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| Dominant Cairoli celebrates first '09 victory | | | Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Tony Cairoli was simply immense to dominate both practice sessions, seal pole position, win both motos for his second MX1-GP career victory and his first as a full-time campaigner in the category and take the lead in the 2009 title chase. With Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne clinching a maiden victory in the MX2-GP class and MX1-GP World Champion David Philippaerts also climbing the rostrum, the Grand Prix of Turkey and the third round of the 2009 FIM MX1-GP World Championship was a memorable day for Yamaha and YZ technology. The YZ450F and YZ450FM have captured all three of the MX1-GP meetings held to-date.
Under cloudy skies and through cold, gusting winds the private Hezarfen airport, twenty kilometres west of the sprawling metropolis of Istanbul, entertained the first ever visit of the FIM series to Turkey and was attended by 30,000 spectators. |
|  | A newly-constructed jumpy and technical track awaited the paddock and was partially welcomed after high speed tests in Italy (on Saturday) and Bulgaria in recent weeks. The twisty nature of the layout was formed by a terrain that varied in softness and degrees of grip and appealed to some rider's tastes while leaving other protagonists sceptical of the overall quality of the track. The open setting of the location a few metres from the expanses of the Marmara Sea - drawing comparisons to Australia's Phillip Island road racing circuit - meant that winds, as well as a scenic backdrop permeated the event.
Cairoli immediately gelled with the course that was designed by the same track builder as Donington Park; the scene of Cairoli's impressive wild-card maiden MX1-GP appearance and sensational win in 2007. The Sicilian manoeuvred his YZ450F in typically flamboyant and spectacular fashion across the curves and leaps to take his first pole position in the category by winning the Qualification heat under sunny skies and ahead of Yamaha Monster Energy MX team's Philippaerts on Saturday. In the motos he ran away from the figures of Steve Ramon and Kevin Strijbos during the first outing and then engaged in an entertaining battle with Philippaerts and Ramon in the second sprint before celebrating his first triumph of the 2009 season, his second MX1-GP spoils in just four appearances and the first double since the MX2-GP of Portugal last April. |
|  | Philippaerts fiddled with his set-up on Saturday and although he had to work from a half-decent start in Moto1 to take 4th in what was a processional affair, he could fight with Cairoli in the latter race and captured 2nd place for his first set of silverware in 2009.
Bulgarian Grand Prix winner Josh Coppins struggled to get to grips with the track and scored two 8th positions for 7th overall. Italian Grand Prix winner Tanel Leok had a crash in Moto1 and crossed the finish line in 19th. He had a better start in Moto2 and rode to 5th for 10th by the end of the day.
After the first fifth of the calendar the world championship standings reveal Cairoli is now the red-plate holder by 4 points from Ken De Dycker. Philippaerts is 3rd and 10 points away from his countryman. Coppins is 4th to complete three Yamaha riders in the leading group. Leok rests in 7th. Yamaha still head the Manufacturers table, now by 16 points over their nearest rival.
After three races in three weeks the world championship will now pause. In a fortnight's time round four will take place in the technical sand of Valkenswaard, Holland, for the Grand Prix of Benelux.
Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st:
"This is unbelievable and I never expected to have the red plate after three Grand Prix. I have been feeling good on the bike, already from Bulgaria last week, but the difference here was two good starts and I enjoyed my riding today. I had a good feeling with the track and actually had a lot of fun in the second moto with the fight with David; I am sure all our fans in Italy liked that one."
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 3rd:
"I am happy to take my first podium here because the track was very difficult for me. I feel like every race is getting better. If I can take a top five finish in each GP then I know I will be in the fight for the title. I tried to escape from Antonio in the second moto but he was really fast and today did very well. As everyone knows Italy has had some bad news recently with the earthquake and I wanted people back home to know they were in our thoughts and hearts." |
| Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 7th:
"It was a difficult weekend and I struggled on this track. I wasn't really on the pace at all. I had some lap-times that were OK but I could not string them together. I was always out of my comfort zone and just did the best I could. Traction was a big problem and I couldn't get a rhythm going; I was using double the energy but going half the speed. It was a frustrating day but I had a good weekend last week and that can't always happen."
Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 10th:
"Physically I felt fine today. I had a good start in the first heat but then had a crash and could not restart the bike quickly. 19th was not good but the second moto saw an improvement. I was away with the top five and if I can make those kinds of positions every week then I will be happy. I like the track and by the end it was getting technical." |
| Circuit Length: NA
Crowd: 30,000
Weather: Cloudy | | | 2009 GP of Turkey 12/04/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 39'34.460 | | 2 | Steve Ramon | Suzuki | BEL | 0'07.965 | | 3 | Kevin Strijbos | Honda | BEL | 0'11.486 | | 4 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 0'19.929 | | 5 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 0'25.847 | | 6 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 0'27.526 | | 7 | Jonathan Barragan | KTM | ESP | 0'31.253 | | 8 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 0'31.929 | | 9 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 0'32.350 | | 10 | David Vuillemin | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'04.199 | | 11 | Gareth Swanepoel | Kawasaki | RSA | 1'08.554 | | 12 | Billy MacKenzie | Honda | GBR | 1'12.217 | | 13 | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 1'14.781 | | 14 | Marc De Reuver | Honda | NED | 1'17.370 | | 15 | Julien Bill | Aprilia | CHE | 1'19.352 | | 18 | Carlos Campano | Yamaha | ESP | 1'35.744 | | 19 | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 1'36.976 |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 40'07.622 | | 2 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 0'03.909 | | 3 | Steve Ramon | Suzuki | BEL | 0'05.850 | | 4 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 0'33.512 | | 5 | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 0'36.595 | | 6 | Jonathan Barragan | KTM | ESP | 0'37.874 | | 7 | Kevin Strijbos | Honda | BEL | 0'39.031 | | 8 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 0'40.722 | | 9 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 0'54.355 | | 10 | Sébastien Pourcel | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'01.680 | | 11 | Gregory Aranda | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'03.771 | | 12 | James Noble | Suzuki | GBR | 1'06.690 | | 13 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 1'11.689 | | 14 | David Vuillemin | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'15.434 | | 15 | Julien Bill | Aprilia | CHE | 1'15.983 |
| Rider Standings | 12/04/2009 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 12/04/2009 | | Pos. | Manufacturer | Points | | 1. | Yamaha | 119 | | 2. | Suzuki | 103 | | 3. | KTM | 89 | | 4. | Honda | 78 | | 5. | Kawasaki | 51 | | 6. | Aprilia | 35 | | 7. | TM | 32 | | 8. | CCM | 16 |
| Osborne powers to maiden MX2-GP triumph | | |  | The third round of fifteen in the MX2-GP World Championship has seen a small piece of history achieved at Hezarfen, Istanbul for the Grand Prix of Turkey. Under cloudy skies and blustery conditions Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne became the first American rider to win an MX2-GP and the first US national to celebrate overall success in an FIM round this century. The teenager negotiated a strange track mixing hard-pack sections and softer mud with his YZ250F to seal 3rd and 1st positions to set his personal landmark, and give Yamaha their first triumph in the division this season as well as completing an emphatic double for the manufacturer.
The expanses of the private airport meant that chilly winds hit the circuit on both days of action and although Saturday was bright and sunny, the venue was darkened by clouds on race-day. The technical nature of the track presented a slower and trickier test compared to that found in Bulgaria last week.
Osborne sealed a double pole position for Yamaha by taking his YZ250F to victory in the qualification Heat on Saturday (Antonio Cairoli later did the same in MX1-GP). It was the second time the young American would have the honour of rolling into the gate first after procuring a Saturday win at the 2008 Grand Prix of Ireland. He rode to 3rd position in a static first moto in the Turkish gusts and then took part in a tight tussle with Marvin Musquin and Steve Frossard to take the chequered flag in Moto2. |
|  | Yamaha Monster Energy's Davide Guarneri walked away from Istanbul with 7th place overall and more points for his title bid. The Italian did not have the best pair of starts and took 8th and 6th in the motos. His second race was hindered in the later stages after a mistake over a jump led to an awkward landing and momentary pain in his ankles. Team-mate Nico Aubin had an unhappy meeting. The Frenchman crashed twice in his qualification heat on Saturday, the first spill through no fault of his own. He entered the gate in 38th position and simply could not find his speed, rhythm or confidence on the track. He did not pick up any points and will be looking for much better at the following Grand Prix.
A creditable mention must go to Yamaha 3C Racing's Manuel Monni who obtained a decent 5th place overall and Yamaha Van Beers' Evgeny Bobryshev who defied the pain and discomfort in his left ankle to finish 11th.
In the world championship standings Osborne has leapt up the table and is now 5th, 40 points from leader Gautier Paulin. Guarneri has risen to a career-high of 3rd and is 30 points behind the Frenchman. Aubin is 8th.
Round four of fifteen will occur in two weeks time at the sandy Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard, Holland for the Grand Prix of Benelux.
Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 1st:
"I am really happy with the way things went all weekend and I am so pumped with this result. No-one had ridden this track, so we were all on a level field and I enjoyed it. I made a few mistakes in the second moto but nobody is perfect and I got the job done! My goal was to get on the podium in the first few rounds and this was a little bit better than we expected. I have to say a big thank you to the team for all their hard work."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 7th:
"Unfortunately I am still quite far from the fight for the race win but this is not the fault of my speed, more because of my starts, which I have to work on and also the condition of the track and these fast French riders! In the second moto I was as quick as the leaders but when I was behind Sword I over-jumped and landed on the flat ground which caused some pain to both my ankles. My championship position is OK but we have some tough races ahead in northern Europe."
Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 35th:
"I don't know what I can say about today. I had two crashes on Saturday and just could not put together a lap at this place. The bike was completely fine but it was down to me and I could not make things work. I can only hope for better at the next race." |
| Circuit Length: NA
Crowd: 30,000
Weather: Cloudy | | | 2009 GP of Turkey 12/04/2009 | |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
| 1 | Zach Osborne | Yamaha | USA | 40'15.752 |
| 2 | Marvin Musquin | Honda | FRA | 0'01.457 |
| 3 | Steven Frossard | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'02.456 |
| 4 | Marcus Schiffer | KTM | GER | 0'29.898 |
| 5 | Stephen Sword | KTM | GBR | 0'37.644 |
| 6 | Davide Guarneri | Yamaha | ITA | 0'41.532 |
| 7 | Gautier Paulin | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'44.593 |
| 8 | Xavier Boog | Suzuki | FRA | 0'46.192 |
| 9 | Manuel Monni | Yamaha | ITA | 0'53.087 |
| 10 | Evgeny Bobryshev | Yamaha | RUS | 0'54.629 |
| 11 | Shaun Simpson | KTM | GBR | 0'55.469 |
| 12 | Khounsith Vongsana | Honda | FRA | 0'58.351 |
| 13 | Matiss Karro | Suzuki | LVA | 0'59.516 |
| 14 | Rui Goncalves | KTM | POR | 1'02.712 |
| 15 | Wyatt Avis | Honda | RSA | 1'04.523 |
| 18 | Loic Larrieu | Yamaha | FRA | 1'10.080 |
| 19 | Alessandro Lupino | Yamaha | ITA | 1'13.740 |
| Rider Standings | 12/04/2009 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 12/04/2009 |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1. | Kawasaki | 117 |
| 2. | Honda | 109 |
| 3. | Yamaha | 99 |
| 4. | KTM | 83 |
| 5. | Suzuki | 77 |
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