Antonio Cairoli repeated his Italian Grand Prix runner-up position at Matterley Basin as the top two steps of the MX2 podium were again filled by David Philippaerts and the De Carli representative. The World Champion had started badly in the first race on a track that proved difficult for passing simply because the high speed and simple layout meant that the distances between riders remained constant and tricky to breach. He was able to improve his ranking by one digit to sixth after Nicolas Aubin faded back through the top ten.
In the second moto he harried Philippaerts for the better part of the 35 minute and 2 lap distance before pulling away for his fifth race triumph of the season.
Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing's Billy Mackenzie was fourth after tying on points for the lower step of the podium but losing his third silverware of the term after finishing eighth in race two. The Scot was the first Yamaha home with third position in the first contest of the day in what was a decent performance in front of a very vocal supporting crowd. The 22 year old had several injections into a broken left hand and fought off the close attentions of Championship leader Christophe Pourcel for the runner-up place behind David Philippaerts until the last lap. The local resident was back to his aggressive best after two indifferent and troublesome Grand Prix but his impetuousness cost him in the afternoon after a mistake while third saw him run off the track and he struggled to rise higher up the classification. Mackenzie was briefly on the podium when Sebastien Pourcel overtook Tommy Searle for third but then almost crashed giving the British teenager his first ever top th ree and leaving the Yamaha man disappointed.
Kenneth Gundersen was leading the moto1 until he lost the front end of the Ricci Racing Yamaha on a banked right hander and crashed down to sixth, finally able to rise to fifth. In the second outing he fought off Billy Mackenzie and passed Anthony Boisierre for sixth that gave him fifth overall.
Davide Guarneri gained his best race result of the year in fourth position after leaving behind the tussle between his Yamaha compatriots Gundersen and Cairoli but collided with Gareth Swanepoel and did not finish race two. His team-mate Alessio Chiodi had small crashes in both motos and was eleventh.
After two second positions and a victory in the last four motos Cairoli has moved up to second in the Championship 34 points behind Christophe Pourcel. Mackenzie is sixth and Gundersen seventh.
After a heavy three week spell of consecutive races the World Championships have now earned a well deserved break. The Grand Prix of Sweden at the Uddevalla circuit will draw the teams and riders together on the first weekend of July.
Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli:"I didn't start well and I was trying to come back through but I hit a wall with Gundersen because he was so hard to pass. I lost a lot of time. I rode with my head and I liked the track. I was thinking about the Championship in that first heat because I passed Tyla and de Reuver although I lost the race because of that start."
Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci:"Again my own mistake cost me, just like Montevarchi. I tried to be smooth too early and should have attacked for a few more laps before trying to set a rhythm but I came into the corner and the front slid out. I came from eighth to fifth in the first one and it wasn't a bad race. I struggled in the second moto and was fighting the bike."
Alessio Chiodi, Yamaha Team Ricci:"Today was not so good because I had some decent positions but I crashed in both motos however my knee is getting better and that is one positive thing. The track was fast and the dry but it wasn't so bad."
Billy Mackenzie, Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing:"I'm gutted to be honest. Hearing the crowd cheering for twenty minutes after the race for someone else when I knew I should have been up there was hard to take and a bit of a downer. I tried my hardest. I made a small mistake after the whoops when I was third because I saw Cairoli and Philippaerts ahead of me and thought 'I can get them'. My hand has been getting better for three weeks now but it still forced me to have two bad Grand Prix. The medication I had today was great. I need to pick my head up now; fourth overall was fine and the points make it good."
Race classification MX2:Round: 8 - 2006 GP of Matterley Basin, UK
Circuit: Matterley Basin
Date: 18 June 2006
Crowd: 39000
Temp: 28ºC
Weather: Hot
Race 1: 19 Laps 1 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA 39' 22.087
2 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +5.443
3 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +9.460
4 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +13.068
5 K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +14.894
6 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +17.540
7 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +18.911
8 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +19.706
9 N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +21.875
10 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +49.922
11 C. Nunn KTM GBR +52.163
12 R. Goncalves KTM POR +53.868
13 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +57.138
14 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +1' 2.097
15 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 10.702
16 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1' 17.198
17 T. Rattray KTM RSA +1' 23.172
18 R. Rowson Kawasaki GBR +1' 24.485
19 S. Simpson Honda GBR +1' 27.681
20 J. Dougan Honda GBR +1' 41.747
Race 2: 19 Laps1 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39' 56.266
2 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +11.233
3 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +13.689
4 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +14.190
5 R. Goncalves KTM POR +26.994
6 K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +36.890
7 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +40.631
8 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +45.117
9 C. Nunn KTM GBR +49.390
10 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +50.918
11 M. Monni KTM ITA +51.632
12 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +53.183
13 M. Seistola Honda FIN +1' 0.827
14 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1' 5.203
15 T. Rattray KTM RSA +1' 6.533
16 B. Anderson Yamaha GBR +1' 7.906
17 M. De Reuver KTM NED +1' 22.806
18 X. Boog Yamaha FRA +1' 27.227
19 S. Simpson Honda GBR +1' 30.413
20 J. Wing KTM SWE +1' 32.179
Championship standings MX2:1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 305
2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 271
3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 257
4 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 250
5 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 245
6 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 201
7 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 181
8 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 170
9 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 169
10 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 162
11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 157
12 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 148
13 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 143
14 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 112
15 Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94
16 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 89
17 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 87
18 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 69
19 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 64
20 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 50
Manufacturers standings MX2:1 KTM 365
2 Yamaha 351
3 Kawasaki 322
4 Honda 127
5 Suzuki 13
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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