The phenomenon that is Antonio Cairoli's form in the MX2 Motocross World Championship showed no signs of fading today as the flamboyant Sicilian won the Grand Prix of Germany for the fifth round of fifteen in the series. It was the Yamaha De Carli representative's fifth consecutive success (sixth stretching back to 2006) and his fourth double moto triumph of the year. Antonio Cairoli has now won nine MX2 motos from the ten contested this season. His worst result is still the second position he took in the first race of the Spanish Grand Prix. Enjoying ruthless speed on the YZ250F and combined with an excellent physical condition, not to mention a large dose of confidence, the 21 year old is currently unstoppable.
The 2005 World Champ and 2006 runner-up gained his third consecutive pole position as the MX2 qualification heats were scraped with the change of timetable and replaced by an MX1 Timed Practice chrono.
"Tony" hole-shotted both motos and lead from the first corners until the last. The first race was processional and only lively in the final three laps when defending number one Christophe Pourcel closed down the gap to the red-plated '222' machine to set up an exciting climax. Cairoli however showed the extent of his control to register his fastest lap of the race in the final minutes to ensure his chequered flag. The second moto presented a clearer run on a rougher track. Cairoli stretched his lead over Pourcel and Tyla Rattray in the first half of the 18 laps and had the trophy in his pocket from that stage.
Cairoli, who waved to the crowd on the last circulations, dedicated his win to 'all the mothers' in recognition of mothering Sunday in Germany. The Italian's good mood was further buoyed by enlarging his lead in the MX2 championship by six points over Pourcel. His advantage now stands at a hefty 66, almost three full motos.
Davide Guarneri
Yamaha Ricci Racing's Davide Guarneri came back to form in only his second Grand Prix of the year. The friendly Italian won his first (and only so far) moto at Teutschenthal in 2005. He made two decent jumps from the gate and finished fifth in both races for the same classification in the final table.
Team-mate Kenneth Gundersen took the next highest moto placing behind Cairoli with third position in the first race. The Norwegian did not make any mistakes despite pressure from Tyla Rattray. He suffered a bad start in the second moto however and could only work his way back to fourteenth. Gundersen, who has bittersweet memories of Teutschenthal (he won the 250cc GP here in 2002 but then also crashed hard and sustained the painful knee injury that kept him out of the series for well over a year in 2004) was seventh overall and one place behind Nicolas Aubin who did not get away from the gate well in either sprint and couldn't find a good rhythm in Motoone but collected ninth and sixth after two hard rides. His tussle with Tommy Searle was particularly entertaining from which he managed to emerge victorious.
Aubin is sixth in MX2 and three points in front of Gundersen.
Yamaha's motocross crew next race will be the home Grand Prix for Yamaha held at the popular Sugo circuit in two weeks time. Yamaha are undefeated on their Japanese territory with MX1 and MX2 victory in the previous two years. The third incarnation of the Grand Prix of Japan represents round six of the World Championship and the only non-European meeting this season. A special preview, with comments from Yamaha's main protagonists, will be issued next week.
Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha De Carli:"I am happy to give this win to all the mothers as it is mother's day and I love mine very much! This was an important victory as I have never finished on the podium here and for the championship it was very positive. The track was a bit more difficult than before, rougher even, and I prefer this because when it is too easy everybody goes so fast. In the first moto I had the holeshot and went hard on the first lap to make a gap over Gundersen. I could see that Christophe was coming fast but I was able to control the race. He came close at the end but I made two strong laps at the end and he couldn't pass me. The second moto was a little easier. The track was more technical. I took a lead of six or seven seconds over Christophe and it was not as stressful. On the last lap I said 'Ciao' to the crowd."
Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci:"Even with a bit of arm-pump in the first race I could keep third and that was a good result but in the second I made a bad start and couldn't get my rhythm. I was struggling against the bike and the track and couldn't get any speed. To be honest I was riding really badly and that was disappointing because a good overall finish was wasted."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Team Ricci:
"I love this track and I felt quite good today. I had a problem on the left turns because my ankle is still a bit weak but I had two good starts and my speed was also good. Two fifth positions is a great result because this is only my second race of the year and I hope in the next few GPs I can do even better."
Circuit Length: 1780
Temp: 20
Crowd: 32000
Weather: Showers
Race 1 - 18 Laps - GP of Teutschenthal, Germany:1. Antonio Cairoli - Yamaha - ITA 39'32.155
2. Christophe Pourcel - Kawasaki - FRA 0'2.695
3. Kenneth Gundersen - Yamaha - NOR 0'46.329
4. Tyla Rattray - KTM - RSA 0'47.786
5. Davide Guarneri - Yamaha - ITA 0'52.944
6. Pascal Leuret - Honda - FRA 1'3.364
7. Marcus Schiffer - KTM - GER 1'15.902
8. Matti Seistola - Honda - FIN 1'19.038
9. Nicolas Aubin - Yamaha - FRA 1'19.801
10. Carl Nunn - Yamaha - GBR 1'34.835
11. Jeremy Van - Horebeek - KTM - BEL 1'36.225
12. Gautier Paulin - Honda - FRA 1'38.275
13. Shaun Simpson - Kawasaki - GBR 1'40.741
14. Dennis Verbruggen - Yamaha - BEL 1'41.345
15. Tommy Searle - KTM - GBR 1'42.596
16. Tom Church - Kawasaki - GBR 1'43.701
17. Sean Hamblin - Suzuki - USA 1'50.893
18. Jason Dougan - Suzuki - GBR 1'53.369
19. Avis Wyatt - KTM - RSA 1'54.673
20. Manuel Monni - Yamaha - ITA 2'4.369
Race 2 - 18 Laps1. Antonio Cairoli - Yamaha - ITA 39'29.074
2. Christophe Pourcel - Kawasaki - FRA 0'2.511
3. Tyla Rattray - KTM - RSA 0'43.072
4. Pascal Leuret - Honda - FRA 0'50.695
5. Davide Guarneri - Yamaha - ITA 1'0.381
6. Nicolas Aubin - Yamaha - FRA 1'6.520
7. Tommy Searle - KTM - GBR 1'10.604
8. Matti Seistola - Honda - FIN 1'11.903
9. Avis Wyatt - KTM - RSA 1'14.497
10. Carl Nunn - Yamaha - GBR 1'15.371
11. Anthony Boissière - Kawasaki - FRA 1'16.450
12 .Manuel Monni - Yamaha - ITA 1'22.141
13. Jeremy Van Horebeek - KTM - BEL 1'25.861
14. Kenneth Gundersen - Yamaha - NOR 1'28.738
15. Gareth Swanepoel - Kawasaki - RSA 1'30.724
16. Dennis Verbruggen - Yamaha - BEL 1'42.208
17. Rui Goncalves - KTM - POR 1'45.505
18. Tom Church - Kawasaki - GBR 1'46.453
19. Sean Hamblin - Suzuki - USA 1'47.569
20. Marcus Schiffer - KTM - GER 2'2.330
Rider Standings:
1. Antonio Cairoli - Yamaha - ITA 247
2. Christophe Pourcel - Kawasaki - FRA 181
3. Tyla Rattray - KTM - RSA 180
4. Pascal Leuret - Honda - FRA 143
5. Tommy Searle - KTM - GBR 137
6. Nicolas Aubin - Yamaha - FRA 121
7. Kenneth Gundersen - Yamaha - NOR 118
8. Gareth Swanepoel - Kawasaki - RSA 113
9. Matti Seistola - Honda - FIN 104
10. Marcus Schiffer - KTM - GER 85
11. Anthony Boissière - Kawasaki - FRA 67
12. Steven Frossard - Kawasaki - FRA 58
13. Manuel Monni - Yamaha - ITA 55
14. Erik Eggens - Suzuki - NED 54
15. Tom Church - Kawasaki - GBR 53
16. Carl Nunn - Yamaha - GBR 53
17. Dennis Verbruggen - Yamaha - BEL 47
18. Xavier Boog - Yamaha - FRA 46
19. Matteo Bonini - Yamaha - ITA 42
20. Shaun Simpson - Kawasaki - GBR 42
23. Davide Guarneri - Yamaha - ITA 40
Manufacturer Standings:1. Yamaha 247
2. Kawasaki 209
3. KTM 199
4. Honda 148
5. Suzuki 88
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