Red Bull KTM's South African rider Tyla Rattray came, saw and conquered the rough track at Teutschenthal, Germany on Sunday with a 2-1 result for overall victory.
Rattray's second race left no-one in doubt that he is hot property and determined to go to his home GP in South Africa as the holder of the red number placte as the championship leader.
Top racing
Rattray came in second in the first race behind title holder and arch rival Antonio Carioli but was supreme in the second, amassing a lead of some 30 seconds in the closing stages, enough to coast home and enjoy the adoration of the crowd on the way back to the chequered flag.
"I went out hard and I feel so good on the bike that I just feel I can hit the level I want at any time," he said. I had two good starts and I had some good lines. I put in some good laps and it would be great to take the red plate back to South Africa. I love to race and I love to win." Rattray must first compete in Sweden, a circuit he says he enjoys and then he heads south for the races in his own country.
Two holeshots for Goncalves
Team-mate Rui Goncalves also showed renewed confidence for two homeshots and a 6-4 result and overall fourth place. Goncalves shot out of the start gates in race two and led for the opening laps and only after riders had settled into the race was he overcome by Rattray and eventually had to settle for fourth place, still a confidence building result for the rider in his first year in the factory team.
"I had two good starts and two holeshots. I was fast in the first laps of race two but then things got tight and Tyla passed me. Still it was a great weekend for me and I am very happy," Rui said after the race.
Hard weekend for Searle
It was not the day for the other Red Bull KTM factory rider, Tommy Searle of Britain. But he did managed to scrape the points together to finish overall fifth, despite a nasty crash with just five minutes to go in race two that threw him over the handlebars and knocked him from third to ninth position. Searle brushed it off as a "silly mistake" but said it had been a hard weekend.
"I had a bad start in the first race but I was riding well. Then it was better in the second race until I had that crash. It was hard because the track was very rough and I was having some trouble with my shock absorber. Still I'm looking forward to the next race in Sweden. It's where I had my first win and I like the track there." For his day's work, Tommy did pick up 32 additional championship points and is still second in the standings behind Rattray. Goncalves is consolidating and is now fifth.
Overall results:
1. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM
2. Antonio Cairoli, Italy, Yamaha
3. Steven Frossard, France, Kawasaki
4. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM
5. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM
Other KTM:
6. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM
7. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM
11. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM
12. Jeremy Tarroux, France, KTM
19. Anthony Boisserie France, KTM
Standings:
1. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM, 326 points
2. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM, 315
3. Antonio Cairoli, Italy, 310
4. Shaun Simpson, Britain, 209
5. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM 198
Images by Archer R.
