The Grand Prix of Bulgaria represented the seventh meeting this year to fall to the talents and speed of Yamaha De Carli's Antonio Cairoli and his fettled YZ250F.
The Sicilian, with his electric, loose and flamboyant style, won both motos under the hot eastern European sunshine at Sevlievo for his sixth 'double' of the season. He has yet to finish lower than third from sixteen races and has not trodden lower than the second step on the overall Grand Prix podium. He has been beaten only once.
The Sevlievo dirt was hard and sun-baked although watering from the organisers in an effort to contain the dust was a problem for the MX2 class who entered the gate first to start the race programme on Sunday. Some sections of the fast and jumpy course were slippery and rough, making the terrain difficult to tackle throughout the course; the added high temperatures of 30 degrees plus did not make things any easier.
Cairoli won his seventh qualification heat on Saturday to take to the line with second position for Sunday. He passed Tommy Searle on the first lap of the initial MX2 moto and from the point when he had a clear track ahead of him, the race was his. The 21 year old furrowed a lonely but victorious path to his thirteenth moto from the last fifteen. A collision out of the gate with World Champion Christophe Pourcel meant that he had to engage in some hand-to-hand combat in the second race but showed his ease on the surface by using different lines and momentum in the early laps and was soon heading the field once again. He was able to beat Pourcel and has now collected fourteen from sixteen chequered flags.
Yamaha Team Ricci's Davide Guarneri registered his best moto result of the season with a confident ride to fifth. In fact it was his second highest race finish since 2005 after a problematic '06 season with injury (he was fourth at the British GP last June). The Italian was sick during the week however and felt weak going into Moto2. He lasted the distance and was able to obtain twelfth place for seventh position overall and be the second best Yamaha rider of the day.
Team-mate Nicolas Aubin and Bike it Dixon Yamaha's Carl Nunn followed in the GP classification with eighth and ninth. For Nunn it was one of his better results since joining the British team in the winter. Aubin suffered with his starts and was tenth and ninth.
Kenneth Gundersen, now recovered from the stomach upset that limited his options in France last week, started badly in Moto1 after a first corner spill and was unable to make a decent impact on the race. He swallowed the roost of others and was held up to only score sixteenth by the end. The Norwegian was able to take more points in the second MX2 contest with a decent ride to sixth; his highest finish since the German GP.
Cairoli's masterful form in the MX2 class this season means that he now enjoys an 83 point lead over Pourcel in the championship. Aubin is seventh and twenty points ahead of Gundersen.
Antonio Cairoil, Yamaha De Carli:"Pourcel and I had some contact coming out of the start but we are fighting for the championship so this is OK and part of the racing. We lost balance and touched, there is no big deal. I have won seven GPs now and that is a lot. To have such a big lead is not what I was expecting before Valkenswaard. I really like this track here. Last year I won a moto but crashed in the next race and took zero points, so this is a big improvement. It is not my favourite place because I prefer softer ground but I had a great feeling with my bike and could make a good race. It was hot but my physical condition was fine. The first moto was over quite quickly but I liked the second because I had to pass Tommy and Leuret and find some interesting lines; it was fun."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Team Ricci:"My condition is getting better but unfortunately on Wednesday and Thursday I was a little bit sick and in these high temperatures yesterday and today it was very difficult. My speed was quite good though. In the first moto I started around the top ten and took fifth place. My rhythm was great and Tyla and Leuret were just slightly faster than me otherwise I could have looked to fourth. In the second race, before the start, I knew it would be hard to keep a good pace all the way. I took twelfth place which was not so bad for the points. This is another small step for me and I feel quite good. When I have the stamina for two good motos maybe the podium will be reachable."
Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci:"In the first race I crashed on the first corner and restarted completely last. I pushed with everything I had and I saw by the lap-times that I was running the same speed as the top five. I finished fifteenth and the result was not good but I was quite pleased with the riding. In the last moto I got a good start and did all I could. This is the level where I want to be now. I will train hard and hopefully be able to step it up for Sweden."
Carl Nunn, Bike it Dixon Yamaha Racing:"I want to be better than this, even if each overall result in the top ten is helping me in the championship. I want to keep on getting as many points as I can and climb up the table. I should be knocking on the door a little bit more now for tenth place. I am happy enough but we are working on the beginning of the race at the moment because I am too slow in the first laps. My pace is OK as the race goes on and I get faster towards the end. My fitness is not the problem and I am getting quicker and quicker. If I get a good start then I drop places at the beginning because the others are pushing. We have to sort this out and that's what we are focussing on. The top five should not be far away."
Temp: 34c
Crowd: 25,000
Weather: Sunny
Race 1 - 20 Laps:1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'38.712
2 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'8.615
3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'12.634
4 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'18.700
5 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 0'25.765
6 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'29.678
7 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 0'31.902
8 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'32.838
9 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 0'34.122
10 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'35.158
11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'45.233
12 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 0'48.024
13 Jeremy Tarroux Yamaha FRA 0'50.616
14 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'52.059
15 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 0'53.678
16 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'57.735
17 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'3.725
18 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'8.549
19 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'16.720
20 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'14.271
Race 2 - 20 Laps:
1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'18.944
2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'7.187
3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'8.678
4 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'9.716
5 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'18.945
6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'20.073
7 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'33.505
8 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 0'35.422
9 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'42.521
10 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'51.304
11 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 0'59.513
12 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'7.362
13 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'9.823
14 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 1'13.778
15 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'24.500
16 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'26.355
17 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'30.602
18 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'46.732
19 Jeremy Tarroux Yamaha FRA 1'52.094
20 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR 1'52.987
Rider Standings: 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 392
2. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 309
3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 298
4. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 245
5. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 244
6. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 201
7. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 188
8. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 168
9. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 137
10. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 129
11. Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 111
12. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 99
13. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 95
14. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 94
15. Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 79
16. Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 76
17. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 68
18. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 63
19. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 60
20. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 58
Manufacturer Standings: 1. Yamaha 392
2. Kawasaki 320
3. KTM 319
4. Honda 245
5. Suzuki 139
Related News
