MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli finished off a Grand Prix podium for the first time since Namur, August 2007 after suffering a first corner crash in a wet second moto at Sevlievo for the Bulgarian round of the FIM series. The fourth round of fifteen took place under changeable weather conditions that saw the first race occur in sunshine and the second on a slippery and soggy terrain. The Sicilian was seventh overall but had already banked some points with a comprehensive victory in Moto1.
The Bulgarian dirt was hard and flat and together with the layout created a fast course that left little room for error. The start and initial corners were vital in determining the leading positions as lap-times generally remained fairly close and overtaking was difficult.
Cairoli enacted a fantastically close duel with Tommy Searle during the Saturday qualification Heat and got the better of the Briton to secure his second consecutive pole position. The pair briefly resumed their fracas in the first GP moto but the Yamaha De Carli rider unearthed a series of rapid circulations on his YZ250F to break free from his English rival and win his third moto in succession.
The second race could not have started more differently. The 22 year old slid off in front of the pack entering the first right turn and was hit by Tyla Rattray. Then, while pushing to regain positions, was struck from behind by another rider and again hit the ground, losing time to restart. He finished down in nineteenth.Aubin
Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin also had a contrasting set of results. The Frenchman could not recover well from a start that left him in the bottom half of the top twenty on the first lap of Moto1 and scored thirteenth. He did however reverse his fortunes in the second sprint when he chased Shaun Simpson and Tommy Searle and was less than three seconds from first position by the end of the race. His third place meant a ranking of fifth overall.
Team-mate Davide Guarneri was sixteenth in the final GP standing. The Italian had to qualify via the Last Chance session after a heavy crash during Saturday's Heat race. A fall in Moto1 meant that he was unable to restart, while he was one of the casualties of the first corner mayhem in Moto2. The 23 year old did manage to capture a hard-won tenth by the end of the 35 minutes and 2 laps.
Cairoli's team-mate, Matteo Bonini, made a welcome return to Grand Prix action only two weeks after he recovered sufficiently from a dislocated shoulder. The Italian is lacking race speed and fitness but registered a total of six points with nineteenth overall.
3C Racing's Manuel Monni was a consistent figure around the top ten and earned eleventh position thanks to finishes of twelfth and eleventh.
Cairoli lost a little ground in the world championship standings and rests 4 points behind new leader Tyla Rattray. Aubin is fourth and 43 away from the top three. Guarneri is seventh.
The MX2-GP elite will be in action in the space of seven days as the Italian Grand Prix at the jumpy Mantova circuit constitutes round five.
Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 7th:"Of course, after the first moto, I expected more from this GP. I had a really good start in the second moto and when I cut tight for the corner my front wheel slipped away. Everyone was really close and Tyla hit me in the back, which caused a lot of pain. I lost time restarting but worked my way back to 12th, and that was OK because Tyla was in the same group and I felt like I was riding really well. Then when I came down one of the hills a rider had stopped in the line in front of me so I had to slow also and I was hit from behind. The handlebars were covered with mud, so I quickly had to clean them and try to go again. I wanted to keep positive and try for points so I kept pushing and reached 19th. I am now second and four points behind Tyla. This is manageable, and the next GP is in Italy so we will be strong. I want the red plate again in Mantova."
Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 5th:"I was missing something today. I started badly in the first moto and could not get a rhythm. I tried to push hard but could not pass the other riders, thirteenth was a poor result. In the second race I felt better and faster and was in the fight for first position which was good. I like Mantova and I must get better because we have had four GPs now and I have not made the results that I want. I have a good bike and my physical condition is OK. I just need a little something extra and that second moto was good for my head."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 16th:"A bad weekend; too many crashes. I like this track but I had a big crash in the heat on Saturday and hit my head so I had to go through the last chance. My gate was far to the outside. I started way back in the first moto and after a few laps I was up to 14th but I lost the front wheel on a jump and I could not restart the bike. Many riders fell at the start of the second moto and I got pushed outside and also crashed, again! It was very slippery there. I pushed and I rode pretty well to finish 10th which was OK. I lost points today but the championship still has a long way to go."
Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 19th:"I did not feel too bad out there. My shoulder was OK, considering I only started training two weeks ago. I pushed so hard in those two weeks to make this GP that I think it left me very tired today. I gained some points at least and things can only get better. I wanted to make this GP to get some race time before Mantova. The track there is difficult but now I am a little bit more familiar with the speed the guys are making now.
Temp: 15 degrees
Crowd: 27,000
Weather: Changeable
Race 1 - 19 Laps - GP of Bulgaria, Sevlievo: 11/05/20081. Antonio Cairoli - Yamaha - ITA 39'3.9532 .Tommy Searle - KTM - GBR 0'2.943
3. Tyla Rattray - KTM - RSA 0'3.719
4. Stephen Sword - Kawasaki - GBR 0'18.419
5. Gautier Paulin - Kawasaki - FRA 0'20.386
6. Marvin Musquin - Honda - FRA 0'24.837
7. Xavier Boog - Suzuki - FRA 0'27.211
8. Anthony Boissiere - KTM - FRA 0'31.010
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek - KTM - BEL 0'36.679
10. Rui Goncalves - KTM - POR 0'42.073
11. Shaun Simpson - KTM - GBR 0'47.949
12. Manuel Monni - Yamaha - ITA 0'50.73813. Nicolas Aubin - Yamaha - FRA 0'56.22014. Jason Dougan - Suzuki - GBR 1'0.504
15. Gregory Aranda - Kawasaki - FRA 1'5.079
16. Kounsith Vongsana - Kawasaki - FRA 1'7.458
17. Jeremy Tarroux - KTM - FRA 1'9.300
18. Elliott Banks-Browne - Suzuki - GBR 1'12.926
19. Matteo Bonini - Yamaha - ITA 1'15.67720. Shannon Terreblanche - Suzuki - RSA 1'16.915
Race 2 - 19 Laps: 1. Tommy Searle - KTM - GBR 39'48.824
2. Shaun Simpson - KTM - GBR 0'0.430
3. Nicolas Aubin - Yamaha - FRA 0'2.8114. Xavier Boog - Suzuki - FRA 0'16.230
5. Tyla Rattray - KTM - RSA 0'22.889
6. Anthony Boissiere - KTM - FRA 0'25.473
7. Rui Goncalves - KTM - POR 0'27.206
8. Jeremy Van Horebeek - KTM - BEL 1'12.440
9. Gregory Aranda - Kawasaki - FRA 1'14.557
10. Davide Guarneri - Yamaha - ITA 1'18.343
11. Manuel Monni - Yamaha - ITA 1'21.577
12. Marvin Musquin - Honda - FRA 1'35.750
13. Carl Nunn - Suzuki - GBR 1'38.871
14. Jason Dougan - Suzuki - GBR 1'45.436
15. Shannon Terreblanche - Suzuki - RSA 1'46.912
16. Joel Roelants - KTM - BEL 1'48.078
17. Matteo Bonini - Yamaha - ITA 1'54.45518. Wyatt Avis - Honda - RSA 2'4.616
19. Antonio Cairoli - Yamaha - ITA -1 Laps20. Julien Vanni - KTM - FRA -1 Laps
RIDER STANDINGS: 1. Tyla Rattray - KTM - RSA 157
2. Antonio Cairoli - Yamaha - ITA 1533. Tommy Searle - KTM - GBR 149
4. Rui Goncalves - KTM - POR 106
5. Nicolas Aubin - Yamaha - FRA 1066. Stephen Sword - Kawasaki - GBR 98
7. Davide Guarneri - Yamaha - ITA 978. Shaun Simpson - KTM - GBR 92
9. Xavier Boog - Suzuki - FRA 87
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek - KTM - BEL 82
11. Manuel Monni - Yamaha - ITA 79
12. Gautier Paulin - Kawasaki - FRA 64
13. Joel Roelants - KTM - BEL 54
14. Anthony Boissiere - KTM - FRA 50
15. Marvin Musquin - Honda - FRA 47
16. Jeremy Tarroux - KTM - FRA 38
17. Erik Eggens - Suzuki - NED 38
18. Gregory Aranda - Kawasaki - FRA 36
19. Carl Nunn - Suzuki - GBR 35
20. Gert Krestinov - KTM - EST 23
22. Evgeny Bobryshev - Yamaha - RUS 20
30. Alessandro Lupino - Yamaha - ITA 8
31. Matteo Bonini - Yamaha - ITA 6MANUFACTURER STANDINGS:1. Yamaha 1862. KTM 184
3. Kawasaki 116
4. Suzuki 113
5. Honda 52
