With a moto victory and second position in front of 34,000 spectators and under hot sunshine at Teutschenthal, Antonio Cairoli took the same points as the winner of the MX2-GP Grand Prix of Germany but walked away from round eight of fifteen in the world championship as runner-up due to the second moto ranking. The fast and hard Talkessel circuit benefitted from bright conditions and warm temperatures as the biggest crowd for more than ten years at the venue close to the city of Halle filled the grassy banks.
Cairoli earned his sixth pole position of the season on Saturday after chasing and then easing past Rui Goncalves for victory in the first qualification heat. The Red Bull De Carli rider looked back to his dominant best in the first GP moto as he hunted down early leader Goncalves and proceeded to establish a comfortable distance over Tyla Rattray, it was his sixth chequered flag of the year. The Sicilian entered the gate for the second outing hoping to repeat his double moto victory of 2007 but a mediocre start and some curious lethargy in the first three laps meant that Rattray had long-gone at the front of the field by the time the 22 year old arrived to second place. The South African clinched his second success of 2008 while Cairoli gained some precious points on his other title rival Tommy Searle who finished fifth overall. Still third in the championship standings the world champion is now just 16 points from Rattray at the peak of the table and 5 behind Searle.
One week after winning the Italian MX2 Championship Manuel Monni posted good results of 8th and 10th to finish 9th overall and was the second best YZ250F pilot on the day. Yamaha Van Beers' Evgeny Bobryshev was 15th overall, and with 11 points registered his second highest haul of the season so far. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin had a forgettable weekend. The Frenchman had to qualify through the Last Chance session on Saturday after two crashes in the Heat race. Down in 26th position he could not find a good rhythm across the dry and hard German mud and was only able to score points in one moto, finishing 20th overall. He has now slipped to sixth in the championship and is 21 points from his former standing of fourth. Team-mate Davide Guarneri made his Grand Prix comeback after falling and injuring his right knee in practice for the Italian Grand Prix in May. The winner of the Spanish round was lacking confidence on the turns and took only two points in the first moto.
Matteo Bonini tried to compete after coming through qualification yesterday but had too much pain in the left hand he injured in France. Although an x-ray confirmed that there was no break, the Italian could not properly hold the bike and pulled out of the first moto. He will now go for a scan to check for possible ligament damage. Round ten takes place next weekend at the Uddevalla circuit for the Grand Prix of Sweden.
Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 2nd:
"After three or four laps in the first moto I got the lead and found a good rhythm. I made a gap over Tyla and the rest was quite easy. In the second moto my start was not the best and after a mistake on the first lap and taking too long to pass Shaun and Steven I had lost too much time to Tyla, he was uncatchable. Tommy is a very fast rider and a good one but Tyla has more experience and I think he is the bigger threat for the title, he makes less mistakes. I lost a lot of points in France so it was important to take a good result here. It will be hard to get the red-plate back because the three of us are so close each week but we still have plenty of races to go."
Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 20th:
"Today is a real low point for me. I lost fourth place in the championship and a lot of ground. I wish I could explain why. The weekend began badly with two stupid mistakes in the qualifying heat and I was then right on the outside of the gate. I tried as hard as I could to find a good level of speed but it would not come. It has been a terrible GP and I hope I can ride better in Sweden."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 22nd:
"I knew it would be hard this weekend. I crashed in the qualification heat which made things even more difficult. To be honest I struggled in the right-hand corners because I don't have the confidence with my knee, even if I have been building up the muscles around the joint. I want to try again in Sweden and then make a decision about the rest of the season. If I can do well with my condition then I will continue, if not then maybe surgery is the best option."
2008 GP of Germany, Teutschenthal 29/06/2008
Race 1 - 19 Laps:
1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 41'35.030
2. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'6.618
3. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'28.061
4. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'32.506
5. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'40.131
6. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'42.339
7. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'51.463
8. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 0'59.353
9. Wyatt Avis Honda RSA 1'7.135
10. Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 1'8.823
Race 2 - 19 Laps :
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 40'17.024
2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'16.362
3. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'21.554
4. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'26.046
5. Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 0'31.408
6. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'32.562
7. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'41.856
8. Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 0'46.653
9. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'55.759
10. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 0'58.704
Rider Points:
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 326
2. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 315
3. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 310
4. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 209
5. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 198
