Barragan tops podium at MX1 GP in Mallory Park
Victory was safe in the hands of KTM rider Jonathan Barragan
in the MX1 Grand Prix of Britain on Sunday after he was third
and first in the two individual motos.
The Spanish rider from the KTM supported Team Silver Action
was in brilliant form on the man made track at Mallory Park,
the first time the MX World Championships had competed on
the varied and technically challenging circuit.
Confident and comfortable
Barragan, who kept his skills sharpened by winning an MX3
GP as a guest rider for the JM Racing team last weekend, looked
confident and comfortable on the British circuit where sand
had been mixed with the natural soil on the corners. "I
had some problems with the shock in the first heat but we
changed the settings for the second and it went much better
for me. I am very happy to my have my first GP win for 2008
but I am a bit sorry that it has not come sooner than this,"
Barragan said. The Spanish rider said liked the jumps on the
British circuit but there were a lot of bumps. "Riders
here have to be really fit," he said.
Action packed finish
The track became deeply rutted and increasingly difficult
to master as the day wore on and Barragan had an anxious moment
in the final run in to the checkered flag in race two. He
got caught up in the ruts and slipped off the bike but displayed
a cool head and lightning reactions, was back on the bike
in a flash without relinquishing any of his lead.
Valiant fourth in race on for Nagl
Red Bull KTM factory rider Max Nagl of Germany was not so
lucky. After a valiant fourth place in the opening MX1 moto,
Nagl came unstuck in the heat of the battle in the opening
minutes of race two and a stone hit him on the nose. Dizzy
and with the wound bleeding badly, he wasn't able to continue.
Doctors suspected that he may have broken his nose and he
will check on Monday with his own doctor in Belgium. Nagl
was however quite positive about his riding in the first heat.
"I liked the circuit here. It's a real English track
with deep lines and I was up with the front runners all the
way in the first race." James Noble of Team KTM UK was
tenth in front of his home crowd.
Results
1. Jonathan Barragan, KTM
2. Ken de Dyker, Belgium, Suzuki
3. David Philippaerts, Italy, Yamaha
4. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki
5. Tanel Leok, Estonia, Kawasaki
Other KTM
10. James Noble, Britain, (Team KTM UK)
17. Markus Schiffer, Germany (Sarholz)
19. Kornel Nemeth, Hungary (Sarholz)
Championship Standings
1. David Philippaerts, Italy, 223 points
2. Steve Ramon, Belgium, 195
3. Ken de Dyker, Belgium, 175
4. Josh Coppins, New Zealand, 168
5. Bill Mackenzie, Britain, 159
Other KTM
7. Jonathan Barragan, Spain. 150
9. Max Nagl, Germany, 132
14. Kornel Nemeth, Hungary, 80
15. Markus Schiffer, Germany, 71
18. James Noble, Britain, 48
Rattray and Searle second and third at MX2 GP of
Britain
Red Bull KTM's Tyla Rattray snatched the first moto but got
caught up in crashes in the second on a roughed up circuit
at Mallory Park finishing overall second behind Italy's Antonio
Cairoli in the GP of Britain.
Factory teammate Tommy Searle was third and second in the
two motos for overall third place in front of his home crowd
while fellow Briton and KTM rider Shaun Simpson finished fourth.
With Anthony Boissiere of the KTM supported HDI France team
in sixth place, riders of the Austrian manufacturer took four
of the first sixth places. The third Red Bull KTM rider, Rui
Goncalves of Portugal had a luckless day and finished eleventh.
Tyla charges through pack in second race
Rattray made a huge effort to hunt down the leaders after
dropping right back in the order in the early part of the
second moto. He made an impressive charge from the back of
the field, continually gaining ground on the front group.
Although the gap between fourth and third was too great for
him to breach, he did well to salvage his fourth place for
18 valuable championship points. The KTM factory rider from
South Africa, while promising to come back strong in the next
event, was clearly disappointed to have to relinquish the
coveted red number plate as championship leader to rival Cairoli
by a single point.
Committed to regaining red plate
"I plan to get the red plate back in the next GP,"
said a determined Rattray. "Today I got the holeshot
in the first race and I managed to stay out in front all the
way. It's hard to pass on this circuit and you have to be
very concentrated to get good lines." Rattray did just
that after being involved in two crashes in the first part
of race two.
Searle hoped for more at Mallory Park
Tommy Searle was less than satisfied with his day in front
of his home crowd, particularly when his chances of getting
the lead in race one were spoilt by a close encounter with
arch rival Cairoli. "My riding was ok but not brilliant
today," he said. "I didn't have very good starts
and I made a few mistakes. At the end of the second race there
was just too much of a gap for me to be able to close it."
Tommy now trails Cairoli by 10 points in what has developed
into a three rider competition (Cairoli, Rattray and Searle)
for the title.
Bad day for Rui Goncalves
Red Bull KTM's Rui Goncalves admitted his day had not been
a good one. "I had problems with the lines in the first
race and my riding as not good. I tried to relax more in the
second but it just seemed to get worse. Then I had a crash
and hit my knee and my head and blacked out for a moment."
Goncalves will also get a medical check on Monday.
First time at Mallory Park Circuit
The man-made circuit at Mallory Park, some 50 km from the
city of Birmingham, is constructed on the interior of an existing
and well known road racing facility. It was the first time
riders in the MX world championship have raced here on this
technical and demanding circuit. The surface is medium soft
and sand has been added to the corners.
MX2 GP Results
1. Antonio Cairoli, Italy, Yamaha
2. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM (Red Bull KTM)
3. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM (Red Bull KTM)
4. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM (KTM UK)
5. Stephen Sword, Britain, Kawasaki
Other KTM
6. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM (Team HDI France)
11. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM (Red Bull KTM)
12. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM (GP Juniors Team Champ)
13. Jeremy Tarroux, France, KTM (Team Silver Action)
19. Julien Vanni, France, KTM (Team HDI France)
Championship Standings
1. Antonio Cairoli, Italy, 243 points
2. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, 242
3. Tommy Searle, Britain, 233
4. Nicolas Aubin, France, 158
5. Shaun Simpson, Britain, 156
6. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, 148
Other KTM
10. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, 109
13. Anthony Boissiere, France, 91
12. Joel Roelants, Belgium, 68
17. Jeremy Tarroux, France, 59
30. Julien Vanni, France, 12
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