David Philippaerts wins in Mantova
The Mantova Starcross was again the preview race for the world motocross championship with David Philippaerts coming out on top with three race wins from three starts. Philippaerts simply dominated this 28th edition of the Mantova Starcross as he continued his early season success.

On the MX1 podium with Philippaerts were Tanel Leok and Anthony Boissiere. Fourth place went to Kevin Strijbos who had a technical problem in the second race which dropped him down to nineteenth place and effectively ruled him out of an overall podium finish.

In MX2 Gautier Paulin won all the three races with second place going to Antonio Butron and  third place to Harri Kullas.


YAMAHA RACING
Yamaha victorious in Italian MX season opener

The European motocross scene cranked into life last weekend with chilly and adverse weather conditions affecting the Valence and Starcross International races in France and Italy respectively.

The first bout of action for the 2011 FIM World Championship Yamaha line-up was a very positive one with Monster Energy Yamaha’s David Philippaerts and Gautier Paulin winning the MX1 and MX2 classes on their YZ450FM and YZ250FMs at the sandy circuit just north of Bologna.

“My starts were not so good but my lap-times were fast and I was able to pass riders and come to the front,” said Philippaerts who won all three races through drizzle at Mantova. “It is a little bit hard to judge my level at the moment as we did not have so many GP riders here but I felt good and the bike was working very well. This was a good test and for sure it always feels nice to win. We will test some more on the Yamaha now in the coming races and I’m looking forward to Ponte e Egola next week.”

The third member of the Monster Energy Yamaha MX1-GP crew, Anthony Boissiere, took third place in the final MX1 ranking at Mantova. Gautier Paulin shone against the bigger 450 bikes in Italy to record 4-3-3 and capture the winner’s spoils in the MX2 division. Harri Kullas was also on the podium with third position while Christophe Charlier was sixth.

“It was a pretty easy day and being the first race I did not want to take any big risks so I just rode within myself and got a feel for the bike in the conditions,” said 2010 Grand Prix of Benelux victor Paulin. “I did not push myself so it was satisfying to finish the day as MX2 winner.”

Monster Energy Yamaha will see all six of their riders competing at Ponte e Egola, close to Florence, for the first Italian Championship round (of four) next weekend. Tonus is committed to the opening races of the British Championship, which begins in two weeks and will also see the first European outing of reigning champion Zach Osborne who returns from training in his native USA.


TANEL LEOK
LEOK GUIDES TM TO SECOND ON FIRST OUTING

It is an unlikely alliance. On the one side you have the quiet, reserved rider from Estonia. On the other, the fiery, rambunctious Italian racing fans. One would never think that the latter would ever unleash their enthusiasm for one other than their own, but when Tanel Leok first ventured into Italian employ in the team of Claudio De Carli, the tifosi opened their hearts to him. He responded by winning the Italian GP for de Carli in 2009, and went on to claim the Italian MX1 title, and the die was cast. The Estonian Express had wriggled himself into the affections of the Italian fans, and whenever he would appear in the land of Ferrari, pasta, fiery women and racing passion, there would forever be a pocket of fans to welcome him.

When the announcement came at the end of 2010 that Tanel would be occupying the number one slot in the TM factory team, his Italian fans' joy knew no bounds. Not only was he in an Italian team, he was on an Italian bike. It was all the more gratifying that his first race outing on the blue machine would be on Italian soil, at the annual Starcross in Mantova.

The Starcross has generally favoured Tanel with good results, and he is not averse to leaving the venue with some extra silverware clinking away in the boot of his car. In fact, it is safe to predict that a good Leok result at Mantova is about as likely as a Berlusconi scandal. There was a buzz of excitement as the Estonian rolled out the bright blue bike into public view for the first time. The questions hung in the air. Will the bike be competitive? Will rider and bike have found a happy marriage? Will the winter break have left the Estonian Express hungry for success?

They did not have to wait long for the answers. Tanel was straight into his normal speed range, i.e. w for warp. He posted the second fastest time in the first training session, only bested by Kevin Strijbos. In the second session, he went one better, and put the TM at the top of the log. The TM got a further dose of the legendary Leok treatment in the qualifying race as he wrung its neck to bring it from sixth to second. He underlined the result with another blitzing ride in the superpole event, hitting the second spot again, a mere half a second behind local man and former world champion David Philippaerts. Thus ended Saturday's qualifying activities. There were smiles all round in the TM tent as the day wound down. Though the factory is small compared to the opposition, they make up for it with sheer, unbridled passion. Here they have found a rider who could bring the bike into the winner's circle and generate the recognition the brand deserves.

Tanel's tail was well up as riders, teams and fans converged for Sunday's racing action. He resumed right where he left off and guided his TM into the lead in the first race. A few laps in, Philippaerts managed to sneak past as the Estonian bobbled, and the battle raged on. In the end Philippaerts took the honours, with Tanel breathing down his neck, less than 2 seconds behind, and Strijbos another 5/100ths of a second adrift. Close racing indeed .

In the second race, Tanel had to forge ahead from 6th position, and by the time he had clear air in front of him, Philippaerts had bolted. TM's new favourite son again did enough to bring his bike home in second, posting the fastest lap time of the race along the way. All the attention was now focused on the third and last race of the day. Unfortunately for Tanel, this race presented him with his biggest challenge of the day. The rider next to him jumped early, and racers being what they are, his clutch finger instinctively went into release mode as well, resulting in an interaction with the still-upright start gate.

Once Tanel had pulled back and got going, he was way down the field, with the leaders already in another province, in a manner of speaking. After one lap he was already up to 14th position, and a lap or so later he was already in the top 10. He picked the opposition off one by one as he scythed through the field. Most of the opposition could offer no resistance, and again it was only Philippaerts who had made the early break that could stay ahead of the Estonian.

With three second places in the heats, there was no doubt that the announcer would call Tanel to the overall podium. He had a near dream debut on his new mount, and the smiles in the TM camp were, if anything, even broader. Their new signing had come through with aplomb, and if the season opener is anything to go by, TM is going to feature quite regularly in the mainline world championship reports during 2011.


YAMAHA VAN BEERS RACING TEAM
Top ten moto finish for Herjan Brakke in Starcross in Mantova

Herjan Brakke of the Yamaha van Beers Racing Team scored a top ten moto finish at the Starcross in Mantova, Italy. Brakke had to come back trough the field in all three motos but still managed to finish in 19th and a 10th position in the first two motos. In the third moto he was riding in 8th position when he collided with another rider and crashed. By the crash his front brake disc got bent so he had to lower the pace and finally finished the race in 30th position. Petar Petrov was riding on his Yamaha 250F between the MX1 bikes. He rode three consistent motos and finished in 24th, 23rd and in 21st position.

The weekend started really well for Herjan on Saturday. In the free practice sessions he set the 7th and 9th fastest time. In his qualifying heat he crashed with another rider in the first corner. It cost him a lot of time to get going because the other rider got stuck with his legs between Herjan’s subframe. When he was riding again he tried to make up time to the group. He rode a consistent race but couldn’t do more than finish the race in 22nd position.

Petar showed his speed in the free practice sessions as well. In the first session he set the 5th fastest time and in the second session he was 11th fastest. In his qualifying heat he got some bad luck in the first lap and had to come back from 30th position. Petar gave everything he had but because the track was still really fast it was difficult to overtake. He still managed to pass several riders and crossed the finish line in 20th position.

On Sunday the riders had to ride three motos. The MX1 and MX2 class were riding together. Herjan and Petar had to come back trough the field in all three motos. Herjan finished in 19th position in the first moto and crossed the finish line in 10th position in the second moto. In the third moto he was riding in 8th position when he collided with another rider and crashed. By the crash his front brake disc got bent so he had to lower the pace and finally finished the race in 30th position.

In the first moto Petar worked his way back up from 30th position to 24th position. In the second moto he finished in 23rd position and in the third moto he scored his best result of the day by finishing in 21st position.

Herjan finished 11th overall in the MX1 class while Petar finished in 10th position in the MX2 class. Next weekend the Yamaha van Beers Racing Team will participate in the first round of the Italian Championship Series in Ponte a Egola.

Results Starcross in Mantova:

First moto:
1 David Philippaerts
2 Tanel Leok
3 Kevin Strijbos
4 Gautier Paulin
5 Anthony Boissiere

Second moto:
1 David Philippaerts
2 Tanel Leok
3 Gautier Paulin
4 Anthony Boissiere
5 Manuel Monni

Third moto:
1 David Philippaerts
2 Tanel Leok
3 Gautier Paulin
4 Kevin Strijbos
5 Anthony Boissiere

Overall MX1:
1 David Philippaerts 75 Points
2 Tanel Leok 66 Points
3 Anthony Boissiere 56 Points
4 Kevin Strijbos 51 Points
5 Aigar Leok 47 Points

Overall MX2:
1 Gautier Paulin 75 Points
2 Antonio Butron 60 Points
3 Harri Kullas 56 Points
4 Glenn Coldenhoff 54 Points
5 Stefan Kjaer Olsen 42 Points