Action All The Way at Mallory Park British MX GP
Published by Neil Everett
02 June 2008, 23:18
|
|
A perfect Grand Prix of Great Britain got underway at the brand new facility of Mallory Park, with a massive crowd of 41.000 people showing up to see the best Motocross series in the world which will come back to the Island on September 28th for the Red Bull FIM Motocross of Nations at Donington Park. Jonathan Barragan took his maiden MX1 victory today in dry conditions while Antonio Cairoli won the MX2 Grand Prix to take also the red plate. Peter Iven took a clean sweep at round two of the Veterans’ World Cup winning both heats and storming to the top of the standings. MX1 At the end of a fantastic weekend, AXO KTM Silver Action’s Jonathan Barragan took his maiden Grand Prix victory despite a last lap crash which has happened often in the latest events. Teka Suzuki’s WMX1’s Ken de Dycker came back to the podium after his latest appearance in Spain and took second from David Philippaerts, riding for Yamaha Monster Motocross. Teka Suzuki WMX1’s Steve Ramon and Kawasaki Racing Europe’s Tanel Leok, who celebrated his twenty-third birthday today, rounded off the top five ahead of the first placed home rider Billy Mackenzie. Top five overall:
- Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 45 points
- Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 40 points
- David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 36 points
- Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 36 points
- Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), 31 points
MX1 RACE 1 Barragan took an early lead while De Dycker, Philippaerts, De Reuver and Pourcel got involved in a tangle. As the latter damaged his bike and was forced to retire, Philippaerts and De Dycker worked their way up from the tail of the group to the first spots. Barragan dropped down as Ramon took the lead, with the Spaniard being overtaken also by Philippaerts and De Dycker. Philippaerts crashed at the last lap, rejoining the race to end an eventual fifth. On the other hand De Dycker was handed the runner up spot and moved past Ramon in the final lap. Barragan completed the top three with Nagl ending fourth. Both Mackenzie and Coppins crashed, ending respectively tenth and eleventh. Top five:
- Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 39:43.553
- Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:01.776
- Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), +0:06.692
- Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:28.122
- David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:35.274
MX1 RACE 2 De Reuver took an early lead but crashed and ended an eventual eleventh while Nagl went out after a stone hit him on the nose. KTM fellow rider Barragan found himself at the lead and remained there until the chequered flag. The Spaniard experienced a quick setback as he crashed in the final lap but he had enough advantage not to lose the lead. After a difficult start, Pourcel took second at the end of a solid moto, battling it out with Philippaerts who ended third. Mackenzie was fourth after he made both Philippaerts and Pourcel’s lives harder when both tried to pass him. Tanel Leok ended fifth ahead of team mates De Dycker and Ramon. De Dycker was actually involved in another tangle at lap one. Top five:
- Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 40:29.703
- Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:05.567
- David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:06.502
- Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), +0:07.528
- Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), +0:08.843
MX2June 1 was Tony Cairoli’s day as the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli rider took both the victory and the red plate at the end of a hard fought day. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray took another second overall after an incredible recovery in the final heat, when team mate Tommy Searle secured the third place overall to become the only home rider to mount on the Grand Prix podium today. KTM UK’s Shaun Simpson was fourth after he and Searle set the crowd on fire during a duel in the opening heat. Molson Kawasaki’s Stephen Sword rounded off the top five. Jeremy van Horebeek did not take part to either of the heats as he injured his left wrist in the morning’s warm up. Top five overall:
- Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 47 points
- Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 43 points
- Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 42 points
- Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 32 points
- Stephen Sword (GBR, Kawasaki), 31 points
MX2 RACE 1 As Searle and Boissiere fought for the holeshot, Rattray actually took the lead before the end of the opening lap. The South African was on fire and just pulled away from the rest of the field, the only worry came from Cairoli, who made a mistake at the start and lost vital time. The Italian worked his way up to arrive on Rattray’s tail towards the end of the heat, ending a close second. Searle and Simpson battled it out for second in the opening laps, setting the crowd on fire, Searle ended third and Simpson fourth, with Boissiere rounding off the top five. Sword crashed but made up ground until the sixth place. Top five:
- Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 39:19.887
- Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:00.558
- Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +0:41.901
- Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:53.881
- Anthony Boissiere (FRA, KTM), +0:58.662
MX2 RACE 2 The final moto was Cairoli’s from the start to the flag, as the Sicilian took a dominant win from Searle. The latter remained close until he settled for second, crossing the finish line with a five second delay. A superb Frossard made up for the bike problems of heat one to finish third after he tried to pass Searle in the opening laps. Rattray was caught in a tangle during the opening lap, by the time he restarted, he was outside the top 20 but just rolled up his sleeves to exploit all the open doors he found through the pack. Rattray ended a solid fourth, crashing at lap fifteen, while Sword rounded off the top five after he battled tooth and nail with British countryman Simpson. Top five:
- Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 40:04.833
- Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +0:05.609
- Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:37.874
- Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), +0:50.806
- Stephen Sword (GBR, Kawasaki), +0:52.032
In the world championship points standings Philippaerts brought home the red plate again with Ramon still following from second. De Dycker and Coppins swapped places with the Belgian being now third. Mackenzie and Pourcel are still fifth and sixth while Barragan moved up to seventh. Top ten: - David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 223 points
- Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 195 points
- Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 175 points
- Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 168 points
- Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), 159 points
- Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 151 points
- Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 150 points
- Marc de Reuver (NED, Honda), 138 points
- Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 132 points
- Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), 129 points
Cairoli is back on the top of the standings with Rattray following from very close, as he is just one point behind. Searle holds the third place from Aubin and Simpson, who just moved past Goncalves. Van Horebeek dropped down to tenth with Monni improving from 11th to eighth. Top ten:
- Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 243 points
- Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 242 points
- Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 233 points
- Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 158 points
- Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 156 points
- Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 148 points
- Stephen Sword (GBR, Kawasaki), 144 points
- Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 119 points
- Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 119 points
- Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 109 points
FIM VETERANS’ MOTOCROSS WORLD CUP Starting from pole for the second time this season, Belgian Peter Iven took victory in both motos to bring home the red plate. Making up for his difficult Spanish weekend, Dave Thorpe collected the first podium of 2008 by finishing twice runner up to Iven, last year’s Cup winner moved up to second in the points and he is just 14 points away from Iven with one remaining round. Jan Blancquaert took the last step of the podium as he finished fourth and third in the heats while former series leader Toine van Dijk ended fourth. Terry House rounded off the top five ahead of Thierry Godfroid. Top five overall: - Peter Iven (BEL, Kawasaki), 50 points
- Dave Thorpe (GBR, Honda), 44 points
- Jan Blancquaert (BEL, Kawasaki), 38 points
- Toine van Dijk (NED, Suzuki), 31 points
- Terry House (GBR, Suzuki), 30 points
Top five points standings: - Peter Iven (BEL, Kawasaki), 82 points
- Dave Thorpe (GBR, Honda), 68 points
- Toine van Dijk (NED, Suzuki), 67 points
- Thierry Godfroid (BEL, Kawasaki), 63 points
- Scott Eastwood (GBR, Honda), 57 points
|
|
