After an excellent start in the first MX1 race on the Sugoland motocross circuit north of Tokyo where KTM Red Bull factory riders Jonathan Barragan and David Philippaerts were second and fourth respectively, the MX1 riders were unable to convert the result. The Italian Philippaerts managed sixth in race two for an eventual overall fourth position, whereas the Spaniard Barragan crashed several times and when he was among one of a number of riders who came unstuck going over the tabletop he decided to retire from race two.
The Spaniard's misfortune in Japan means the two riders virtually exchange places on the standings table with Philippaerts moving from seventh to fifth place and Barragan dropping from sixth position after Germany last weekend down to seventh place.
Meanwhile, KTM's newest recruit to the factory rider status, German Max Nagl was overall twelfth after finishing at fifteenth in race one and twelfth race two. It was announced in Germany last weekend that the 19-year-old motocross talent, until now a KTM factory supported rider, had been signed as a fully fledged factory rider.
Results:1. Billy Mackenzie, Britain, Kawasaki
2. Mike Brown, USA, Honda
3. Joshua Coppins, New Zealand, Yamaha
4. David Philippaerts, Italy, KTM
5. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki
10. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM
12. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM
Third Place For KTM's Searle In SugoTommy Searle, the most junior rider in he KTM Red Bull Racing Team's MX2 factory team line-up continued to mess with the big guys on Sunday, scoring a third place in the world championships Grand Prix in Sugo Japan at the weekend.
Searle's 4-3 result in the two individual races were enough to secure him the podium, while his more senior team-mate, Tyla Rattray of South Africa ended the day in fourth overall with a creditable 2-5 result. In a day of competition characterized by crashes, Rattray also went down during the second race and although he injured his hand had no trouble finishing the race.
Rattray, a pre-season favourite for the title therefore missed out on his wish to be on the podium every race in a scramble bid for the title. Meanwhile Antonio Cairoli, the dominant Italian racer in the class, had a 3-1 result to amass even more of a lead in the standings.
Rattray is now third and Searle in fourth place in the standings, but there is no ignoring that the powerful Cairoli whose third place in Japan was his worse result so far this season, now has a commanding lead.
After their brief sojourn at the Japanese motocross facility, the team now returns to Europe for the next event in France.
Results: 1. Christophe Pourcel, France, Kawasaki
2. Antonio Cairoli, Italy, Yamaha
3. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM
4. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM
5. Gareth Swanepoel, South Africa, Kawasaki
Related News
