The Grand Prix of Spain at Bellpuig has turned out to another positive meeting for the Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team and the YZ450FM motorcycle. Stefan Everts won the second MX1 moto to claim his 89th career victory and also seize control of the current World Championship standings while Cedric Melotte produced a hard-earned seventh position overall without having too much luck.
After a cold and blustery opening Grand Prix of the season two weeks ago at Zolder in Belgium the hot Spanish sunshine was a welcome sight for the teams and riders as they rolled into the paddock for the second round of fifteen in the 2006 MX1 World Championship. The good weather - combined with the Easter holidays - also drew out the fans as 26, 200 defied the plumes of dust that emanated from the dry, hard and rough terrain.
Stefan Everts was denied his second pole position by just a tenth of a second on Saturday afternoon by Tanel Leok, and over the course of the two Grand Prix motos of 35 minutes and two laps today the Kawasaki rider again plagued the World Champion. Everts led for eight of the 21 circulations before a mistake coming out of the old whoops section at slow speed saw the Belgian drop to fifth place and give the race to Leok and his pursuer Kevin Strijbos who would prove superior to the flag. Everts composed himself to fight back to fourth, but committed several mistakes in his challenge to Jonathan Barragan and could only secure third place with less than two laps to go.
Cedric Melotte rode a good race to tenth after getting stuck in the gate and entering the first corner in last position. The Belgian had a difficult time clawing his way through the field on a course that was not easy for overtaking. He moved past Antti Pyrhonen for tenth, three laps before the chequered flag.
Everts blasted back in convincing fashion in the second moto. The 33 year old, wearing his distinctive blue Acerbis livery, led from the first lap until the last and withstood brief pressure from Leok to complete a vintage performance. Stefan has won 50% of the races so far this campaign and now heads the Championship standings by ten points from his Kawasaki-mounted rival.
Melotte was fourth over the line in a truer showing of his abilities later in the afternoon. He had been holding third on the YZ450FM, but the energy expelled during his first come-back race began to tell and Steve Ramon was able to relegate him to fourth.
The team now face a relatively short trip east across Spain and down to Agueda, some 100km south of Porto, for the Grand Prix of Portugal next weekend.
Stefan Everts"Every time I wear my white kit in the first moto I am riding tense! I felt more relaxed before the race than I did in Zolder and then had a good start so it seemed to be going well but I found that I wasn't comfortable out there. I made a stupid mistake but could then come back to third after a hard fight with Barragan; it was hard to pass him because there were not many lines on the track. Third was good because I knew it gave me more chance of taking the overall. The second moto was much better and the Yamaha worked really well this weekend. I was very satisfied with our performance and we didn't change anything apart from altering the gearing in practice. We tried another tyre also but I ended up using the same model."
Cedric Melotte"The weekend did not start well because I could not get a good lap-time yesterday. I was very disappointed with 22nd but I focussed on making a decent race today. I hit the gate at the start of the first moto and I don't know if it was my fault or the mechanism. Anyway I pushed and came back from last to tenth. In the second race I started better and was third for about half the race but then I slowed down as I got a little bit tired; the first heat was hard. Ramon came through but I kept my rhythm and it was not a bad moto."
Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager"It is another win for us but as usual it is never that easy! Stefan struggled in the first moto and looked tense. Leok was putting on the pressure and Stefan made a silly crash. He came back well but was still making some mistakes. He eventually could pass Barragan for a very important third position and we were satisfied because his main rivals had been so-so. The second race was typical of Stefan. A good start and he made his own rhythm; nobody could catch him and it was perfect. Cedric was very unlucky with the gate. We asked to see the TV replay and it is hard to tell if the gate did not work or it was his mistake so we could not make a protest. Anyway he came back with a lot of determination to tenth. That was good for him because he needs to be in competition with the other guys and return to his true level. His speed was good in the last moto and he showed that he can run at the front. It is understandable that he faded a little because of the effort from the first heat."
Round: 2 - 2006 GP of Bellpuig, Spain
Circuit: Bellpuig
Date: 16 April 2006
Crowd: 26200
Temp: 22ºC
Weather: Sunny
MX1 Race 1: 21 Laps1 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL 39' 17.220
2 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +9.438
3 S. Everts Yamaha BEL +12.955
4 J. Barragan KTM ESP +16.056
5 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +20.073
6 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +23.507
7 S. Tortelli KTM FRA +51.134
8 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +53.844
9 J. Noble Honda GBR +1' 5.714
10 C. Melotte Yamaha BEL +1' 12.991
11 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 14.711
12 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 16.824
13 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 20.718
14 D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1' 22.823
15 J. Lindhe KTM SWE +1' 28.458
16 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1' 29.712
17 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1' 32.892
18 M. Hucklebridge Kawasaki GBR +1' 34.596
19 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1' 47.099
20 A. Lozano KTM ESP +1 lap(s)
MX1 Race 2: 22 LapsPos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 30.007
2 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +17.460
3 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +22.900
4 C. Melotte Yamaha BEL +39.465
5 S. Tortelli KTM FRA +46.185
6 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +55.033
7 J. Barragan KTM ESP +1' 0.680
8 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 4.048
9 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 9.278
10 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +1' 12.796
11 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1' 28.469
12 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1' 31.381
13 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1' 33.111
14 A. Bobkovs Honda LVA +1' 35.481
15 D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1' 36.685
16 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 37.850
17 M. Hucklebridge Kawasaki GBR +1' 39.607
18 J. Noble Honda GBR +1' 52.646
19 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +1 lap(s)
20 A. Lozano KTM ESP +1 lap(s)
Championship standings MX11 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 92
2 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 82
3 Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 77
4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 69
5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 61
6 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 60
7 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 59
8 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 54
9 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 47
10 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 30
11 James Noble Honda GBR 29
12 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 28
13 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 26
14 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 25
15 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 22
16 Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 22
17 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 19
18 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 19
19 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED 14
20 Mark Hucklebridge Kawasaki GBR 12
Manufacturers standings MX11 Yamaha 50
2 Kawasaki 42
3 KTM 40
4 Suzuki 38
5 Honda 31
6 TM 9
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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