The MX2 class of the Karcher Grand Prix of Germany was dominated by Christophe Pourcel who achieved his maiden overall success and Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing's Billy Mackenzie was the top YZ250F pilot with fourth place after two hot and demanding motos.
The sunken-bowl landscape of the Talkessel circuit just outside of Teutschenthal presented a bumpy, sunshine baked and fast prospect for the Grand Prix stars. The track was typically rough and quick meaning that the starts largely determined the ranking and Pourcel enjoyed two holeshots that carried a significant advantage.
22 year old Mackenzie, from Edinburgh in Scotland, took results of sixth and fifth in the two 35 minute and two lap motos after battling with fellow Yamaha representatives Antonio Cairoli and Davide Guarneri in both heats.
World Champion Antonio Cairoli was fifth overall but his finishes of fifth and seventh hid a strong vein of courage. The Sicilian crashed in the warm-up and needed treatment for a sore back and neck. He could not maintain his usual pace and was effective only in fits and spurts. A poor start in the second moto prevented a better classification.
The Ricci Racing team were left lamenting their poor luck. Alessio Chiodi had taken his best finish of the year so far with a solid third in the first moto (after Tyla Rattray had crashed) and used all of his experience to make life hard for the works KTMs, who would eventually scale the podium. However a mechanical problem ten minutes from the chequered flag later in the afternoon meant a second DNF from eight motos run so far this season.
His team-mate Kenneth Gundersen was seventh in race one. The Norwegian had recovered from the virus that affected him in Portugal but, like Cairoli, was restricted by bad starts. In the second race he was manfully diverting the attentions of Mackenzie from fifth position before a crash near the end of the moto, followed by another tangle one lap later, relegated him to 15th.
The third member of the team, Guarneri - competing at the venue where he scored his first ever moto victory last year - was sixth in the same race where his compatriots foundered after an earlier DNF.
Mackenzie has finished in the top eight for the last six motos and this consistency has seen him rise to fifth in the World Championship standings just 14 points behind Cairoli.
The fifth round of fifteen in the 2006 FIM World Championship will take place at the Sugo circuit in two weeks time for the Yamaha-backed Grand Prix of Japan.
Billy Mackenzie, Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing:"This is such a big improvement over Portugal and I am pleased to be the first Yamaha rider home. We have been testing a lot over the last few months and now we are at a place with the suspension whereby the bike is working really well. I have steadily moved up in the Championship and I really want to win a couple of races now; some of my favourite tracks are coming up."
Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha:"I had a lot of pain out there, especially in the second heat. My vision was also affected so I was taking a lot of risks. My neck and arms really hurt after a big crash this morning. Luckily for me nothing is broken and to take some points today was good."
Alessio Chiodi, Ricci Racing: "The bike started to make a funny noise with ten minutes to go and I suspected something was wrong. Three laps before the end it lost power and stopped. It is very disappointing to lose the podium because I was having a good race in that second moto. I also threw away some good points."
Kenneth Gundersen, Ricci Racing:"Today was crap. I was fifth in the second moto and made a stupid crash two laps before the end; it was bad luck again. In the first race I had a bad start and came back from 20th to seventh. At least my body feels better and I can only improve from here."
Race classification MX2: Round: 4 - Grand Prix of Germany
Circuit: Teutschenthal
Date: 7 May 2006
Circuit Length: 1780
Crowd: 31000
Temp: 27ºC
Weather: Hot and Sunny
Race: 19 Laps 1 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 40' 9.872
2 M. De Reuver KTM NED +10.382
3 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +13.659
4 T. Rattray KTM RSA +15.355
5 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +17.445
6 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +23.488
7 K. Gundersen Yamaha SWE +42.133
8 A. Leok Yamaha EST +44.952
9 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +46.595
10 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +48.349
11 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +50.102
12 C. Nunn KTM GBR +51.076
13 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +51.400
14 M. Seistola Honda FIN +1' 3.641
15 J. Dougan Honda GBR +1' 5.265
16 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 5.868
17 R. Goncalves KTM POR +1' 6.299
18 M. Nagl KTM GER +1' 17.581
19 F. Mossini Suzuki ITA +1' 23.857
20 J. Wing KTM SWE +1' 27.265
Race 2: 19 Laps1 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 40' 44.965
2 M. De Reuver KTM NED +10.106
3 T. Rattray KTM RSA +20.066
4 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +25.692
5 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +29.066
6 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +39.056
7 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +42.429
8 M. Nagl KTM GER +44.303
9 R. Goncalves KTM POR +45.746
10 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +47.524
11 C. Nunn KTM GBR +48.643
12 L. Seguy Yamaha FRA +49.964
13 M. Monni KTM ITA +57.826
14 A. Leok Yamaha EST +1' 0.389
15 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +1' 0.852
16 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +1' 8.958
17 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1' 12.299
18 M. Seistola Honda FIN +1' 18.220
19 K. Gundersen Yamaha SWE +1' 30.418
20 J. Wing KTM SWE +1' 44.824
Championship standings MX2:1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 166
2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 158
3 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 152
4 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 119
5 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 105
6 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 101
7 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 100
8 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 95
9 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 89
10 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 78
11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 70
12 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 55
13 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 53
14 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 52
15 Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 51
16 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 46
17 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 40
18 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 36
19 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 33
20 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 31
Manufacturers standings MX2:1 KTM 181
2 Yamaha 175
3 Kawasaki 160
4 Honda 79
5 Suzuki 2
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
Related News
