Clean sweep of MX2 for KTM riders at Belgium's Lommel
KTM riders tackled the soft heavy sand of Lommel on Sunday
at the MX2 GP of Belgium and came away with the top sixth
places.
The two races delivered breathtaking action with race two
shaking up the Red Bull KTM factory riders and championship
leaders Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle who were involved in
a pile up in the opening minutes. Both fought their way heroically
back into the action but it was KTM supported rider Gert Krestinov
of Estonia who snatched the overall victory. Second place
went to Red Bull KTM's Rui Goncalves of Portugal while team-mate
Tommy Searle was third, narrowing the gap on championship
leader KTM's Tyla Rattray by just a single point.
Living a dream, Krestinov says
"Things started going well for me yesterday," said
the 18-year-old Estonian rider. "I feel like I am living
a dream after taking the victory today. I did make a few mistakes
in the first race and I couldn't manage better than eighth
but then I went out and won the second race." Krestinov
said he is quite at home on sand as he rides in similar conditions
in Estonia. It is his second year in GP but he was taken out
of action after he broke his leg at the German GP last season.
"Now I hope to carry on and to stay with KTM. I really
like the bike," he said.
Best result for the season for Goncalves
"For sure it was my best result for the season so far,"
said second placed Rui Goncalves, who said he hoped the result
was a reward for KTM and his team who have supported and believed
in him throughout the season. "In race one I took the
holeshot and found some good lines, but just wanted to stay
focussed and not take any risks. The second race was very
different. There were a lot of crashes and it was quite messy.
I wasn't going so well but I managed to close the gap."
Rui ended the day with the same points tally as Krestinov
who took the top podium because of his victory in the second
race.
Searle fights to the finish
With the fever that comes with a true fight for the title,
Searle, the British teenager also made it an all or nothing
race from the back after the opening incident and despite
several crashes was still on the podium in the final shakeout.
"I didn't have such a good start in the first race,"
Tommy said. "Then I had problems at the gate in the second
and then I was involved in the crash in the first corner.
I managed to close down the gap in the second but I crashed
again and stalled the bike and made another mistake in the
final lap. But even if I did make some mistakes, I still managed
to gain a point on Tyla." The two Red Bull KTM factory
riders have established a significant lead in the championship
standings, especially now that third placed Antonio Cairoli
is out with a knee injury.
Easy win in first race for Rattray
Rattray had an easy win in the first race and made a good
start in race two but when van Horebeek went down directly
in front of him in the first corner he was unable to avoid
the crash. After the pileup in the opening stages Rattray
tore his way through the tricky soft sand from the back of
the pack to fourth place. He seemed certain to come out of
the incident with the most points when the loose surface grabbed
his front wheel, spilling him off this bike and suddenly the
South African was back at seventeenth place. He put in a super
human effort to finish in fourth place just behind Searle
and rescue enough points to hang onto the red number plate.
"I managed to close the gap after the crash in race two
but then I stalled the bike and couldn't finish any higher
in the order and lost some valuable points. Now I just plan
to put my head down and work very hard for the rest of the
season," he said.
Team boss Stefan Everts said it had been a very good weekend
all round for KTM. "It was a pity that our riders crashed
and couldn't finish with a better result but I am happy for
Rui's second place because he is a hard fighter and worker."
He also acknowledged Tyla as "the best rider and fighter
on the circuit today."
MX2 Overall Results
1. Gert Krestinov, Estonia, KTM (8-1)
2. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM (3-4)
3. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM (2-6)
4. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM (1-10)
5. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM
6. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM
Other KTM
9. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM
12. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM
Overall standings
1. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM 452
2. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM 432
3. Antonio Cairoli, Italy, 357
4. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM 312
5. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM, 279
Other KTM
7. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM 232
12. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM, 174
15. Jeremy Tarroux, France 140
16. Joel Roelants, Belgium, 133
03.08.2008
Barragan continues in top form to snatch overall MX1 victory
in Belgium
Jonathan Barragan of KTM Silver Action on Sunday proved that
Spanish riders are completely at home in the soft heavy sand
of the Lommel motocross track, notching up yet another overall
MX1 victory.
Barragan, who was on top of the podium for the third consecutive
GP and his fourth win of the season has now thrown down the
gauntlet and is within range of catching the championship
leaders in what is shaping up to be a nail biting finish.
At fifth in the standings, he is just 31 points behind the
leader Steve Ramon with still 200 points up for grabs from
the eight remaining races.
Test of physical fitness, Barragan says
"Today I started well and I had a good speed so I am
riding with a lot of confidence. I pushed quite hard in the
first race but after the start of the second race I decided
to pull back a bit to conserve my energy and I think this
allowed me to go on an win and take the overall victory,"
Barragan said. "Some people were surprised that a Spanish
rider could win on sand but I think the track conditions are
not as important as my physical condition. This year I have
been focussed on the bike and the settings and working with
my team and this has worked out very well for me."
Nagl still hoping for top five finish at end of season
Red Bull KTM factory rider Max Nagl, now completely free of
the virus that tempered his performance in the first half
of the season is also brimming with confidence and is back
on the podium in third place following his second place in
South Africa. Nagl, who lives very close to the Lommel circuit
said he had ridden over to the track on his bicycle but "was
too tired to ride home again" after the tough races on
Sunday. "It was my goal to finish in the top five at
the end of the season and that now seems possible," the
German rider said. "My team has done a very good job
with the bike and for sure its one of the hottest in the paddock."
Nagl was also happy with the changes to the Lommel circuit.
"There are good jumps and the corners are much better.
This is a track that suits me," he said.
KTM team boss Stefan Everts also paid tribute to Barragan's
victory and said that Nagl showed his true potential, especially
in the second race. "The fight for the MX1 title is not
over yet and we still have one big sand race coming up,"
he said.
MX1 Overall Result
1. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM Team Silver Action (2-1)
2. Ken de Dyker, Belgium, Suzuki
3. Max Nagl, Germany, Red Bull KTM (6-2)
4. Marc de Reuver, Netherlands, Honda
5. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki
Championship Standings
1. Steve Ramon, Belgium, 362
2. David Philipaerts, Italy, 360
3. Jonathan Coppins, New Zealand, 345
4. Ken de Dycker, Belgium, 336
5. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM 331
6. Steve Pourcel France, 306
7. Max Nagl, Germany, 290
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