Double victory for Tommy Searle at MX2 Grand Prix of France
 Red
Bull KTM factory rider Tommy Searle on Sunday wrapped up his
first career 1-1 result for a clean sweep of the Grand Prix
of France at St. Jean D'Angely and took possession of the
coveted red number plate as championship leader.
Searle rode two superb races for the top podium slot. After
a glorious ride in the first race, he took an early lead in
race two. Title holder Antonio Cairoli challenged Searle for
the front position about ten minutes into the race but the
Italian slid off the bike and Tommy took charge again.
Elated Searle
"I came to the track hoping for some points but I never
thought I would end up with a 20-point lead. It's a great
birthday present for me," the 19-year-old said. Tommy
celebrated his birthday on Friday. "This is the first
time I have had a double win. It gives me confidence and makes
me mentally strong for Germany. It's a track I like,"
he added.
Rattray makes two great recoveries
Red Bull KTM's Tyla Rattray made two magnificent recoveries
from the back of the pack in both races. He got tangled with
arch rival Cairoli in race one and while the Italian was unable
to complete the race, Rattray made a charge from the back
of the field, eventually rescuing points to finish in sixth
place. In race two he was equally competent recovering from
an incident at the start to charge through the field to close
the gap on Searle in the final stages, locking down second
in both the race and the GP. "I am not that happy because
I had set myself a goal of getting back the red number plate
but I can be satisfied," he said. "I crashed with
Toni (Cairoli) in the first race and although I managed to
start again I was right at the back. Then I hit the gate a
bit in the start of the second race and was only about fourth
or fifth. But I managed to get close to Tommy. There's still
a lot of races to go and I like the track in Germany. I can
have a good ride there."
Third place in the GP also went to KTM thanks to French rider
Anthony Boissiere of the KTM-supported Team HDI France who
was riding on his favourite circuit and enjoyed a lot of support
from the French fans.
Goncalves finishes thirteenth
The third Red Bull KTM factory rider, Rui Goncalves of Portugal
finished the day with sixteenth and eleventh position in the
two races for overall thirteenth and expressed disappointment
that until now he has not been able to convert his good training
results into equally good ones on the track. "I have
to get rid of the pressure I am putting on myself," he
said. He is sixth in the championship standings.
Everts satisfied
Team boss Stefan Everts was also very pleased with his MX2
riders. "It was a good weekend for us. Both Tommy and
Tyla got a lot of points. Our boys are concentrated and consistent.
They are very strong and got great results by fighting hard.
That's what we expect from our riders," he said. "Tyla
was lucky that the bike was not damaged and he was not injured
in the crash with Toni Cairoli. He's a very strong fighter
and it was a great result for him. Now Tommy and Tyla can
put pressure on Toni and they know they can beat him. This
result is very important for our confidence for the coming
races."
The weekend shakes up the championship standings between the
top three contenders with Searle and Rattray getting both
the points and psychological edge on arch rival Cairoli and
underlining that after seven rounds, the championship is still
wide open.
Results Race One
1. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM, 39:12.650
2. Jeremy Tarroux, France, KTM, 39:18.009
3. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM, 39:20.147
4. Xavier Boog, France, Suzuki, 39:22,272
5. Nicolas Aubin, France, Yamaha, 39:25.602
Other KTM
6. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM 39:37.637
10. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM, 39:58.250
16. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM, 40:11.477
17. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM, 40:14.727
19. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM, 40:36.311
Results Race Two
1. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM, 40:03.228
2. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM 40:03.863
3. Antonio Cairoli, Italy, Yamaha, 40:17.462
4. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM, 40:54.544
5. Steven Frossard, France, Kawasaki 40.59.015
Other KTM
6. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM, 41:29.972
11. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM, 41:42.048
13. Jeremy Tarroux, France, KTM, 40:18.967
18. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM, 40:36.311
Overall GP Results
1. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM
2. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM
3. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM
4. Xavier Boog, France, Suzuki
5. Jeremy Tarroux, France, KTM
Other KTM
9. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM
13. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM
16. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM
22. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM
Championship Standings
1. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM, 283 points
2. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM, 279
3. Antonio Cairoli, Italy, Yamaha, 263
4. Nicolas Aubin, France, Yamaha, 185
5. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM, 178
Other KTM
6. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM, 163
10. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM, 126
11. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM, 120
16. Jeremy Tarroux, France, KTM, 89
18. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM, 73
MX1 Podium place for Jonathan Barragan in France
Jonathan Barragan of KTM-supported Team Silver Action scored
a 3-6 result in the two MX1 motos to finish on the podium
in third place at the Grand Prix of France at St. Jean D'Angely
to be the best KTM rider.
"The first heat was good even if I did have a crash at
fourth place and dropped back to seventh. I managed to close
the gap and finish third and that was the maximum I could
do as I was quite tired from the crash. This is a difficult
track and it's not my favourite, the Spanish rider said. "I
had a bad start in the second race because there was a crash
in front of me but I came from behind and I overtook 25 riders.
The results were not the best but it was enough to get me
on the podium and to pick up some more points."
Nagl solid despite health problems
Given the fact that he has some unresolved health problems,
Red Bull KTM factory rider Max Nagl of Germany also had a
good day picking up a total of 29 championship points for
his seventh and eighth position in the two races for overall
GP fifth. He will have medical tests in Germany this week
but said he was "really exhausted" after 20 minutes
on the track in each of the races. "I was still able
to pick up some points and to move up two places in the championship
standings," Nagl added.
Everts confident
"Considering his physical condition, Max rode well in
the first heat and he also rode very well for the first 20
minutes of the second heat," team boss Stefan Everts
said. "He has not been able to train as much so I am
quite happy. He has a good feeling and he's going in the right
direction. He will make a good comeback and will get the results."
Barragan, who won the last GP in Britain, and Nagl in his
first year as a factory rider with the Austrian manufacturer,
are currently in sixth and seventh place in the championship
standings.
Results MX1 Race One
1. Sebastien Pourcel, France, Kawasaki, 40.09.573
2. Josh Coppins, New Zealand, Yamaha, 40:11.425
3. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM, 40:22.131
4. Tanel Leok, Estonia, Kawasaki, 40:34.260
5. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM, 40:39.740
Other KTM
8. Kornel Nemeth, Hungary, KTM, 40:51.0742
14. Julien Vanni, France, KTM, 41:33.349
16. James Noble, Britain, KTM, 41:35.696
Results MX1 Race Two
1. Sebastien Pourcel, France, Kawasaki, 40:04.650
2. Josh Coppins, New Zealand, Yamaha, 40:06.458
3. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki, 40:07.763
4. Marc de Reuver, Netherlands, Honda, 40:09.723
5. Steve Boniface, France, Yamaha, 40:30.334
Other KTM
6. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM, 40:36.724
8. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM, 40:43.703
9. James Noble, Britain, KTM, 40:46.458
Results GP Classification
1. Sebastien Pourcel, France, Kawasaki
2. Josh Coppins, New Zealand, Yamaha
3. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM
4. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki
5. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM
Other KTM
14. James Noble, Britain, KTM
15. Kornel Nemeth, Hungary, KTM
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