Sword misses podium by a point in Italy
By: Garret Cashman |
Published 16 September 2008, 00:38 | Views: 939 | tags: fim, mx2, motocross world championship, molson kawasaki, stephen sword, gareth swanepoel, monte coralli, tom church, faenza, italy
Molson Kawasaki’s Stephen Sword misses out on third overall at the Grand Prix of Citta Di Faenza by a single point while MX1 satellite rider Tom Church secures a career best season ranking in MX1
Sword misses podium by a point in Italy.The Grand Prix of Citta Di Faenza will go down in history as the last ever for the Church family owned and operated Molson Kawasaki team who will cease to operate after the final round of the British Motocross Championship at Hawkstone Park on September 21. To mark the team’s last ever GP, MX2 riders Stephen Sword and Gareth Swanepoel as well as MX1 satellite rider Tom Church pulled out all the stops to make it a memorable one.
A rain-related goggle problem undoubtedly robbed Stephen Sword of his second GP podium of the year as the Scottish-born racer missed out on third overall by just one point. After finishing a fighting fourth in moto one, the 28-year-old pulled a massive three-bike-length holeshot in the rain soaked second moto proving the ongoing development work the Molson team are doing with the factory KX250F-SR is paying massive dividends.
Unsure of just how much grip the Faenza circuit would offer in the damper conditions of moto two an overly cautious Sword would lose several places in the opening laps as he settled into the race but from lap four onward he was on a mission. But after ditching his goggles as the persistent rain got between his laminate tear-offs, Swordy spent the rest of the moto switching lines as he dodged the roost of the riders in front of him.
Unable to get close enough to try and make a pass stick because of the flying dirt coming from the fourth placed rider’s rear wheel Stephen had to be content with a fifth placed finish which when the calculations were complete would offer the Molson teamster fifth overall as well. Although Swordy didn’t claim the podium place that he so craved he did reach his target of finishing ninth in the championship – and first placed Kawasaki in MX2 – by soundly beating the riders who had been ahead of him in the series standings.
“In the first race I started about fifth,” said Stephen. “But then I had about three or four bad laps and Joel Roelants was able to pass me but then I got going again and I passed him back to take fourth. I felt good and my speed was good but the gap was too big to the riders in front because I’d been struggling for pace in the beginning of the race – that’s what I’ve been lacking most today.
“It was raining for race two and when I took the holeshot I knew that the front was the place I wanted to be – away from all the flying mud. I thought it was going to be really slippery so I took it a little bit steady, steadier than I should have I think because I just wasn’t fast enough for the first four laps. When I finally picked up my pace I had a problem with the tear-offs on my goggles which was slowing me down. The rain had got behind my tear-offs and I couldn’t see properly so I either had to take off all the tear-offs one by one or ditch the goggles so I opted for the latter because I knew it would be quicker and easier than messing around.
“It was good in one way because I was able to go faster but it was bad when I came up behind Tyla especially because I needed to pass him to get to the podium. I had to ride off the best lines to avoid his roost and they obviously weren’t the quickest and so I’d lose some time and then I’d have to make it up again - I think if I’d kept my goggles on I’d have been able to catch and pass him.
“If I’d got the podium it would have been the perfect day both for me and the team but fifth place overall isn’t bad, I jumped up two places in the championship and I also took a monster holeshot which is something that will make our Chief Mechanic Fred Lavergne very happy.”
Gareth Swanepoel’s return to top level racing after his surgery continued to gain momentum in Faenza as the 23-year-old South African battled hard in both races. Gareth made great progress through the pack in race one after not getting the best of starts and perhaps most importantly of all at this stage in his comeback his lap times were good and consistent throughout the duration of the 35-minute plus two lap moto which finally rewarded Swanie with a 13th place finish. Moto two wasn’t as kind as the opener for Swanepoel as while running 13th once more an overly aggressive pass from one of his rivals resulted in a broken rear brake pedal and a DNF.
“The start wasn’t too great in moto one and I lost a few places in the first lap,” said Gareth. “I had to come from outside the top 20 to 13th. My lap times were consistent though and I felt strong all the way through. That’s what I’ve been working for and the only thing that really let me down in that race was the start.
“Moto two was much the same as the first. I found myself sleeping a little bit in the opening few laps and then I woke up a bit and I was going good and running with a good group of riders – I was with Aubin and Van Horebeek and I felt really strong. I passed Jeremy Tarroux for 12th and then on the next lap he just t-boned me on one of the corners and that snapped the rear brake pedal clean off. On this track you can’t ride without a back brake and so I had no option but to pull in.”
For the Molson Kawasaki team’s MX1 satellite rider Tom Church the final round of the series was probably his best. After starting outside the points in moto one, TC battled hard for the duration of the 35-minute plus two lap moto to finally finish 12th. While the second start didn’t go so well for the Marshfield-based rider another strong ride through the pack to 14th resulted in an amazing 12th overall and lifted Tom and his KX450F to 17th in the final world championship standings – his best so far in his career.
“In the first race I got a bad start and tangled with someone going into the first turn so I was about 24th,” said Tom. “But I found some good lines and I was riding well too and I soon pulled through into the top 20. I just chipped away and I pulled through to 12th. I was pretty happy with that because the guys ahead of me on the track were Ramon and Coppins – okay they were a bit ahead of me but I was the best of the rest and I was really pleased about that.
“In the second race I started right on the inside to try and avoid any trouble in the first corner but someone went down in front of me and I lost a bit of time. I got going and I found it more difficult to pass this time but I set myself a goal of top 15 and when I reached that I just concentrated on holding that down. I eventually finished 14th even though I didn’t ride so good.
“I finished 12th overall on the day which is my best except for Bellpuig and I also climbed to 17th in the championship which is the best ever for me and I’m pretty pumped with that. It was nice to finish the year and my career with Molson Kawasaki with a good result.”
MX2 Results - Faenza:
Race 1:
1. Tommy Searle - KTM
2. Tyla Rattray - KTM
3. Anthony Boissiere - KTM
4. Stephen Sword - Kawasaki
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek - KTM
13. Gareth Swanepoel - Kawasaki
Race 2:
1. Tommy Searle - KTM
2. Joël Roelants - KTM
3. Zach Osborne - Yamaha
5. Tyla Rattray - KTM
DNF Gareth Swanepoel - Kawasaki
Overall:
1. Tommy Searle - KTM
2. Tyla Rattray - KTM
3. Joël Roelants - KTM
4. Zach Osborne - Yamaha
5. Stephen Sword - Kawasaki
18. Gareth Swanepoel - Kawasaki
MX2 standings after Faenza:
1. Tyla Rattray - KTM - 636
2. Tommy Searle - KTM - 613
3. Nicolas Aubin - Yamaha - 406
4. Shaun Simpson - KTM - 394
5. Rui Goncalves - KTM - 380
9. Stephen Sword - Kawasaki - 291
21. Gareth Swanepoel - Kawasaki - 95
30. Gautier Paulin - Kawasaki - 31
Photos
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