Red Bull factory rider Tyla Rattray came out fighting in the two MX2 races of the GP of Benelux on Sunday to conquer the sandy and torn-up track for a double victory and another 50 points in the race for the title.
With Tommy Searle in second and Rui Goncalves just off the podium in fourth place it an excellent day for team manager Stefan Everts and the entire factory team. And with KTM supported riders Joel Roelants (GP Juniors Team Champ), Shaun Simpson (Team KTM UK) and Jeremy van Horebeek, (GP Juniors Team Champ) coming in fifth, sixth and eighth, they left very little room in the top ten for the other manufacturer's riders.
Rattray takes the realistic approach Rattray may have the sweet smell of victory in his nose but he still very much has his feet on the ground. Although he has built a cushion of 33 points between himself and his only rival for the 2008 title, his teammate Tommy Searle, he is very aware that it will be the last GP next weekend in Faenza, Italy that will decide who comes away with the title. The South African has made a superb return to racing after knee reconstruction surgery took him out of contention last season with just a couple of races to go. In the first race he shadowed the leader Goncalves until the final stage before passing him to take the victory. Rattray was totally focused in race two finishing 13 seconds in front of Searle.
Good weekend for Rattray "It was a good weekend," Rattray said in his usual understated way. "Rui was in the lead in race one and I got behind him and tried to keep a good pace and not take risks because the track was very rough. Then I passed him in the final stages and put in a fast lap time to take the win. I knew the second race would be about physical condition but I'm very fit so that was no problem. Also I knew it was going to be a race between Tommy and me because we are the fastest."
Searle second on the day in both races The British teenager, despite valiant efforts to chase down Tyla in the second half of both races, had to settle for second overall and knows now it will be an all or nothing dash for the title next weekend. "I tried my best but the last two GPs have been very tough. I had some problems in qualifying so I didn't have very good starts and I am not a specialist on this type of track. I also knew Tyla is strong on sand and it was very hard to race on this surface. I'm still satisfied and the championship is still open even though I know the only way I can win now is if Tyla has some misfortune."
Positive weekend for Rui Goncalves It was also a positive weekend for Goncalves, who finished with equal points to Frenchman Nicolas Aubin who claimed the third podium slot because of a better result in race two. "I got the holeshot in the first race and I led the race right up to the last part. Then Tyla and Tommy passed me. They are stronger than I am but I'm still happy with my performance and I was able to fight right till the end. Then in the second race I had some problems in the first corner. I was still able to close the gap on the front riders and finish fourth."
Next season Rattray moves up to the Red Bull KTM MX1 factory team. Tommy will be racing for KTM on the USA circuit and Rui Goncalves will be riding with Shaun Simpson of Britain in the Red Bull KTM MX2 team.
MX2 GP Classification:1. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM 25-25—50
2. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM 22-22--44
3. Nicolas Aubin, France, Yamaha 18-20--38
4. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM 20-18--38
5. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM 15-15--30
Other KTM 6. Gert Krestinov, Estonia, KTM 9-16--25
9. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM 13-11—24
24. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM
Championship standings after 14 of 15 GP:1. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM, 596 points
2. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM 563
3. Nicolas Aubin, France, 381
4. Shaun Simpson, Britain, KTM 367
5. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM, 365
Other KTM 9. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium, KTM, 277
12. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM, 243
14. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM, 181
16. Jeremy Tarroux, France, KTM, 161
17. Gert Krestinov, Estonia, KTM. 117
