KTM Red Bull Racing Team’s MX1 duo of Jonathan Barragan and David Philippaerts will be racing with a new engine at the fifth round of the world championships this weekend, the Grand Prix of Germany at Teutschenthal, Germany. Philippaerts, who was in Germany early together with team boss Stefan Everts and the KTM mechanics to test the new engine, expressed satisfaction on the eve of the event.
“I am very happy with the engine and the bike is going very well,” Philippaerts said. In the limited time between the fourth round in Mantova and the German event, the Italian rider absolved some free training at home before heading north to test the new engine. Hopefully, Philippaerts teammate Jonathan Barragan of Spain will be free of pain from a shoulder injury that has hampered him in the last races.
Pit Beirer, KTM’s Offroad Director said he was hoping that the new MX1 engine would help the team onto the podium to grab a share of the success of the MX 2 duo of South African Tyla Rattray and Briton Tommy Searle.
“I am happy with the performance of the MX2 guys. We have had at least one of them on the podium for each round so far but of course it’s better with both of them up there,” Beirer said. Last weekend in Mantova Rattray came in second while the upstart Searle was right up with him in third place. The British teenager is on a success streak and is showing no respect for more experienced riders in the class.
Beirer said he was looking forward to GP in Teutschenthal, a location that he remembers with good emotions from his own professional riding career. “This is like a home GP for me and I hope we will be fighting for podiums in both classes.”
Tyla Rattray, second in the standings, is now keen to make a podium in every remaining race and whenever possible to reduce the commanding lead of Italian Antonio Cairoli and to make his own bid for the title. Between t he races, Rattray has been in Belgium together with team boss Everts, sharpening his riding skills ahead of Germany. “I had a good race here in Germany last year and I like the circuit. My goal is to go for the win, from now on I want to be on the podium every time,” Rattray said.
Organizers have reported that in recent weeks thousands of tones of sand has been spread on the track and mixed together with the very hard ground surface.
This should not only reduce dust and make the watering more effective but also made the circuit even more demanding for the riders.
Related News
