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| Cairoli superb for Portuguese victory | | | Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli has claimed his second win of the season and second double moto set of 2009 after an entertaining afternoon of racing at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal and the fifth event from the calendar of fifteen races in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship. The Sicilian captured two chequered flags to win his fourth Portuguese GP in five years, his first in MX1-GP and with the YZ450F, and extend his immaculate record at Agueda to nine triumphs from ten motos.
Cloudy but warm conditions, with a light shower coating the second MX1-GP race, graced the weekend in Agueda. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) surrounded the hard and rough red soil that proved to be harder and more slippery compared to previous years and forced the riders to consider several tyre options on Saturday. A bumpier surface on Sunday was physically tough. |
| The YZ450F - that was used so effectively by James Stewart to obtain the AMA Supercross Championship in Las Vegas last week - was also an effective tool in the hands of Cairoli who was nothing short of superlative across the Agueda slopes. He fought back from a good start (top five) in Moto1 and a mediocre launch (eighth) in Moto2 to enjoy superior speed over his rivals and twice deny Ken De Dycker victory. A key moment took place in the second race when the former double world champion was fighting for second position with reigning MX1-GP title holder, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's David Philippaerts, and Clement Desalle. Holding the inside line on a fast downhill Cairoli missed the rut and collided with Philippaerts, forcing a retirement. |
|  | Philippaerts - who had led the first third of the opening race until a crash dropped him to 5th place - later went to hospital with a painful left hand and was diagnosed with a broken index finger that will mean he travels to Spain next week far from 100% fit.
Josh Coppins rode consistently to score 4th overall, after almost grabbing pole position on Saturday. The Kiwi was adrift of the battle for the lead but his finishes of 7th (a consequence of a fall) and 4th in the motos represented an improvement over his last GP in Holland and demonstrated a recovery from the low energy levels he has recently suffered.
Tanel Leok was 6th in the final classification after circulating on the fringes of the top five; recording a 5th position in Moto1 and 6th in Moto2, despite a small technical problem that interrupted his power supply.
Cairoli now has a full 'race' lead in the championship standings of 25 points over De Dycker. Coppins is 4th, 2 points ahead of Leok, while Philippaerts' DNF has proved costly and he has dropped to 6th place. Yamaha front the Manufacturer's title chase by 37 points. The YZ450F motorcycle now has claimed four of the five GPs run so far.
Yamaha's MX1-GP fleet will now spend the week travelling across the border and through Spain to the Bellpuig circuit and the Grand Prix of Catalunya for round six.
Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st:
"This is a lucky and special track for me because I have won nine of the last ten motos here and this year it was unbelievable. In the second moto I did not expect to be able to catch everyone, especially Ken, like that and win the GP. My first lap was really bad but then I could find some good passing places. I am sorry about the contact with David. I did not expect him to be there and it was not my intention to touch. These things happen and they are not nice. After that I could overtake Desalle and was able to focus on catching Ken for the lead. I am really happy with this win. I thought before the season that I might be able to be in the top five by this stage but to be leading the championship is something very special. I am enjoying my riding and this is the important thing." |
|  | Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 4th:
"I'm still not quite strong enough and my mind is saying 'go faster' but my body cannot keep up. I am riding smooth and easy with consistent laps and a stupid crash in the first moto was the only real black mark. In the second race I rode pretty well but nothing special and did what I had to do. I pushed at the end to try and pass Desalle but ran out of time. I know that there is better to come. I am doing the best I can, which is not bad but it is just off where I want to be. My starts were alright and overall the weekend was not bad; not as good as the first two GPs but better than the last two."
Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 6th:
"The result is good; the top six is where I should be every week. I was struggling a little bit in the first moto and wasn't feeling so good but the second race was better until we had some bad luck with that small problem with the bike and I was losing drive in sections and overshooting berms in others. I am being consistent with my motos and I know that on a normal day I am fighting for the podium."
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 13th:
"Of course I am worried about my finger. We have the confirmation that it is broken and now we will just have to try and see what we can do next week in Spain. In the incident with Antonio, well, there were two lines and he wanted the first and also the second and came across me. This is part of motocross and not a big problem but it had a big price for me. I think now it is difficult to win the title but there are many races ahead and of course bad luck can still hit the others; everything is possible. I am pleased with the small changes we made to the bike and there is reason to feel positive but I have a lot of pain at the moment and just want to heal from this as fast as I can." |
| | 2009 GP of Portugal 10/05/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 39'32.718 | | 2 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 0'07.035 | | 3 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 0'12.446 | | 4 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 0'14.608 | | 5 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 0'16.374 | | 6 | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 0'21.134 | | 7 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 0'50.988 | | 8 | Jonathan Barragan | KTM | ESP | 0'54.914 | | 9 | Gregory Aranda | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'58.430 | | 10 | Gareth Swanepoel | Kawasaki | RSA | 1'11.378 | | 11 | David Vuillemin | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'23.735 | | 12 | Aigar Leok | TM | EST | 1'32.244 | | 13 | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 1'41.152 | | 14 | Fabien Izoird | Suzuki | FRA | 1'58.572 | | 15 | Tom Church | CCM | GBR | 2'13.666 | | 20 | Carlos Campano | Yamaha | ESP | -1Laps |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 40'13.107 | | 2 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 0'10.571 | | 3 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 0'18.792 | | 4 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 0'20.312 | | 5 | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 0'40.474 | | 6 | David Vuillemin | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'49.212 | | 7 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 0'58.709 | | 8 | Gareth Swanepoel | Kawasaki | RSA | 1'09.139 | | 9 | Gregory Aranda | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'15.733 | | 10 | Jonathan Barragan | KTM | ESP | 1'31.163 | | 11 | Aigar Leok | TM | EST | 1'44.257 | | 12 | Carlos Campano | Yamaha | ESP | 1'52.586 | | 13 | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 1'54.589 | | 14 | Luis Correira | Suzuki | POR | -1Laps | | 15 | Fabien Izoird | Suzuki | FRA | -1Laps | | 20 | Rob van Vijfeijken | Yamaha | NED | -1Laps |
| Rider Standings | 10/05/2009 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 10/05/2009 | | Pos. | Manufacturer | Points | | 1. | Yamaha | 216 | | 2. | Suzuki | 179 | | 3. | KTM | 166 | | 4. | Honda | 158 | | 5. | Kawasaki | 87 | | 6. | TM | 67 | | 7. | Aprilia | 51 | | 8. | CCM | 27 |
| Guarneri 4th through Agueda bumps | | | The Grand Prix of Portugal represented the fifth round of fifteen in the MX2-GP World Championship and the warm Agueda circuit was the stage for Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Davide Guarneri to fight off the effects of a stomach sickness to take 4th position; his fourth top five finish of the season so far on the YZ250FM.
25,000 spectators (weekend figure) witnessed the Italian tussling for positions inside the top three of both motos across a slippery and very bumpy terrain. He placed 5th in Moto1 and was running as high as 2nd for a long part of Moto2 before succumbing to his low stamina and slipping one place to 3rd. The 24 year old still managed to demonstrate decent consistency and was just 4 points from his first podium appearance of the campaign. |
|  | Team-mate Loic Larrieu took an excellent qualification position with third spot on Saturday. The French teenager repeated his bright starts from the gate to ride to 6th and 5th despite a sore foot and record his highest finish of his rookie season so far with 5th overall.
The third member of the team, Nico Aubin, had been suffering during the week with a virus and finished a course of antibiotics on Saturday. The Frenchman could take 8th place in Moto1 but a first lap crash in Moto2 left him at the back of the field and he retired, exhausted after six laps.
Saturday's activities were unlucky for the Utag Yamaha.com team and Zach Osborne in particular. The American had set the seventh fastest lap-time in the first practice session but then had a mechanical problem and crashed in the pre-qualification. The Grand Prix of Turkey winner chipped his left radius bone and is expected to be out of action for four to six weeks. Agueda saw the second round of the Women's World Championship but the weekend did not last long for Tarah Geiger as the American clipped a post and crashed on the first lap of the first moto and broke her right wrist.
Guarneri is now 3rd and 24 points from the lead in the world championship standings. Osborne is 7th and 2 points in front of Aubin, while Larrieu is 11th.
Round six takes place at the Bellpuig circuit next week for the Grand Prix of Catalunya.
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 4th:
"Today was good. My speed was at the top and only 0.1 or 0.2 away from these French riders! The fast guys all started at the front and it was a good battle at times. I have been feeling sick since yesterday and although this did not affect how fast I can go, it did mean my energy was low and the last ten minutes of both motos were very hard. I had two good starts and that was important for me. The results are consistent but I am trying each GP to reach the podium."
Loic Larrieu, Utag Yamaha.com, 5th:
"It was a good weekend for me. It started well in qualifying and I could finish 3rd. Today was more difficult because I missed a rut and hit my foot but I could make two good starts in the top two positions and I finished 6th and 5th; that's good result and very positive for my confidence."
Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 14th:
"I have been sick again and was taking antibiotics for five days before this GP. I thought I had got rid of this problem after Turkey and now I just hope that in the next two to three days my body will be clear of it. I started in the top ten of the first moto and did my own race and speed. Things were not too bad, eighth is not great but acceptable because I felt low on energy. In the second moto I had a crash on the second lap and when I restarted I managed one lap before feeling completely empty; there was no way I could do any more." |
| | 2009 GP of Portugal 10/05/2009 | |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
| 1 | Rui Goncalves | KTM | POR | 39'10.794 |
| 2 | Steven Frossard | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'07.812 |
| 3 | Davide Guarneri | Yamaha | ITA | 0'10.843 |
| 4 | Ken Roczen | Suzuki | GER | 0'13.149 |
| 5 | Loic Larrieu | Yamaha | FRA | 0'15.004 |
| 6 | Marvin Musquin | Honda | FRA | 0'25.511 |
| 7 | Xavier Boog | Suzuki | FRA | 0'27.974 |
| 8 | Gautier Paulin | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'33.318 |
| 9 | Arnaud Tonus | KTM | CHE | 0'47.567 |
| 10 | Marcus Schiffer | KTM | GER | 1'00.810 |
| 11 | Alessandro Lupino | Yamaha | ITA | 1'07.748 |
| 12 | Jeremy Van Horebeek | KTM | BEL | 1'13.836 |
| 13 | Manuel Monni | Yamaha | ITA | 1'18.882 |
| 14 | Evgeny Bobryshev | Yamaha | RUS | 1'36.007 |
| 15 | Stephen Sword | KTM | GBR | 1'44.852 |
| Rider Standings | 10/05/2009 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 10/05/2009 |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1. | Kawasaki | 191 |
| 2. | KTM | 180 |
| 3. | Yamaha | 177 |
| 4. | Honda | 171 |
| 5. | Suzuki | 128 |
| 6. | TM | 5 |
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