Team USA successfully retained the MX of Nations at Donington Park Raceway in the UK on Sunday to conclude the MX season for 2008. Well supported by KTM riders, France and Belgium took the minor places.
KTM rider Anthony Boissiere made his contribution to the French team's success even if he had some bad luck in his second race. The young French rider was eleventh in race one then went out very hard in his second race and was up with the leaders. He was deprived of a top finish when he punctured his tyre. "My KTM allowed me to have two very good starts but in the second race I punctured my tubeless tyre. I went back to the pits but there was not enough time to change it so I decided to keep going," he said. Boissiere eventually slipped back to eighteenth after having tenaciously held onto third place through much of the race.
KTM Riding for Belgium
Sharing the podium glory for Belgium was KTM rider Jeremy van Horebeek. "This was the second time I have competed in the Motocross of Nations for Belgium and we have been third both times. I was a bit nervous today and I made some small mistakes and had a couple of crashes but yesterday I put in some very good lap times and I am also quite happy about the way I was riding," he said.
Great second race for Tommy Searle
Red Bull KTM factory rider Tommy Searle made an important contribution to the British team, who came in at fourth place just one point shy of Belgium. Searle was also second in the MX2 individual standings behind American Ryan Villopoto. He was ninth in the first of three races and vaulted to third in race two. "I had some problems with arm pump in the first race but I felt great in race two and I was really having fun. I think I could have moved up one more place if there had been another couple of laps," the British teenager said. It was Searle's last appearance in Europe as he races for KTM in the USA for the next two seasons.
Barragan fights of flu symptoms
Other KTM riders who made important contributions to their team effort were MX1 rider Jonathan Barragan of Spain who was fourth and ninth in his two races to see his team eventually finish in seventh place. "I had a good start in the first heat and I finished fourth but the second was not so good for me," the Spaniard sad. Barragan was also not 100 percent fit and was fighting off flu symptoms. KTM's Alvaro Lozano also made a contribution for Spain riding in the open class.
Nagl underlines top form
KTM MX1 factory rider Max Nagl rode for Germany and although the team finished down the order, he certainly underlined his great form from the second half of the season with a third place in his second race. "I had two good starts but I crashed in the first race and drifted back to thirteenth place. Then in race two I got caught up in the pack in the opening stages. I was about eighth before I started to overtake all the European heroes and it turned out to be a great race for me. I had the same terrific feeling as when I won the GP in Faenza!"
Rattray luckless
One KTM rider was singled out for bad like and disappointment. Tyla Rattray, the newly crowned MX2 world champion was dogged with bad luck on the final race day of the season. "I'm unhappy with the results but even if I had some bad luck I was riding well and I had a good speed," he said. Tyla had a close encounter with a straw bale in his first race and struggled to get his bike started again then in the second race some loose netting from the barrier fence got tangled around his back wheel which left him without effective braking. He had to return to the pits to free it up before rejoining the race.
Final nation standings (team with lowest points wins)
1. USA 26 points
James Stewart, Kawasaki, 1 Race One
Ryan Villopoto, Kawasaki, 1 Race Two; 10 Race Two
Tim Ferry, 9 Race One, 5 Race Three
2. France 31 points
Sebastien Pourcel, 2 Race One; 1 Race Three
Nicolas Aubin, 7 Race Two, 10 Race Three
Anthony Boissiere, KTM, 11 Race One
3. Belgium, 41 points
Steve Ramon, 2 Race Two, 14 Race Three
Ken De Dyker, 8 Race One; 4 Race Two
Jeremy van Horebeek, KTM, 13 Race One
4. Britain, 42 points
Tommy Searle KTM, 9 Race One; 3 Race Three
Billy Mackenzie, 6 Race One; 11 Race Three
Shaun Simpson, KTM, 13 Race Three
5. Italy
MX1 Individual Classification
1. Sebastien Pourcel, France 2-1--3
2. Ken De Dyker, Belgium, Suzuki, 8-4—12
3. Julien Bill, Switzerland, Honda, 5-7—12
4. Josh Coppins, New Zealand, Yamaha, 7-6—13
5. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM 4-9—13
6. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM 13-3-16
MX2 Individual
1. Ryan Villopoto, USA, Kawasaki, 10-1-11
2. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM 9-3—12
3. Manuel Monni, Italy, Yamaha, 14-11-25
4. Brett Metcalf, Australia, Kawasaki, 17-10—27
5. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM 16-13—29
Other KTM
7. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM 11-18—29
8. Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, KTM 18-21—39
9. Harri Kullas, Finland, KTM 23-24—47
10. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM 24-25—49
12. Manuel Chittaro, Germany, KTM, 28-26—54
13. Gert Krestinov, Estonia, KTM, 22-34—56
20. Ceriel Klein Kromhof, Netherlands, 29-0—29
MX Open
1. Tim Ferry, USA, Kawasaki, 9-5—14
2. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki, 2-14—16
3. Nicolas Aubin, France, Yamaha, 7-10—17
4. Alex Salvini, Italy, Suzuki, 5-12—17
5. Cody Cooper, New Zealand, Suzuki, 4-21—25
Other KTM
6. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM 15-13--28
9. Alvaro Lozano, Spain, KTM 20-16—36
Results Race One MX1 & MX2
1. James Stewart, USA, Kawasaki, MX1, 35:25.692
2. Sebastien Pourcel, Italy, Yamaha, MX1 35:58.722
3. David Philippaerts, Italy, Yamaha, MX1, 35:58.768
4. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM, MX1, 36:01.173
5. Julien Bill, Switzerland, Honda, MX1, 36:10.605
Other KTM riders
9. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM, MX2, 36:18.593
11. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM, MX2, 36:31.959
13. Max Nagl, Germany, MX1, 36:33.854
16. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM, MX2, 37:05.068
18. Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, MX2, 37:12.252
22. Gert Krestinov, Estonia, KTM, MX2, 37:35.731
23. Harri Kullias, Finland, KTM, MX2, 37:39.103
24. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM, MX2, 35:28.208
28 Manuel Chittaro, Germany, KTM, MX2, 36:25.503
29. Ceriel Klein Kromhof, Netherlands, KTM 36.57.586, MX2
Results Race Two MX2 and Open
1. Ryan Villopoto, USA, Kawasaki MX2, 36:14.798
2. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki, 36:39.430
3. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM MX2, 36:40.288
4. Cody Cooper, New Zealand, Suzuki, 36:42.079
5. Alex Salvini, Italy, Suzuki, 36:54.041
Other KTM
13. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM, MX2, 37:28.983
15. Shaun Simpson, Britain, Open, 37:47.573
18. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM, MX2, 36:31.959
20 Alvaro Lozano, Spain, KTM Open, 38:08.031
21. Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, MX2, 38:09.830
24. Harri Kullias, Finland, KTM, MX2, 38:21.648
25. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM, MX2, 36:18.216
26 Manuel Chittaro, Germany, KTM, MX2, 36:35.781
34. Gert Krestinov, Estonia, KTM, MX2, 37:52.889
Race Three (MX1 + Open)
1. Sebastien Pourcel, France, Kawasaki 35:55-949
2. Tanel Leok, Estonia, Kawasaki, 36:01.712
3. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM, 36:21.993
4. Ken De Dyker, Belgium, Suzuki, 36:33.034
5. Tim Ferry, USA, Kawasaki, 36:36.200
Other KTM
9. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM
13. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM
16. Alvaro Lozano, Spain, KTM
Photographer: Archer R.
