MX-GP: Sixth podium for Philippaerts, fourth win for Cairoli
RACE REPORT 06/07/2008
Philippaerts takes sixth podium in Sweden
25,000 spectators scaled the rocky hill beside the Uddevalla
circuit to watch Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts
take third position and extend his lead in the series at the
Grand Prix of Sweden and the ninth round of fifteen in the
2008 FIM Motocross World Championship. Frequent light rain
covered the venue and the slippery conditions did not prevent
the Italian registering his sixth podium finish from a possible
nine on his works YZ450FM. Team-mate Josh Coppins, winner
of the last round in Germany, did not enjoy good starts but
rode well to claim 10th overall.
The climbing undulations of the Scandinavian track provided
a small headache for teams and riders across the weekend as
the fast curves - newly mixed with sand and a softer soil
- was a hard and slippery test on Saturday but with arrival
of rain during the night and dark skies on Sunday provided
a more technical and slick prospect for the races.
24 year old Philippaerts started poorly in the first moto
and was lucky not to crash on the straight as he was clipped
when the pack narrowed down to the opening turn. The one-line
layout made overtaking very difficult but the red-plate holder
slowly worked his way up from 12th place to capture 4th behind
Steve Ramon. Winner of the Grand Prix, Jonathan Barragan,
sealed his second victory of the year with the runner-up position
in the second moto and Philippaerts rode a smart race to take
another 4th and the bottom step of the podium behind the Spaniard
and Ramon.
Josh Coppins was luckless in Moto1 as a bad launch become
worse when he could not avoid a fallen Loic Leonce and crashed
on the first lap. The New Zealander then had to find and maximise
the few overtaking places on the track to grab as many points
as possible. He rode to 13th by the end of the 35 minutes
and 2 laps and was satisfied with his efforts. Sadly his getaway
from the gate could not be improved in Moto2 and another slip
relegated him to near the bottom of the top twenty. He then
provided one of the highlights of the race as he charged from
mid-pack obscurity to pass Billy Mackenzie on the last lap
for 5th.
Philippaerts now has more podium finishes than any other
rider and his total score so far has helped Yamaha to a 19
point lead in the Manufacturer's standings. He has fronted
the rider's table since round three and stretched out his
margin of 4 points last week to 12, over Ramon. Coppins is
third and 16 adrift.
UTag Yamaha.com's Kenneth Gundsersen was in attendance at
his 'semi-home' Grand Prix and confirmed that he has started
exercising as part of his rehabilitation after a knee reconstruction
and expects to begin riding again mid-September.
After back-to-back events the World Championship now stops
for one week before the series moves continents and to the
new circuit of Nelspruit next to Kruger Park for the Grand
Prix of South Africa.
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team,
3rd:
"I am very happy to be back on the podium. Physically
I have had some problems, with my hand and my rib, but I am
getting better and chose to ride a smart race today. The ground
behind the gate was very soft and I lost time with my starts;
I had to close the gas at the start of the first moto because
I did not want to crash but afterwards I could make some good
laps. I tried in both races to pass Steve but there was only
really one line. It was a good GP for the championship and
now I hope I can start training normally again because it
has been a hard couple of weeks since the GP of France."
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 10th:
"I was around 11th in the first race when Leonce made
a mistake in front of me and I went into the back of him.
I restarted more or less last and came back to 13th. It was
a tough race, really hard to pass and very tricky with just
one single fast line. In the second moto I made a better start
but I went a little wide and into the soft mud where they
had scraped the mud across the holes. I went down on the fourth
corner trying to make a pass and get to the front too fast.
I made my way to fifth purely on determination. I am pretty
disappointed overall because my riding was good enough to
be at the front end of the field. I knew the starts would
be difficult with the soft gravel behind the gate; you need
a little bit of luck and just have to drop the clutch and
go for it, there is no real technique. I lost some points
today and need to keep focussing on my riding not the championship;
today I was thinking too much about winning instead of trying
to have a good GP."
Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager:
"David is back on the podium after two GPs and a few
little mistakes. He was looking good today and he is learning
when to push and when to concentrate on not making a mistake;
this is the system for a good season. He now has a lead of
12 points although we have seen how easy it is to lose any
advantage! Josh was set-back by his starts and small crashes.
He did not make a fantastic result but his speed looked very
good in both races and he was unfortunate in that it was so
hard to pass here. We tried another new pipe with David, there
was no big difference but we made a test; overall the bikes
were very good this weekend."
Circuit Length: 1750
Crowd: 25,000
Weather: Overcast
2008 GP of Sweden, Uddevalla 06/07/2008
Race 1 - 21 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 39'23.245
2 Marc De Reuver Honda NED 0'5.231
3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'7.373
4 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'9.689
5 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'16.662
6 Steve Boniface Honda FRA 0'22.169
7 Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 0'28.086
8 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 0'29.184
9 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'30.064
10 Julien Bill Honda CHE 0'36.017
11 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'37.062
12 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'43.785
13 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'50.734
14 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'54.043
15 James Noble KTM GBR 0'58.888
16 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'0.653
17 Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 1'5.335
18 Bradley Anderson Suzuki GBR 1'24.686
19 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 1'33.887
20 Loic Leonce Yamaha FRA 1'36.268
Race 2 - 21 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 40'23.192
2 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'16.793
3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'26.090
4 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'34.407
5 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'38.064
6 Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 0'40.896
7 Julien Bill Honda CHE 0'52.771
8 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 1'1.706
9 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'4.476
10 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'5.532
11 Steve Boniface Honda FRA 1'21.000
12 Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 1'24.515
13 James Noble KTM GBR 1'27.118
14 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'36.377
15 Luis Correira Yamaha POR 1'39.962
16 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'48.027
17 Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 1'50.676
18 Loic Leonce Yamaha FRA 1'55.016
19 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps
20 Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP -1 Laps
Rider Standings 06/07/2008
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 302
2. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 290
3. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 286
4. Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 266
5. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 241
6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 239
7. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 213
8. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 209
9. Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 205
10. Marc De Reuver Honda NED 178
11. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 162
12. Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 137
13. Julien Bill Honda CHE 131
14. Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 115
15. Mike Brown Honda USA 107
16. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 97
17. James Noble KTM GBR 79
18. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 77
19. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 55
20. Steve Boniface Honda FRA 47
24. Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 31
Manufacturer Standings 06/07/2008
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Yamaha 355
2. Suzuki 340
3. KTM 319
4. Kawasaki 315
5. Honda 284
6. TM 31
7. Aprilia 5
RACE REPORT 06/07/2008
Cairoli celebrates fourth win of 2008
Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli kept his hand firmly
in the game for the 2008 MX2-GP World Championship by enacting
a skilful and impressive performance at a wet Uddevalla circuit
for the Grand Prix of Sweden to take his fourth victory of
the year. The Sicilian scored 2nd and 1st positions in the
two motos of the ninth round of fifteen in the series and
currently rests 2nd in the standings.
The world champion gained his seventh Lovemytime qualification
heat award on Saturday in hot and sunny conditions. The 25,000
spectators saw temperatures plummet and light rain soak the
soft terrain of the circuit on Sunday. The track was slippery,
technical and overtaking was difficult due to a pre-dominantly
fast single racing line.
Cairoli did not get the best of starts and had to chase title
rivals Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle in the first moto. Shaun
Simpson was leading but was soon overtaken by the South African.
Cairoli went for the same piece of track as Searle in a battle
for third spot and the Briton crashed. The incident did not
disrupt the YZ250F rider as he passed Simpson to finish runner-up
to Rattray.
With 22 points in the bag Cairoli knew a decent start was
imperative for any chance of Scandinavian spoils and duly
broke free with the same three protagonists for company. After
yet more dicing with Searle the 2005 and 2007 champion unveiled
a lightning series of laps, and also considerable guile, to
demote Rattray and then Simpson. His seventh moto win ensured
his fourth overall triumph, making the 22 year old the most
successful rider so far this season.
Cairoli's second consecutive Swedish victory means that he
lies 14 points behind Rattray in the championship standings
(his rival was second overall with Simpson third).
Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin looked a little more like
the rider who won the 2007 Czech Grand Prix after a difficult
time last week in Germany when he could not get on the pace.
The Frenchman was luckless in Saturday qualification when
he was felled by another rider and was forced into the Last
Chance session, from which he posted the quickest lap-time
and was 25th in the gate. The 20 year old performed decently
to take 5th place in the opening moto but a poorer start for
race two meant he had to pit for goggles and lost time and
positions. 20th by the chequered flag he ended the day 11th
overall.
Team-mate Davide Guarneri also felt an improvement across
the greasy Swedish mud even if - like Aubin - his results
did not reflect as much. Still riding with a weak knee, the
Italian was impressive in a dry and hot Saturday programme
where he took third in the first heat. He rode to a creditable
10th in the first GP moto but suffered with fatigue in the
second race and emerged from a heavy crash to take 17th for
13th position overall.
3C Racing's Italian MX2 Champion Manuel Monni obtained 12th
spot with moto results of 11th and 16th. Cairoli's team-mate
Matteo Bonini did not participate in the Grand Prix after
a scan during the week revealed that the Italian had fractured
a metacarpal in his left hand. He is expected to be out of
action for three to four weeks.
Round ten of fifteen will take place in two weeks time at
the Nelspruit circuit for the Grand Prix of South Africa and
the sole non-European event on the 2008 calendar.
Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st:
"I am very happy with this race. My start was not good
in the first moto and when I had to pass some riders the track
was so slippery and I had to take care not to make a mistake,
but second place was possible. The second moto was a strange
race. The four of us were close for the lead but then Tommy
tried to take my front wheel and I was a bit surprised about
what he tried to do. I like to race with him and he is a really
good rider and I think he can be better about what he does
sometimes. This championship is very hard and a big challenge
but it will be more rewarding if I can win it. I have a great
feeling on the bike and I want to fight with all the KTM guys.
I do not want to make any more mistakes and my goal is now
to put Tyla under pressure and catch him."
Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 11th:
"My place behind the gate meant that today was always
going to be tough. I started well in the first moto and came
quickly up to 6th. Searle went down and I was 5th but too
far from the rest of the other riders. The race was still
good for my confidence and especially to come back from what
happened in Germany. The second moto start was worse and by
lap two I had to throw away the goggles as it was impossible
to follow anyone and actually see. After some time I had to
come in and get some more goggles. It was not a good GP for
me but my speed is back and I feel happier than last week."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 13th:
"This was a little bit better than last week. I felt
good and fast on Saturday and took third. My starts were not
so good today and maybe this was to do with my concentration.
I was well outside the top ten in the first moto but took
tenth position and I was quite fast; at least better than
I have been. In the second moto I found my way to twelfth
but then started to feel quite tired after twenty minutes
and had a little pain in the knee. In one corner I lost control
and crashed quite heavily and could only take 17th after that.
I finished the day on a low point but I feel there has been
an improvement with my speed and now I plan to go to South
Africa to see what I can do."
Circuit Length: 1750
Crowd: 25,000
Weather: Wet
2008 GP of Sweden, Uddevalla 06/07/2008
Race 1 - 21 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 39'20.658
2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'8.094
3 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'9.872
4 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'14.416
5 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'22.044
6 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'24.014
7 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'56.202
8 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'0.788
9 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'6.988
10 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'11.844
11 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'12.287
12 Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 1'19.940
13 Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 1'21.990
14 Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 1'27.184
15 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'34.802
16 Filip Thuresson Suzuki SWE 1'37.915
17 Yauheni Tyletski Suzuki BGR 1'43.262
18 Anthony Boissière KTM FRA 1'44.200
19 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR 1'45.455
20 Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 1'45.942
Race 2 - 21 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'11.405
2 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'2.757
3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'3.980
4 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'7.080
5 Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 0'40.019
6 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'40.785
7 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'48.751
8 Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 0'57.949
9 Wyatt Avis Honda RSA 0'59.507
10 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 1'3.677
11 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'7.621
12 Anthony Boissière KTM FRA 1'21.783
13 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'22.825
14 Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 1'25.188
15 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'27.331
16 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'30.692
17 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'31.503
18 Evgeny Bobryshev Yamaha RUS 1'41.615
19 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'52.714
20 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 2'9.143
Rider Standings 06/07/2008
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 371
2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 357
3. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 348
4. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 251
5. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 227
6. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 205
7. Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 182
8. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 172
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 170
10. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 160
11. Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 151
12. Anthony Boissière KTM FRA 146
13. Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 146
14. Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 127
15. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 114
16. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 99
17. Gautier Paulin Kawasaki FRA 95
18. Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 94
19. Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 73
20. Wyatt Avis Honda RSA 56
22. Evgeny Bobryshev Yamaha RUS 42
26. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 25
28. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 19
48. Deny Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 2
Manufacturer Standings 06/07/2008
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. KTM 419
2. Yamaha 413
3. Kawasaki 280
4. Suzuki 230
5. Honda 167
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