The MX2 Grand Prix of Belgium took place at a bustling and vibrant Namur circuit today and World Champion Antonio Cairoli gave Yamaha a perfect afternoon with his first double moto success of the season and his second overall victory of the campaign. The De Carli racing representative - competing at the site of his maiden victory in 2004 - beat David Philippaerts in the first sprint after his Italian rival ran wide while leading and collected green fencing in his rear wheel. Cairoli was waiting in his tracks for a passing opportunity and moved through for his eighth moto triumph this term.
In the second event he started brightly and resisted attention from Carl Nunn and then Christophe Pourcel for win number two in convincing fashion.
Yamaha Team Ricci's Kenneth Gundersen experienced a Grand Prix in stark contrast to his Yamaha compatriot. The Norwegian got out of the gate poorly in both motos and hit the ground during each race. He only picked up three points for 18th in the opening foray.
Team-mate Davide Guarneri had been feeling unwell in the build-up to the Grand Prix and retired in the first moto with a headache. He then crashed in Moto2 and again was forced to retire.
Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing rider Billy Mackenzie took a decent jump from the gate in Moto1 and finished 7th but a fall on a frantic set of opening corners on the Esplanade later in the day relegated him to the back of the pack.
The third member of the Yamaha Team Ricci Alessio Chiodi was ruled out of contention on Saturday afternoon when a rock struck his right hand and broke one of his fingers. The Italian was in too much pain to take part in the rest of the Grand Prix. His withdrawal means the sixth non-score after a very promising opening to the season was wrecked by a knee injury at Sugo in May.
Cairoli is second in the World Championship standings, 26 points behind Pourcel, with three Grand Prix and 150 points remaining on the 2006 schedule. Mackenzie is also part of the top ten and lies 7th.
Antonio Cairoli - Team Yamaha De Carli:"We have a good setting on the 250 with De Carli for this track and I like it a lot since taking the win here in 2004. It felt great to win both heats and make a double here. I rode better than I did last year and could change my lines very easily with the suspension set-up we had, so the track was not so hard for me this time. I have been struggling with my physical condition this year but things are getting better now. I am not thinking of the championship I just want to ride well and win more heats. Christophe is very young but he is controlling the class well; he does not make big mistakes and is finishing every race."
Kenneth Gundersen - Yamaha Team Ricci:"In the first moto I made a bad start but I was still in the top ten when I lost the front end into a corner and on the top of a step-down. I completed the rest of the race to get some training done. In the second moto I was last off the start and crashed after 15 or 20 minutes. I did not have much confidence and decided to stop. Normally this track is perfect for me and yesterday it was really good but things did not work out in the races."
Circuit Length: 2477
Temp: 24
Crowd: 30000
Weather: Sunny
2006 GP of Namur, Race 1 - 16 Laps: 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 43'9.307
2 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'2.531
3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'29.378
4 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'36.668
5 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'37.729
6 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'38.835
7 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'4.262
8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'4.687
9 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'16.247
10 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'18.581
11 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'30.575
12 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 1'35.528
13 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 1'46.824
14 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'59.253
15 Shaun Simpson Honda GBR 1'59.537
16 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 2'7.078
17 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 2'10.294
18 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 2'15.929
19 Jeremy Tarroux Kawasaki FRA 2'16.646
20 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 2'19.960
Race 2 - 16 Laps: 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 41'55.640
2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'4.597
3 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 0'6.644
4 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'18.363
5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'29.627
6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'39.360
7 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'40.970
8 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'44.443
9 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 0'45.639
10 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 0'49.984
11 Carlos Campano KTM ESP 0'55.966
12 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'16.716
13 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 1'22.385
14 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 1'26.360
15 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 1'27.561
16 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha NED 1'52.850
17 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'59.849
18 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 2'9.095
19 Matthias Walkner KTM AUT 2'30.325
20 Jonas Wing KTM SWE -1 Laps
Best Lap: Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 2'38.198
Rider Standings 06/08/2006: 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 458
2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 432
3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 393
4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 352
5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 338
6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 307
7. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 264
8. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 259
9. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 254
10. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 251
11. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 236
12. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 211
13. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 200
14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 167
15. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153
16. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 105
17. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 98
18. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 97
19. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94
20. Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 80
37. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 7
Manufacturer Standings 06/08/2006:1. KTM 546
2. Yamaha 526
3. Kawasaki 483
4. Honda 195
5. Suzuki 22
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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