one second between
them after each test," KTM team boss Fabio Farioli said
after the race. Tom Sagar the team's second rider in the class
experienced some problems and was forced to retire from the
race.
Second in standings
Cervantes, the reigning E2 champion again had the pleasure
of riding in front of his enthusiastic home crowd at a race
well attended by the Spanish motorcycle aficionados. He is
second in the championship standings after six rounds with
132 points, training Ahola by just 10 points.
E1 Results Sunday (Round Six)
1. Mika Ahola, Finland, Honda
2. Ivan Cervantes, Spain, KTM
3. Simone Albergoni, Yamaha
4. Eero Remes, Finland, KTM
5. Marc Germain, France, Yamaha
Tom Sagar, Britain, KTM DNF
06.04.2008
Salminen second in Round Six in E2 in Spain
KTM Enduro Factory Team's Juha Salminen put the disappointment
of a DNF on Saturday behind him on Sunday finishing in second
place in the Sixth Round of the Enduro 1 World Championship
for4 some valuable points.
It was the second of two rounds held this weekend in Spain's
Costa Dorada at the seaside town of Sitges, south of Barcelona.
Hard and dusty
The Enduro track offered riders hard surfaces, plenty of dust
and some time riding an extreme test on the beach, Salminen
said. "It is a very tight competition between me and
Jonny Aubert at the moment," the Finnish rider and reigning
E1 champion said. "I had a good start but I did have
some black moments and made some small mistakes. It was extremely
dusty especially in the MX test." Teammate Alessandro
Belometti finished in sixth place after securing third palce
on Saturday in round Five.
Team boss Fabio Farioli said his riders would be training
hard and competing in national and other competitions between
now and when the world championship resumes in June in Poland.
"The results this weekend were not so bad," he said.
"But I want us to do better in the next races."
Salminen, with 114 points from his six rounds trails the French
rider Aubert by 25 points.
Results E2 Round Six
1. Jonny Aubert France, Yamaha
2. Juha Salminen, Finland, KTM
3. Antoine Meo, France, Husqvarna
4. Rodrig Thain, France, TM
5. Fabrizio Dini, Italy, Yamaha
6. Alessandro Belometti, Italy, KTM
06.04.2008
Double E3 victory in Spain for KTMs Samuli Aro
KTM Enduro Factory Team rider Samuli Aro of Finland made it
a great day out at the beach on Sunday in the sixth round
of the Enduro 3 World Championship at Sitges, south of Barcelona
chalking up his second win for the weekend.
Aro has now won five from six races held so far and has a
firm hold on the championship standings. "Today he went
like a machine," said KTM team boss Fabio Farioli.
Unlucky Tarkkala
Teammate Marko Tarkkala, like Aro also from Finland was third
behind French rider Christophe Nambotin, winning enough points
to retain second place on the championship table. Tarkkala
was unlucky on Sunday when his wheel got snarled in a timekeeper's
cable at one of the checkpoints and he had to stop and free
it, losing about 10 minutes in the process. "The organizers
let him repeat the text but the delay also cost concentration,"
Farioli said. "He was not able to make up enough time
to work his way back up the order." Dust was again a
major problem on the course that included some parts on the
beach at this location on the Costa Dorada.
Competition to resume in June
After six tough rounds of the competition, four on the Iberian
Peninsular and two in winter conditions in Sweden, the world
championship resumes in June in Poland. Meanwhile the KTM
Enduro Factory Team members will continue training while competing
in national and other events to be fit and ready when the
world championship resumes.
Commanding lead for Aro
Aro now leads the competition standings with an impressive
147 points from his five victories and one second place. Tarkkala
is second with 120 points.
Results E3 Round Six
1. Samuli Aro, Finland, KTM
2. Christophe Nambotin, France, Gas-Gas
3. Marko Tarkkala, Finland, KTM
4. Stefan Merriman, Australia, Aprilia
5. Sebastien Guillaume, France, Husqvarna
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