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| Cairoli 3rd through Lommel sand | | |  | Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Tony Cairoli obtained his ninth podium of the season with third place at a wet and overcast Lommel circuit for the GP Limburg Grand Prix of Belgium and the twelfth round of fifteen in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship. An audience of 28,000 braved the inclement weather - which was a contrast to the temperatures and sunshine of Saturday - to see the riders at the highest level of the sport attack one of the trickiest and most physically-demanding circuits on the schedule.
The ruts and shapes of the loose Belgian sand across a long layout peppered with jumps, bomb-holes and quick, open turns meant a thorough technical test. Cairoli was at a disadvantage after a troublesome Saturday Qualification Heat saw him crash twice and enter the start gate down in twenty-first position. The world championship leader took his time to build up from a slot outside the top ten and reached fifth by passing two rivals on the last two laps. The weather started to improve for the start of the second moto and Cairoli got away from the line well, raising his speed to overtake Steve Ramon and Ken De Dycker into second spot. The 23 year old gave chase to leader Max Nagl but ran out of time to enact another of his famous moto dashes to the flag. |
| In sixth position overall was Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's Josh Coppins. The New Zealander rode to fourth and seventh in the motos and was pro-active in the second race as he steered the works YZ450FM from almost last after failing to avoid a fallen Clement Desalle on the first corner.
Coppins was followed in the final classification by Cairoli's De Carli team-mate Tanel Leok, who was seventh but hampered by the same incident that claimed Coppins in the first moto and left the Estonian needing to comeback from twenty-first to eighth. He was sixth later in the day.
World Champion David Philippaerts was ninth in Lommel. The Italian had a difficult weekend that began with a technical problem on Saturday which saw him retire from the Qualification Heat on the first lap and thus occupy last position in the start gate. The 24 year old suffered a crash in both motos and crossed the finish line after struggling to find an effective speed and rhythm across the track. He was sixth and tenth. |
| Yamaha have all four riders in the top seven of the world championship standings. With just 150 points left in the 2009 campaign Cairoli leads by 49. Philippaerts is third and 78 from the top while Coppins is sixth and Leok seventh. Yamaha machinery has been present in all of the twelve podiums ceremonies witnessed so far and the brand currently heads the manufacturer's table by 54 points.
The hard-pack and stony track of Loket, just outside of the idyllic town of Karlovy Vary, will host the Grand Prix of Czech Republic and the thirteenth stop on the calendar next weekend. |
|  | Tony Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli:
"I am satisfied because this is only my second sandy race with the 450. I made a mistake on Saturday and after two average starts today I had to push really hard. I could pass Max and David on the last lap of the first moto and that was some important points for the championship. Max was really fast in the second race and I could not catch him. Motos can be decided in the last ten minutes on tracks like these and I knew my physical condition was good; Max was just a bit too far away."
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team:
"My riding was OK today. We made a bit of a mistake with the settings for the first race and when the rain came down I struggled with the bigger fuel tank and used a lot of energy to ride around and finish fourth. It was a lot of effort and things did not feel as easy as they should have. There was not much I could have done at the start of the second moto when Desalle crashed in front of me. I stood the bike up and slowed down but then someone hit me from behind and I went to ground. It was unfortunate and it is a tough track to come from last position! Fifth overall means that it was not the best day, but alright considering. I am now looking forward to the next couple of GPs."
Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli:
"It was a tough GP for me. I did not ride well in the first laps of the first moto and the speed eventually came but I made a hard job for myself. The second race was much better but started badly when Coppins crashed in front of me. I made decent positions after that but ran off the track towards the end and lost time getting the bike back across the fence."
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team:
"It was a bad day. In the first moto my lap-times were consistent but on the last lap I had a break of concentration and Nagl and Cairoli passed me and I had a stupid crash. The second race was harder and I could not find a good feeling. I was sitting down a lot on the bike and found the bumps hard to deal with. I used a lot of energy to finish the race and overall it was just difficult. I spend six months of the year here training a lot on this circuit so I should have been strong for this GP; it is hard to understand why it did not work out. I like Lierop and also Loket, which is next, and I hope I can repeat my win of last year there." |
| | 2009 GP of Belgium 02/08/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 43'03.805 | | 2 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 0'06.893 | | 3 | Steve Ramon | Suzuki | BEL | 0'18.879 | | 4 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 0'48.843 | | 5 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 0'49.076 | | 6 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 0'50.650 | | 7 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 1'11.853 | | 8 | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 1'13.690 | | 9 | Kevin Strijbos | Honda | BEL | 2'04.985 | | 10 | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 2'31.170 | | 11 | Timotei Potisek | Honda | FRA | 2'44.460 | | 12 | Yentel Martens | KTM | BEL | 2'50.488 | | 13 | Gert Krestinov | KTM | EST | -1Laps | | 14 | Carlos Campano | Yamaha | ESP | -1Laps | | 15 | Shannon Terreblanche | Kawasaki | RSA | -1Laps |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 41'54.880 | | 2 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 0'30.961 | | 3 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 0'49.586 | | 4 | Steve Ramon | Suzuki | BEL | 0'58.857 | | 5 | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 1'14.596 | | 6 | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 1'14.903 | | 7 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 1'47.985 | | 8 | Gareth Swanepoel | Kawasaki | RSA | 2'08.690 | | 9 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 2'14.637 | | 10 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | -1Laps | | 11 | Cedric Melotte | Honda | BEL | -1Laps | | 12 | Jason Dougan | CCM | GBR | -1Laps | | 13 | Shannon Terreblanche | Kawasaki | RSA | -1Laps | | 14 | Kristof Salaets | Honda | BEL | -1Laps | | 15 | Rob van Vijfeijken | Yamaha | NED | -1Laps | | 19 | Carlos Campano | Yamaha | ESP | -1Laps |
| Rider Standings | 02/08/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Points | | 1. | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 466 | | 2. | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 415 | | 3. | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 388 | | 4. | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 383 | | 5. | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 379 | | 6. | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 375 | | 7. | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 327 | | 8. | Jonathan Barragan | KTM | ESP | 215 | | 9. | Gareth Swanepoel | Kawasaki | RSA | 188 | | 10. | Aigar Leok | TM | EST | 167 | | 11. | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 159 | | 12. | David Vuillemin | Kawasaki | FRA | 150 | | 13. | Steve Ramon | Suzuki | BEL | 138 | | 14. | Gregory Aranda | Kawasaki | FRA | 119 | | 15. | Billy MacKenzie | Honda | GBR | 103 | | 19. | Carlos Campano | Yamaha | ESP | 81 | | 27. | Rob van Vijfeijken | Yamaha | NED | 35 | | 38. | Lauris Freibergs | Yamaha | LVA | 12 | | 47. | Davis Livs | Yamaha | LVA | 4 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 02/08/2009 | | Pos. | Manufacturer | Points | | 1. | Yamaha | 529 | | 2. | KTM | 475 | | 3. | Honda | 414 | | 4. | Suzuki | 398 | | 5. | Kawasaki | 242 | | 6. | Aprilia | 189 | | 7. | TM | 167 | | 8. | CCM | 123 |
| Aubin 7th in Belgium | | | The twelfth round of fifteen in the MX2-GP World Championship took place through the unrelenting sand of Lommel for the GP Limburg Grand Prix of Belgium and Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Nico Aubin was the highest placed YZ250FM rider with seventh overall.
28,000 spectators came to the rain-hit course and the riders of the MX2-GP class were at least spared the heat and humidity of Saturday's climate to make their jobs fractionally easier across the ripples and holes of the terrain.
Aubin, who has endured several tough grand prix in recent weeks, benefitted from a set of reasonably good starts to run consistently within the top ten of both motos. He could only manage thirteenth in the first race but this was a consequence of brake and clutch trouble. In the second sprint he ran for the majority of the distance in third place and eventually crossed the finish line in fourth; representing his highest moto ranking from the last six rounds. |
|  | Team-mate Davide Guarneri, who took a decent second position (a personal best) in Saturday's qualification Heat, ended the GP trailing the Frenchman. The Italian was eighth courtesy of seventh and ninth places in the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. The third member of the Italian team, Loic Larrieu, was eleventh in what was a positive 'baptism' to the Lommel surface.
Utag Yamaha.com could count on the active status of Zach Osborne once more as the American attempted his third comeback from a broken left wrist picked up at the GP of Portugal in May. Sadly the demands of this particular round took its toll and the American failed to score in two eventful motos but at least gained some valuable race mileage.
Guarneri holds fourth position in the championship standings, 64 points adrift of leader Marvin Musquin and 15 points from the top three. Aubin is seventh.
Round thirteen will take place next weekend with the Grand Prix of Czech Republic at Loket.
Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross Team:
"I felt good today. In the first moto I was inside the top five but we had a little problem with the brake and also the clutch. It became pretty difficult to ride like I wanted. For the second moto we had everything fixed and I started well again. I gained some track to Roelants for second place and came close but made a mistake and could finally take fourth. I am a little disappointed about the first moto but the ride to almost take a top three in the second race was a good way to end the GP."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross Team:
"I have been training a lot in the sand and I think people can see the improvement. I was fast on Saturday, perhaps not like Musquin but with my size I proved I could be quick on this surface. Today was more difficult because I have never seen a track as rough as that. My sand riding is better now but still not at the level of those who have been brought up riding in the stuff. My rhythm was not so bad and I could have pushed more but I was wary of crashing and losing points. The positions were not bad but the championship became a bit closer with Frossard and Paulin having bad days. I really want to reach the top three and take a podium before the end of the season."
Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com:
"A very hard way to come back! I did OK during the warm-up and felt alright but went back to square one with a difficult first race. In the second moto I got a good start and kept going and going until I had a pretty big crash going into the bomb-hole and it took me ages to restart. I can only build on this result and go into the GP next weekend with a bit more confidence and see how it goes." |
| | 2009 GP of Belgium 02/08/2009 | |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
| 1 | Marvin Musquin | KTM | FRA | 41'56.587 |
| 2 | Rui Goncalves | KTM | POR | 0'09.841 |
| 3 | Joel Roelants | KTM | BEL | 0'20.355 |
| 4 | Jeremy Van Horebeek | KTM | BEL | 1'55.488 |
| 5 | Dennis Verbruggen | Honda | BEL | 2'03.427 |
| 6 | Ken Roczen | Suzuki | GER | 2'17.114 |
| 7 | Davide Guarneri | Yamaha | ITA | 2'22.731 |
| 8 | Rasmus Jorgensen | Suzuki | DNK | 2'25.810 |
| 9 | Manuel Monni | Yamaha | ITA | 2'30.504 |
| 10 | Loic Larrieu | Yamaha | FRA | 2'35.443 |
| 11 | Jake Nicholls | KTM | GBR | 2'42.280 |
| 12 | Anthony Boissière | KTM | FRA | 2'45.080 |
| 13 | Nicolas Aubin | Yamaha | FRA | 2'48.333 |
| 14 | Nikolai Larsen | Suzuki | DNK | -1Laps |
| 15 | Gautier Paulin | Kawasaki | FRA | -1Laps |
| 17 | Mel Pocock | Yamaha | GBR | -1Laps |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
| 1 | Marvin Musquin | KTM | FRA | 41'57.742 |
| 2 | Joel Roelants | KTM | BEL | 0'18.051 |
| 3 | Dennis Verbruggen | Honda | BEL | 0'35.797 |
| 4 | Nicolas Aubin | Yamaha | FRA | 1'01.908 |
| 5 | Marcus Schiffer | KTM | GER | 1'14.808 |
| 6 | Ken Roczen | Suzuki | GER | 1'28.517 |
| 7 | Rasmus Jorgensen | Suzuki | DNK | 1'29.605 |
| 8 | Rui Goncalves | KTM | POR | 1'32.435 |
| 9 | Davide Guarneri | Yamaha | ITA | 2'02.999 |
| 10 | Manuel Monni | Yamaha | ITA | 2'10.331 |
| 11 | Loic Larrieu | Yamaha | FRA | 2'19.231 |
| 12 | Anthony Boissière | KTM | FRA | 2'38.488 |
| 13 | Gautier Paulin | Kawasaki | FRA | -1Laps |
| 14 | Mel Pocock | Yamaha | GBR | -1Laps |
| 15 | Arnaud Tonus | KTM | CHE | -1Laps |
| Rider Standings | 02/08/2009 |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Points |
| 1. | Marvin Musquin | KTM | FRA | 421 |
| 2. | Rui Goncalves | KTM | POR | 383 |
| 3. | Gautier Paulin | Kawasaki | FRA | 372 |
| 4. | Davide Guarneri | Yamaha | ITA | 357 |
| 5. | Steven Frossard | Kawasaki | FRA | 284 |
| 6. | Ken Roczen | Suzuki | GER | 269 |
| 7. | Nicolas Aubin | Yamaha | FRA | 229 |
| 8. | Manuel Monni | Yamaha | ITA | 222 |
| 9. | Joel Roelants | KTM | BEL | 222 |
| 10. | Xavier Boog | Suzuki | FRA | 197 |
| 11. | Jeremy Van Horebeek | KTM | BEL | 188 |
| 12. | Marcus Schiffer | KTM | GER | 172 |
| 13. | Loic Larrieu | Yamaha | FRA | 147 |
| 14. | Anthony Boissière | KTM | FRA | 147 |
| 15. | Dennis Verbruggen | Honda | BEL | 143 |
| 18. | Evgeny Bobryshev | Yamaha | RUS | 102 |
| 19. | Zach Osborne | Yamaha | USA | 100 |
| 25. | Alessandro Lupino | Yamaha | ITA | 56 |
| 28. | Mel Pocock | Yamaha | GBR | 32 |
| 42. | Deny Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 6 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 02/08/2009 |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1. | KTM | 517 |
| 2. | Kawasaki | 441 |
| 3. | Yamaha | 414 |
| 4. | Suzuki | 375 |
| 5. | Honda | 310 |
| 6. | TM | 9 |
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