World MX: Blazing Action Ignites Championship In Portugal

What a difference a week makes. Last week it was rain and mud, this week it is literally summer weather that belongs in July. But – who are we to complain? Better this than pouring rain, miserable riders and miserable spectators. Águeda, a sleepy market town in the north-west of Portugal and a scant hour from the hustle and bustle of Porto, hosts the third round of the World Motocross Championship, and the complete turnabout of the weather pleasantly surprises everyone. Hot and dry from mid-week onwards, the temperatures peak on Saturday where the mercury hits 32 degrees centigrade and prompts the use of anything that can keep the temperatures down.

Set in the grove of eucalyptus trees, the Ginásio Clube de Águeda facility offers great viewing from all angles. Over the weekend, 18,130 spectators ring the circuit, shouting encouragement to their riders. The stars of Portugal, Rui Gonçalves for Red Bull KTM, Nuno Gonçalves (no relation), Paulo Alberto and Paulo Gonçalves (no relation) are cheered on whenever they go by. Again the paddock is divided in two, Yamaha, KTM and Honda on the upper level, Kawasaki and Suzuki on the lower. Smaller teams are wedged between the bigger teams, as are the motorhomes of the various riders.

Morning practice sessions are sparsely attended by spectators; those attending have travelled from afar and are camping up for the weekend. Pre-qualifying practice for the MX2 class sees the incumbent champion, Red Bull De Carli Yamaha's Antonio Cairoli, on pole, followed by Red Bull KTM's Tyla Rattray. The first qualifier is stacked with most of the top ten of the MX2 class. Cairoli, Red Bull KTM's Tommy Searle and Gonçalves, Ricci Racing's Nicolas Aubin (turning twenty), Molson Kawasaki's Stephen Sword and 3C Racing's Manuel Monni are all going for the top spot. It is Cairoli though, followed by Searle and Aubin, who takes the win. The second qualifier has Rattray, Molson Kawasaki's Gautier Paulin, Champ KTM's Jeremy van Horebeek and Ricci Racing's Davide Guarneri going for the gold. Paulin makes a small mistake and it is van Horebeek and Guarneri who end up second and third.

MX1 qualifying sees GPKR Kawasaki's Sébastien Pourcel on pole, followed by CAS Honda's Billy MacKenzie and Kawasaki Racing's Tanel Leok in third, while the last chance qualifying session for the MX2 class, the last session of the day, has favour KTM Motorsport's Gert Krestinov at the top.

At the end of the day, a farewell party is held for Michelin's Jean Jacques Chatelier, part of the paddock furniture and trusted tyre advisor for many racers for decades, followed by a small birthday party for Aubin. The next morning dawns slightly cooler than the day before. 

Red Bull KTM is on a roll as the first MX2 race gets underway. Although Molson Kawasaki's two riders look to take the lead, Tommy Searle squares off a speedway-style turn on the inside that gives him the lead over Sword, Rattray and Cairoli. The first few laps are a cat and mouse game between the Brit and the Sicilian, but Cairoli is not the two-time world champion in this class for nothing. He passes Searle and increases his lead to seven seconds by the end of the race. Rattray plays catch-up for most of the race and is able to close the gap between himself and his team mate to under three seconds. It is not enough but it will do for the time being. He will have to work harder in the second race.

Sword, third into the first few corners, settles into his own rhythm thirty seconds back and swiftly sees off a challenge by birthday boy Aubin, who falls back to make way for Guarneri instead. Local boy Rui Gonçalves, who starts in eighth, also has his hands full. The track is fast and technical, so there are not many places to blaze past the competition. He makes a move first on Paulin and moves up yet another position as Aubin makes a mistake that let him, Paulin, and CLS Kawasaki's Steven Frossard past. He is however too late to beat Guarneri.

The first MX1 race start has Silver Action KTM's Jonathan Barragán and Monster CAS Honda's Mike Brown go for the lead, with the riders of Monster Rinaldi Yamaha right there too. David Philippaerts goes wide and cuts Brown off, and Barragán seizes the opportunity to take the lead. GPKR Kawasaki's Sébastien Pourcel is also in the top five, as is Brown's team mate Billy MacKenzie.

MacKenzie is the man who soon makes things very difficult for Barragán. He hounds him relentlessly and takes the lead, all the while shadowed himself by Philippaerts. Philippaerts takes the lead a blazing four laps later. Pourcel makes his own move on MacKenzie halfway into the race as the Scotsman struggles to keep the rhythm going, and then goes after the Italian in the lead. With only few laps to go, Barragán exacts his revenge on MacKenzie as well, returning the early race pass with one of his own.

With all the changes in the top three, one can be forgiven for simply ignoring the remainder of the top ten. However, consistency is key, and Josh Coppins and Teka Suzuki's Steve Ramon are masters of this art. Coppins maintains a very strong position in fifth, keeping tabs on the front, but biding his time. Just a second separates him from MacKenzie in the last lap, Ramon is seventeen seconds behind him in sixth. Even Martin Honda's Marc de Reuver has a good race. His pride still dented from the black-flagging the previous weekend, he is out to prove that that is but a glitch. He maintains his own place in seventh throughout the race. Philippaerts takes the win with a triumphant fist in the air, followed by Pourcel and Barragán.

The second MX2 race goes to the line at 3pm. Although Suso MVR-D Suzuki's Carl Nunn takes the hole shot, Cairoli is right there with him, and takes the lead for a fantastic run that lasts the full length of the race. Thirteen seconds between him and the competition sets him up for possibly another dominating year in the MX2 class. The battle is on between Rattray and Searle for second. Searle is in second after pushing past LS Motors Honda's Wyatt Avis. Rattray has a tough start in the lower top ten; by the time he is on Searle's tail, Searle has a significant lead. It is a mistake that costs Searle his second place, Rattray takes ruthless advantage. Not too soon either; Aubin and Sword are also moving up and moving in on the top three. Gonçalves is sixth.

The day overall is a Red Bull podium – Cairoli, naturally, and Rattray and Searle, tied for second and third. Sword and Aubin wrap up fourth and fifth, Gonçalves sixth. With his double win, Cairoli also takes the championship lead by five points.

The final race of the day is a rematch for MacKenzie. Brown, Philippaerts and Ramon are the riders first to the end of the start straight, but Ramon is the faster to the top of the jump and into the second corner. MacKenzie is very annoyed with his first race result and he soon passes Ramon for first. He leads for the majority of the race before he makes a mistake that costs him dearly. Pourcel, Ramon, Philippaerts and Barragán all blow past him, and soon after, to add insult to injury, MacKenzie has to yield to Coppins and Brown too, ending in sixth. Pourcel is very strong in the second half of the race, especially once he has the lead. His tempo is only matched by Philippaerts, who is able to wrestle the runner-up position from Ramon with only a few laps to go.

Ramon's position in third appears assured, but Coppins has other ideas. He intends to make up for his injury as much as he can, and in the last lap, with only a few seconds to go, he goes past Ramon, snatching third from the Belgian. There is some confusion as the riders pull off. Philippaerts and Pourcel are assured their podium spots; that much is clear. But who is third overall? Is it Ramon? Coppins? Barragán? Barragán's team have clearly made their sums and they return to the paddock in fourth. Ramon appears to be the third podium spot, which sees Coppins return to the paddock, but in fact it is Coppins who is called back to the podium. Ramon, already there, has to make the embarrassing trip back to the paddock. The difference is three points.

With his win, Philippaerts takes the championship lead, something that again sees the triumphant gesture of a fist thrust in the air and a big smile on the face in second place. Pourcel takes the day overall based on his second race result, something that also elicits a satisfied smile from the Frenchman.

Águeda is reachable either from Lisbon (LIS, 156 mi) or Porto (OPO, 60 mi). Fly from Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Birmingham, Bristol or Stansted with TAP Portugal, BA, Easyjet or Ryanair. Stay at the Conde d'Agueda in Águeda itself, 10 minutes from the track. From Lisbon or Porto expect a toll charge on the E01 (A1) between €6 and €18. The track is sign-posted liberally from the IC2 (N1) and the N333.

Results:

Championship Standings:

www.gica.pt
www.motocrossmx1.com

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