KTM Red Bull MX1 factory rider Jonathan Barragan finally put injured shoulder problems aside, snatched overall second place in the 8th round of the World Championships and won praise from team boss Stefan Everts as his MX1 Man of the Day in Bulgaria. The Spanish rider has been plagued with injuries to the right and left shoulders from crashes in earlier rounds. He won the first heat then fought his way back to fifth after a crash in the second to relish his reward on the podium of the Bulgarian Grand Prix. "I finally got a grip on my shoulder problems and I felt good today," the Spaniard said. "I like this track and now I want to move on from here and get as many podiums at possible for the rest of the season. I want to be in the top three at the end of the season."
Barragan is fifth in the championship standings after Sunday's races and among his opponents for a season's podium is his team-mate David Philippaerts who had a 5-3 result for overall fifth.
"David is going to one of the ones that I will have to beat and he's going really well, Barragan said. But the rivalry between them is good-natured. "We get on well together and we train together," Barragan said.
Philippaerts was a little too slow of the mark and a little too relaxed in heat one. He then came unstuck and crashed and was unable to get back with the front runners. The Italian had a good start in the second heat and worked his way from fifth to eventual third place.
"I'm quite happy with my result here and from now on there are a lot of tracks I like," Philippaerts said. "I am going to try to make as many points as possible and to be very focused on my training."
"Jonathan won the hole shot in his first heat and he was very fast this weekend," Everts. "He needs a bit more experience but I am very confident in him. He will have many beautiful races."
KTM's third factory rider, German Max Nagl did not race in Bulgaria after breaking his shoulder in France last weekend.
Results:1. Joshua Coppins, New Zealand, Yamaha
2. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM
3. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki
4. Sebastian Pourcel, France, Kawasaki
5. David Philippaerts, Italy, KTM
6. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM DNS
Two Podiums For KTM Red Bull MX 2 Riders Rattray And Searle In Bulgaria
KTM Red Bull MX2 riders registered a near perfect day at the Bulgarian Grand Prix finishing with a second and third place for valuable championship points.
South Africa Tyla Rattray may be still dissatisfied with the opening phases of his races, but practice makes perfect and the red-headed rider is on his way forward. He was third in the first heat behind the all-powerful Antonio Cairoli and KTM's own Tommy Searle. In the second race Rattray came in at third place again for overall second while teenager Tommy was fifth for third place at the end of the day. Not surprisingly, team boss Stefan Everts was justifiably pleased with his MX2 duo.
Tyla is in third place in the season's standings, just 11 points behind Christophe Pourcel, even if the Italian Cairoli continues to dominate the season. "I'm getting closer to a high spot o the podium" Rattray said after the races. "But I'm still missing the pace in the first 10 minutes of the race. Today was a good step forward and I'll continue to work on my starts in training. I am happy to have Tommy on the podium with me. He works hard and he is improving all the time."
Searle, the young British teenager, who has been consistently posing a threat to the front runners, said he wants to work at being more consistent. "I miss the speed," he said "But I am going to try to be better for next year."
"Tommy was very good today," Everts said. "He had lap times near Cairoli. He was very strong and I'm impressed." That was high praise from the man who has 10 world championship titles to his name.
Riders had to contend with very hot conditions at Sevlievo in central Bulgaria and rain, which had cooled off training on Saturday, failed to materialize on race day Sunday.
Riders meet again in Sweden for the next round of the championships.
Results:1. Antonio Cairoli, Italy, Yamaha
2. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM
3. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM
4. Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki
5. Pascal Leuret, France, Honda
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