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KTM RACING

Tony Cairoli wins MX1 GP of Britain after race red flagged and restarted
Tony Cairoli of the Red Bull Teka KTM Factory Racing team fully capitalised on a second chance in the second MX1 moto in the British GP and converted a holeshot to moto victory to add enough points to his third place from the first race to take the day’s honours at Matterley Basin.

The Italian is now close to retaining his world championship title in his second season with the KTM factory team with a commanding 82-point lead and 100 only up for grabs.

All indications were that Matterley Basin was not going to be Cairoli’s day he got bumped at the start of the race then after several laps he made a mistake, went off the track and almost picked up some of the notorious green fencing that lines the course. He then came back from 11th to be third at the flag. Cairoli was around seventh at the start of the second race but again made another mistake , crashed and found himself back at 15th. Then the race was red flagged after a nasty crash between Billy Mackenzie and Tanel Leok and according to FIM rules, was completely re-started after a 30-minute break. This time Tony got away cleanly, grabbed the holeshot and charged into the lead. From that point on he was not challenged for the top spot as he took full advantage of his second chance to pick up the most points possible.

The rough and rutted conditions also made it a hard day’s ride for team-mate Max Nagl who has been carrying a back injury. But the German rider still managed to finish overall fourth with a 5-5 result and is now in fourth place overall in the season’s standings and is still in with a chance to finish on the podium at the season’s end.

Cairoli now has the possibility of securing the title for KTM in the next round in Gaildorf, Germany in the second last GP of the season.  KTM also has an attractive 62-point lead in the MX1 Manufacturers’ standings.

Tony Cairoli: “This was a good weekend for me and I managed to win the GP. It was quite a different track because it is wide and there were a lot of lines. Everyone likes it here and so do I. Its one of my favourites this season so far. I am just happy to win this GP. Now we only need a few more points to take the title in Gaildorf so I am very happy things are going so well for us.”

Max Nagl: The riding went really well for me today although it could be even better. But today I had bad starts and I always had to come from the back of the field and that costs a lot of energy and hard work. I managed to come back from 20th place to fifth in the first race and I also didn’t have a good start in the second race. But in the restart it was a bit better and I got up to fifth. Then (Carlos) Campano (of Spain) was pushing hard behind me and I had to keep blocking him so that I could hold on to fifth place for overall fourth. Now I have the chance to finish in the top three in the championship and that would be really nice for me.”

Roczen dominates MX2 action at British GP
Ken Roczen was in a class of his own on the Matterley Basin near Winchester in the UK to take the British GP with two clear wins from gate drop to chequered flag. Roczen was untouchable in both motos to log his 18th moto win for the season and his eighth GP victory.

The German teenager now needs only four points to take the championship title and with the next GP at home in Gaildorf, he will receive a huge ovation from the German fans. After Sunday’s race, KTM has also already secured the MX2 manufacturer’s title for 2011. It would be Roczen’s first career world title in MX2 in his second year with the Red Bull Teka KTM Factory racing.

What was a copybook ride for Roczen was less successful for his team-mate Jeffrey Herlings. He finished with a 7-3 result on Sunday but a mistake in the final lap knocked the Dutch teenager from second to third in the moto and bumped him off the third place on the podium. With Herlings, as Roczen’s only rival for the title, sacrificing 24 points to Ken on Sunday now makes his team-mate absolute favourite for the title. Jeffrey admitted later that he had some stomach problems and that it had been a disappointing weekend for him.

Jeremy van Horebeek, the third member of the KTM factory team, who was riding with a virus infection this weekend stayed with the front-runners in the first moto but eventually finished sixth. But with drained energy, he finished out of the points in race two. Another unlucky KTM rider in Matterley Basin was Joel Roelants of Belgium who finished third in race one, was also up the front of the field in the first half of race two but dropped back and did not make any points. It was also a good ride for HM Plant KTM UK rider Jake Nichols who finished overall sixth.

Ken Roczen: “In the first race I checked out the lines a bit to see what would be the perfect position for me and I made up some good points on Jeffrey. Then I got the holeshot again in the second race, even though it was hard because the track had started to get rough. But I was able to do it pretty good to finish first again. Now I have a solid gap in the championship standings and it was another great weekend for me.”

Jeffrey Herlings: “The weekend already started bad for me yesterday when I had a crash in the qualifying. I had quite a good start in the first race today but somehow I just didn’t have the speed. The bike was perfect but I was missing a bit of confidence and I just couldn’t catch the others. Then I almost took the holeshot in the second race but right from the start I didn’t feel well. I expected much more from this weekend.”

Jeremy van Horebeek: “My starts were perfect today.  I was twice second, which is very good and the bike was awesome. I tried to push right from the beginning in the first heat but I had to slow down because I started to feel pain in my (recently injured) shoulder and I finished sixth. I got away well also in the second moto and I managed to even do a few laps in third and fourth place then I felt no power in my shoulder and decided to pull out because I didn’t want to take any risks.”

EMX 125
It was also a good day for KTM in the EMX125 races with Damon Graulus of Belgium and Dutch rider Brian Bogers on the top steps of the podium. British rider James Dunn had a good day out at Matterley Basin finishing fourth and Brent Van Doninck of Belgium was fifth. Eight of the top 10 finishers were on the Orange machines from Austria. The standings are still in the hands of Suzuki rider Simone Zecchina of Italy but KTM riders Samuel Bernadini (Italy )and Tim Gajser of Slovenia are in second and third.

YAMAHA RACING

Frossard grabs British Grand Prix podium
Monster Energy Yamahas Steven Frossard finished third overall a well-received Matterley Basin for the Grand Prix of Great Britain and the thirteenth stop of fifteen on the FIM Motocross World Championship schedule. The Frenchman posted his sixth podium result on the factory YZ450FM and has moved up to second position in the MX1-GP standings in what is just his first term in the category and his first as part of the decorated works set-up.

The weekend began well for the team with Frossard feeling comfortable on the excellent racing surface in southern England. The 24-year-old fought with Christophe Pourcel for pole position across the spectacular jumps and carved, soft mud that permitted different, grippy line choice before settling for second position without risk in the final two laps.

Bright skies greeted race-day and Frossard led almost all of the opening moto ahead of Pourcel. He had collided with a fence post and ripped off the right radiator shroud earlier in the sprint and this had an effect on his riding. 183 broke too hard into a tight right turn four laps from the flag and was passed by his countryman. He then went on the attack but was able to draw up to the rear wheel of the former world champion.

Frossard led the first fifteen minutes of the second moto until a dramatic crash between Billy Mackenzie and Tanel Leok led to the race being stopped. On the restart Frossard worked his way into third and then demoted Pourcel to reach second place. Sadly Antonio Cairoli was beyond reach. With his brace of runner-up positions Frossard earned the lower step of the rostrum but was consistently quick and close to victory all through the event.

The team were at full strength in the UK thanks to the transfer of 2010 MX3 World Champion Carlos Campano to the awning. The Spaniard fills David Philippaerts’ saddle for the final three events of the series and got off to a positive start by equalling his best ever moto result. Campano was motivated, strong and aggressive. He had some bad luck in the first moto when he slipped off on the first corner but set some impressive lap-times to recover back to fifteenth. In the second race he started brilliantly and was pressuring Shaun Simpson for second place until the premature halt. In the third moto the 25-year-old from Sevilla rode to sixth position to match a previous best obtained in 2009. Campano was tenth overall.

Anthony Boissiere, currently fifteenth in the MX1 standings, was able to post scores of tenth and ninth for a very solid seventh overall at Matterley; it was the Frenchman’s highest classification of the year.

Frossard trails world champion Tony Cairoli by 82 points but with Clement Desalle and Evgeny Bobryshev set to miss the rest of the season through injury he defends a gap of 62 over Max Nagl in fourth. Grand Prix meetings in Germany (Gaildorf) and Italy (Fermo) remain and a maximum of 100 points still to win.

Yesterday I had a great race with Christophe and it was a lot of fun to ride like this. This is the best track this year. In the first moto I made the holeshot and had a little problem with my arm and I also broke the radiator shroud when I hit a post. It affected my riding a little bit. I led for thirty minutes but made a mistake in one of the corners and then pushed really hard to try and win the moto. I made a great start in the second moto and went to the front but after fifteen minutes we had to stop. We went again and I was third but I think I pushed a bit too much and felt tired. Cairoli was fast and I couldn’t catch him. In the beginning I was trying to think GP by GP but now my goal is to finish second. It is a bit difficult because everyone says I will finish there, so I want to keep focussed. I am happy with the way the championship is going but at the start of the year I was close to Antonio and Desalle but lost points through some mistakes. I am learning and will improve on this for next year.

Carlos Campano, 10th position:
I’m happy. In the first race I had a crash on the first corner and was far behind but I found a good rhythm and could come back to fifteenth. I felt good on the bike and the track and was motivated for the second moto. I started ahead and slotted into third. I was on the point of taking second but then they stopped the race. I hoped I might be able to make the same start but it didn’t really happen. I got stuck behind Gonçalves and Barragan and Nagl caught us. I finally passed Gonçalves and pushed hard to get behind Nagl but could get him at the end. I think this was an important forward step and I loved the bike and the track. I don’t notice so much difference with the factory bike and my YZ450F but at the end of the motos when the track is really rough then I can really attack the other riders and I am far less on the limit compared to the other. It means less mistakes. I have to thank the team for all their work. They didn’t put any pressure on me and I did the best I could. I had a lot of problems this year and I am really grateful for this opportunity.

Paulin back on the box with 3rd at Matterley Basin
Monster Energy Yamahas Gautier Paulin guided the factory prototype YZ250FM to third overall at a crowded and sunny Matterley Basin for the Grand Prix of Great Britain and the thirteenth outing of fifteen in the FIM Motocross World Championship. The Frenchman racked-up his seventh podium finish in the MX2 division in front of 26,500 spectators and across one of the best tracks this year.

Matterley offered the grip, lines and hefty jumps amidst a wide and open layout for the riders to enjoy and express themselves and the paddock were mostly unanimous in their praise of the massive facility.

Paulin rode to third position in Saturdays qualification heat, just ahead of Bike it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamahas Arnaud Tonus and was a constant threat for more silverware. A first moto run to fourth was repeated in the second race but the performance was more impressive considering a poor start that left him near the rear of the pack. The English dirt was also rougher and more technical later in the afternoon so Paulin’s trawl back in to podium contention was great to chart and excellent in its execution.

New MX2 British Champion Tonus was fifth overall but was hoping for slightly better after his encouraging start to the Grand Prix. Two crashes in the first moto and an off-track excursion in the second meant a scorecard of 9-5. Team-mate Zach Osborne was back in Europe but ultimately was unable to compete at his crews home event. The American is recovering from his shoulder injury and has continued to train. The 21 year old is hopeful of again riding his YZ250F in two weeks in Germany.

Monster Energy Yamahas Christophe Charlier was able to get back on the scoreboard in both motos for the first time since the Grand Prix of Sweden in July. The talented French youngster has been unfortunate with small injury niggles to his hand and shoulder but in the UK put the discomfort of a fortnight away from the bike (after his crash in the Czech Republic) to classify seventh (11-7) overall. Team-mate Harri Kullas wasn’t able to dial into the demands of the track and was handicapped by two lowly starts that meant the Fin was eleventh (13-10) in the final MX2 classification.

Paulin is 54 points behind Tommy Searle and third position in the standings with a grand total of 100 left on the table in 2011. Tonus is fifth and 11 points ahead of Max Anstie. Osborne is seventh and just in front of Kullas with Charlier eleventh on the fifth YZ250F.

The penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place at Gaildorf (Germany) for the Grand Prix of Europe in two weeks and then the final trip will be Fermo in Italy before the curtain-closing Motocross of Nations on September 19th. Paulin, Kullas, Tonus, Osborne (and in MX1 Frossard and Campano) will also represent their countries at the mammoth event that will take place at the French circuit of St Jean D’Angely.

Gautier Paulin
I’m pretty happy but I’m disappointed with my start in the second moto. It was a really nice track and good for racing. I made too many mistakes in the first moto and had to concentrate to find the good rhythm. I got it very wrong in the second heat and used a lot of energy to pass people. 4-4 is not the best results but I am back on the podium and will aim for better in the next Grand Prix.

Arnaud Tonus, 5th position:
In the first race I crashed twice. I had a great start, in eighteenth, but my rhythm was OK until I made a couple of mistakes and took the green fence in my wheel. This cost me some time to take it out. I felt a bit tired at the beginning of the second moto and Paulin was too quick for me. I picked up my pace but ran off the track again and hit my gear-shifter on something and after that it was hard to find gear. I had some luck to finish fifth and take those points. I loved the track. It was the best of the year. There were a lot of lines and jumps and places to pass.

Christophe Charlier, 7th position:
Since my crash in Loket I have not been able to ride so today was very tough and I have a quite a few blisters! I wasn’t so happy with my first race but the second was better and I really enjoyed the track, it was a bit like supercross with some of the jumps. The setting on the bike was really good. My goal now is to try and get a top five finish in the last two GPs of the year.

Harri Kullas, 11th position:
Two bad starts and not so good riding today. I was sixteenth at the beginning of the first race and I was a little bit too slow. I caught some guys at the end but it was too late. In the second I was near the back and made ground again. Anstie passed me and I tried to keep the speed with him. I was catching people but not enough. It was a difficult track and we couldn’t get the set-up on the bike quite right.

KAWASAKI RACING

MX1 - Christophe Pourcel top scorer in England
Christophe Pourcel of Kawasaki Team CLS was equal top points-scorer at the British round of the FIM World MX1 Motocross Championship at Matterley Basin as three Kawasaki’s finished in the top eight.

The 23-year-old Frenchman had showed great speed and skill as he topped qualification on Saturday and in the first moto of the GP he pressurised early leader Steven Frossard until his compatriot made a mistake to make the way clear for a deserved win by the Kawasaki rider, his first victory this year. After another excellent start in race two Pourcel looked set to repeat his first win, but a simple mistake on a jump saw him throw away his chances and forced him to pull out of the race because his bike was bent in the incident. But for once Lady Luck was on his side and after a collision between two other riders the race was red-flagged and rerun over the full distance. Having already changed into his regular clothing before the red flag came out, Pourcel faced a hectic dash to get ready for the rerun and the stress restricted him to third place, but this was enough to see him end the day as equal top points-scorer.

All of the Kawasaki riders showed top ten speed during the course of the weekend and Jonathan Barragan of the Kawasaki Racing Team was sixth overall in the GP after a sparkling ride to fourth place in the second moto. The score lifts the Spaniard to eighth in the championship standings.

His team-mate Xavier Boog had got the weekend off to an excellent start with the holeshot in the qualification race, and the Frenchman showed good speed all weekend. An unfortunate opening lap in the first moto left him almost last but he battled furiously to recover to 12th place by the chequered flag, and had every prospect of a top score in race two as he started fifth but then crashed already on the opening lap after launching too far over a jump; although nothing was broken, he was too badly shaken to continue. Xavier also advanced one place in the standings to ninth.

Davide Guarneri of Kawasaki Bud Racing also had an excellent ride in qualification to earn sixth choice of gate, but an unlucky start in race one left the Italian fighting back through the pack from 14th place to finish eighth. He was going even better in fourth place in the second moto when the race was red-flagged but was unfortunate to suffer a bad start in the rerun which restricted him to 11th position.

French team-mate Gregory Aranda was much happier than in recent weeks as he finally shrugged off the injuries which have dogged him all season. With more time to find a suitable set-up he twice finished 12th, his best result of the season.

Scotland's Billy Mackenzie, who has raced to medal positions for Kawasaki in Australia for the past two seasons, made a guest appearance in the colours of the British LPE Kawasaki team and raced to an excellent seventh place in the opening moto. He was unfortunately involved in a collision with another rider in the second race which caused the race to be red-flagged, but was reported to be conscious and talking even though still in much pain later in the evening.

Christophe Pourcel: “Since Loket we never stop working with the team; not so much on the bike as I was already happy with the settings, but I rode a lot of motos in practice to prepare the last three GPs. The track was much better than Loket, it was similar to the US for the first moto, but it was different in the second one as there were not so many lines. In the first race I had a nice battle with Steven (Frossard); I was trying to make a pass in several places but it wasn’t easy but in the end Steven made a mistake and it was great to win that race ! I didn’t want to take too many risks on the first lap of the second race and I was following Simpson but I made a stupid mistake on a table top and came up too short. I crashed and the bike was damaged, so I decided to stop and I was angry with myself for my mistake. I was on the way back to my car ready to leave the track when the team called me to come for another start; it was all a bit of a rush but we made it. I crashed a few times this weekend, but it was fun to race with Cairoli and Frossard, we had a really good speed and both were clean when we made the passes.”

Jonathan Barragan: “We saw again this weekend that if I get a good start, then I can get a good result. In the first race my start was not so good and then I crashed several times to finish fourteenth; but with a good start in the second moto I was able to finish in fourth position, one of my best results this season. It’s a shame that I have not had better starts, it’s so important nowadays in the MX1 class.”

Xavier Boog: “It was a real motocross track this weekend, and until the crash during the second race it was one of my best weekends so far. I qualified in fifth yesterday, came back from twenty sixth to eleventh in the first moto and got a good start in the second race. I was fifth but I was riding a little too tense and I went too far on a jump; I landed in a hole, my hand came off the handlebars and I crashed. I had pain to my back and my neck; they took me to be examined at the hospital and nothing is broken but I will have more examinations this week at home.”

Davide Guarneri: “Yesterday I had fun on this track and was riding well to finish sixth in the qualifying race, a good result. Today I was maybe fifteenth at the start of the first race, and had good speed as I recovered to eighth with good speed. I had my best start of the season in the second race and I was fourth, riding easily, when they put out the red flag after fifteen minutes! In the rerun I had a really bad start. I was pushing hard for fifteen minutes but then I started to feel tired; the track was getting really bumpy and the sun was coming down so it was difficult to see and I finished eleventh.”

Gregory Aranda: “I was ill this week and that was not easy for me; I was sweating and during the first race I was forced to take off my goggles. I finished twelfth and was sixth in the second moto when they stopped the race. At the restart I didn't get away so good and I got another twelfth place finish. I’m happy as I was having fun on the bike again this weekend. After Loket I had a meeting with the team and we’ve worked on the settings; I felt more confident on the bike and I’m now looking forward to Germany and Italy.”

MX2 - Tommy Searle second in home GP
Tommy Searle recorded a superb second place for Kawasaki Team CLS in the British round of the FIM World MX2 Motocross Championship to further strengthen his third place in the series.

Played out in front of a large, enthusiastic gallery at the Matterley Basin track in Hampshire which was last used for a GP in 2006, the British GP was a showcase event for the sport in the home of motocross and Searle put on a great show for the home fans. After an unfortunate start in the first moto he scythed his way through the field from outside the top ten to snatch second place four laps from the end to the deafening cheers of his home fans and confidently expected to be able to snatch the overall victory on the day with a win in race two after getting a much better start. However it soon became clear that the exertions of race one had been too great and the dream of a home win faded. Nevertheless Searle kept fighting to the end and grabbed another second place on the very last lap of racing. He is now more than 50 points clear of his closest rival for third in the series and can confidently expect to clinch his medal at the next round.

Searle's teenage team-mate Max Anstie faced a difficult GP after a collision at the start of the qualification race damaged his bike and forced him to start from the extreme outside gate. However the young Brit never stopped charging and had battled through the pack to tenth and eighth places as the chequered flag fell at the end of the two 40 minute races. He too has cemented his sixth place in the standings and can anticipate great battles during the final two GPs in his quest for a top five world ranking.

Tommy Searle: “I would have liked to win my home GP but in the first race I had to come from a long way back, from twelfth I think, and I used a lot of energy to come back to second. I was still fifth after fifteen minutes, but I didn’t want to finish in that position and I found a better rhythm to make those passes but it was a tough race. My goal was to win the second race for the overall, and I got a good start in third but these guys were fast and I had used so much energy in the first race that I couldn’t close the gap on Roczen. The track was really nice, especially in the first moto; it was a lot bumpier for the second race but it was still one of the best of the year. In the first race when I made passes I could hear the fans; particularly in one section every time I went there the fans were cheering me and that was a really good feeling.”

HONDA RACING

Weather: Bright, high cloud
Temperature: 20 degrees C
Attendance: 26,500

ANDERSON PERFORMS AT HOME GRAND PRIX

Antonio Cairoli claimed his fifth victory of the 2011 FIM Motocross World Championship this afternoon at a superb Matterley Basin circuit for the Grand Prix of Great Britain. Additionally PAR Honda’s Brad Anderson celebrated his recent call-up to represent Team GB at the Motocross of Nations by taking fifth position overall on his British Championship winning CRF450R in front of an appreciative 26, 500 attendance. The thirteenth round of fifteen was run under bright, but cloudy skies and across a soft, rutted and flowing course that many riders claimed was the best of the year.

The injury list increased for the British Grand Prix and sadly two riders missing out on the action were LS Honda’s Ken De Dycker and Honda World Motocross team’s Evgeny Bobryshev. Both suffered recent neck injuries with De Dycker nursing a cracked C6 vertebrae and Bobryshev a fractured C7 after his crash last weekend while contesting the Belgian Championship. The Russian will miss the rest of the season with an expected recovery time of six weeks while De Dycker is also likely to sit out the remaining two rounds. In MX2 Swian Zanoni is still recovering from his broken wrist.

It was Anderson who animated the crowd and produced two gutsy rides to place ninth and seventh to earn the best overall standing. The Briton had to work hard on race-day as the second moto was rerun after fifteen minutes due to a scary collision between Tanel Leok and Billy Mackenzie that left both hospitalised.

Honda World Motocross’ Rui Gonçalves was ninth overall. The Portuguese struggled physically on a track that became rougher and more technical as the day went on. He fought hard with Leok and Nagl in a close battle for fourth in the first outing, but was powerless to rise higher than fourteenth in the second moto.

LS Honda’s Shaun Simpson was left cursing his misfortune. The Scot was fourteenth in the final MX1 classification, but his ranking could have been much better. Simpson - in particular - was unlucky with the aborted second race. In the first he was inside the top six when he ran off the track and swallowed some green fencing in his rear wheel. He had a near-crash that led to a heavy impact with the handlebars leading to a position of sixteenth. A fantastic holeshot meant that he spent the entire second moto in second place and looked very comfortable for a top three finish until the red flags emerged. He could not replicate the feat on the restart and then had his speed clipped by a sore neck as a result of the earlier race incident.


Bobryshev is fifth in the MX1 World Championship standings, sixteen points in front of Gonçalves. De Dycker is tenth with Simpson fourteenth.

The penultimate round of the series will take place in two weeks time at Gaildorf, Germany for the Grand Prix of Europe.

Rui Gonçalves (Honda World Motocross)
Race Result: 6th/14th Championship position: 6th
“A really hard day and the track was tough to deal with. I don’t know why at the moment, but after ten minutes in the second moto I was finished and was just riding through trying to make the finish. It was so hard and I did what I could to stay on two wheels. I need to recover and work out what happened.”

Brad Anderson (PAR Honda)
Race Result: 9th/7th Championship position: 24th
“It was my starts that let me down today. If I had got away well then I think I would have been in the top five of that last one. I pushed hard to the end and with the results today I am really happy. I aimed for top ten and that what I did. The track wasn’t that gnarly in the beginning, but at the end it was brutal; but that suited me because everyone can go fast on a smooth circuit. I’m really looking forward to the Nations now.”

Evgeny Bobryshev (Honda World Motocross)
Race Result: DNS/DNS Championship position:
“I felt like maybe it was possible to ride, but after making the CTI scan the doctors said it would be too much of a risk, too dangerous, so now I have to wait six weeks and then see what is happening. We will have another medical opinion in a few days. It is a shame because the track look so nice here and for sure this is not that way I wanted to finish what had been a good season.”

Shaun Simpson (LS Honda Racing)
Race Result: 10th/11th Championship position: 14th
“I think that summed up my year a little bit; certainly the start of the second moto… when I finally think I have something to build on then it gets taken away from me. The first moto of the day was tough because I made a bad job of the first corner. I managed to get up to sixth or seventh, but then ran off the track. I got up to eighth or something like that then I hit my head really hard on the handlebars when I took a false neutral on one of the step-downs. I don’t know how I saved it and a few people told me I was so lucky. My neck was really sore, not broken like a few people, but even the weight of the helmet in that last race was killing me. If I get away with the front guys then I can settle down and make the speed. It shows with good starts what I might be able to do. When I am back in the pack I seem to struggle to relax and find the lines. I don’t know what I can do to get where I need to be.”

Roger Harvey, Honda Motor Europe Off-road Racing Manager:
“We are obviously counting the cost of some injuries to the guys, but what a day for Brad and the PAR Honda team. Although Brad does not compete in the World championship he has proved to be the fastest in the UK this year and showed today that he has the drive and the speed to race with the best here at the GPs. Rui had a few problems and it was great to see Shaun in second position until they stopped that second race. We will try to regroup a little bit and finish the season in the best way we can.”

TANEL LEOK
HEAVY CRASH MARS BRITISH GP FOR LEOK

A world championship motocross race event contains many moments. Moments of excitement, moments of despair, moments of unadulterated joy. For the fan visiting the races, all of these mould themselves into a blur of experiences. Sometimes, one single moment during the weekend overshadows all else, so much so that the post race chatter focuses on nothing else. Tanel Leok had a starring role in such a moment at the British Motocross Grand Prix at Matterley Basin. By now every motocross fan knows what we are referring to, but for the sake of historical correctness, we'll let the tale unfold in the correct chronological order.

Tanel was riding on a wave of confidence after another sterling outing at the Czech Grand Prix, and he came out of his corner swinging. After posting the fifth fastest time in the free practice session, he had the afterburners of his TM on full thrust during the qualifying session, and blitzed to the fastest time. He used his pole position to good effect in the qualifying race, and finished fourth on in his Saturday shift close enough to world championship leader Antonio Cairoli to smell his aftershave.

Tanel was again second during Sunday morning warm up, and it all augured well for a good race day for the Red Bull – backed rider. He had definitely found his start muse somewhere in a darkened alley, for in race 1 he was again part of the leading group as the bikes rounded the first corner of the challenging track. He coaxed every ounce of performance out of his sky-blue bike, and again he gave Cairoli a hard run for his money all the way to the flag, finishing in fourth position.

The sun seemed to be shining brightly for the Estonian Express, but in race two the incident we referred to in our introductory paragraph unfolded. Tanel was in the thick of things again and moving forward, when a problem prevented him from clearing a quadruple jump. Scotsman Billy Mackenzie was already committed to the jump, and he landed squarely on the back of the TM. Both riders went down hard with a thud that looked as if it might have moved the earth two degrees off its axis. Tanel dragged himself painfully to the side of the track, whilst Mackenzie worryingly lay very still for a while. Fortunately, both riders later proved to have suffered no serious injuries from a crash that, from the outside looked very serious indeed. Footage of the crash quickly made it onto the viral network, and you can view it here. Anyone who witnesses it will not be surprised at all to know that Tanel did not line up for the restart of the race.

Despite not being able to participate in the restart of race two, Tanel maintained his world championship standing of eleventh. He was understandably feeling rather battered and bruised when the time for the obligatory post-race report came. “I am quite stiff and sore,” he said. “I had a check up and there is a hairline fracture of the tail bone. It is not too serious and I should be ready to race at Gaildorf again.”

Tanel will use the short break in the racing program to good effect to recover for the penultimate round of the world championship series at Gaildorf, Germany in two weeks' time.

GAUTIER PAULIN
Paulin back on the podium in Matterley Basin

Matterley Basin, round 13 of the FIM MX World championship, has seen another podium finish for Monster Energy Yamaha racer, Gautier Paulin. The friendly Frenchman posted consistent 4-4 results for 3rd place on the rostrum in front of a strong crowd of over 25,000 spectators.

Paulin set the fastest time in Saturday’s pre qualification practice and rode a strong qualification race to end second behind championship leader Ken Roczen.

Perfect track conditions and the spectacular Matterley Basin valley setting saw Moto 1 get underway with Paulin in a top 5 position. He pushed hard to pass the KTM duo of Herlings and Van Horebeek and then set his sites on Joel Roelants. A backmarker got in the way of Paulin, which allowed Searle to pass, and he could not counter attack the Englishman having to settle for 4th.

A bad start in Moto 2 left Paulin at the back of the pack with a gaggle of riders to pass.  He quickly cut through the pack and broke top ten already on lap two. Paulin pushed further and once again was into 4th where he remained until the chequered flag.

“Choosing the right lines was very important today on this track. I put in some good laps in moto 1 but then lost my rhythm a little when Tommy got past. The second moto start was a disaster but I am happy with how I came through the pack. This is my 7th podium of the season so I hope to finish the last two races the same and of course it would be great to try for the win,” mentioned Paulin.

PAR HONDA
FANTASTIC FIFTH FOR BRAD ANDERSON AT BRITISH GRAND PRIX

PAR Honda’s Brad Anderson scored a fantastic fifth overall for his wildcard entry in the Motocross Grand Prix of Great Britain at Matterley Basin yesterday.

The recently-crowned 2011 British MX1 Champion was looking to put on a good show for the British fans after winning all three races in the domestic series just one week ago in Duns, Scotland, and the Honda pilot certainly delivered.

In Saturday’s pre-qualifying ‘Ando’ struggled to get to grips with the hardpack track, as it was fast and fairly flat. In the 20-minute plus two-lap qualifying heat later in the day the 30-year-old recovered from a bad start to finish in a fighting 15th place.

A determined Anderson was disappointed with his qualifying performance and certainly made amends in Grand Prix race one as he gated into ninth place aboard his CRF450R. The PAR Honda rider progressed up-to seventh position while battling the Grand Prix regulars, but slipped back later in the 35-minute plus two-lap moto for a superb ninth position finish.

In race two Anderson got a fairly decent start into ninth, but 15 minutes into the moto the race was red-flagged due to fellow countryman Billy Mackenzie’s crash on the quadruple step-up.

In the restart, which would see the moto run to full length, Anderson got a poor start but made his way through to 12th place by the end of lap one. The Honda pilot put everything he had into the race, which is over a much longer distance than his usual races, and made his way through to seventh position to finish top Honda and top British MX1 rider against the Grand Prix regulars to take a fantastic fifth overall.

Brad Anderson #54: Matterley Basin MX1 Grand Prix - 5th Overall:
"In qualifying I got a real bad start as I took a risk; I went further out and it didn't really work. The race was so hard because the group ahead got away from us. I passed everyone in my group but the group ahead was gone by then and I had no chance of catching them up. I ended up 15th, which wasn't too bad for the gate. In the first race today I got an okay start but I made a lot of time up on the second corner. I had to fight through, but I got arm pump as I was holding (Max) Nagl off and he was giving me some pressure, so my arms became solid. I couldn't hold on after he got past and I had to slow up, so I lost a few places. Shaun came past and I got some rhythm again and I started to go again and ended up ninth, which was pretty good. In the second race I got an okay start up-to ninth and then Billy and Leok crashed so it was red-flagged. I hope they are okay, but it would have been a good race as Shaun was up in second and Billy was doing well too - I think it could have been a good battle between us all. We had to rush about for the re-start and I got the worst start of the day. A stone came up and smashed my roll offs on the first corner. I got my head down and passed Boissiere and Gonçalves which was good. I looked at my board and thought I was 11th but I was seventh. I was trying to catch Campano and I knew there was 15 minutes to go, so I was trying to pace myself, but then at three laps to go I had a real push and started to gain on Campano and Nagl. I had to wipe my goggles because I had no roll offs and I ran out of time to make any more progress, but to come away with seventh is great. With better starts though it could have been better, although two consistent races gave me fifth overall and the best I've ever done at GP's, which shows how good this year is going and it was good to be top Honda too. I've got the Red Bull Pro Nationals this weekend but the next big one is the Des Nations. I'm not a qualifier but I knew I could do well today and knuckle down; I felt good even in the longer races, though when I got off my bike my legs felt a bit jelly! It's been a good weekend and great to see the support from the British fans."

Neil Prince: PAR Honda Team Manager:
“What a great weekend for the team. Brad didn’t get the start he needed in qualifying and it is so important here, but he certainly made amends today. The track had become rutty and bumpy, but Brad put on a really good show and to be able to race like that in the second moto after already having done half a race distance shows that he’s as fit, or fitter than a lot of the guys out there especially as the races at home he does are a lot shorter in length. He put everything he had into that last race and to come away finishing top Honda and top British rider in his class just shows the work that he’s put in this year and how good he’s riding. We’re really pleased with the weekend and we're looking forward to the Des Nations now.”

HONDA WORLD MOTOCROSS TEAM
Difficult weekend for Honda World Motocross Team in Great Britain

In many ways it has been one to forget for the Honda World Motocross Team at the Grand Prix of Great Britain. The weekend started with news that an injury to Evgeny Bobryshev would preclude him from taking part in proceedings, and ended with a crash for Rui Gonçalves in the second moto.

In the first, Gonçalves had battled to sixth on fast flowing track that did not seem to suit his style. Out front Frossard and Pourcel would duel with Pourcel taking the honours. The second moto saw the Portuguese making moves towards the top-five, before a horror crash between Tanel Leok and Billy Mackenzie bought out the red flag at around the 20 minute mark.

In the re-rack, Gonçalves got a better start and was running in the top-five but the added duration of another half moto began to take its toll and the Honda man began to fade towards the end. A small coming together with Boissiere on the last lap would see Gonçalves hitting the deck. Although he managed to remount, a finish of 14th was all he could muster. The race was won by Antonio Cairoli, who would also take the overall GP victory.

Rui Gonçalves, Honda World Motocross
“I was absolutely empty after that one and had given all I had and had really bad cramps at the end of the moto but forced myself to finish. It was a disappointing weekend overall and I am not at all happy, but I will pick myself up, move on to the next one and look for a strong end to the season.”

LS HONDA RACING
Bittersweet home race for Shaun Simpson

LS Honda Racing’s Shaun Simpson gave his best shot to animate his home crowd at the amazing Matterley Basin circuit where the 13th round of the FIM MX1 World Championship took place. Shaun powered his CRF450R to the holeshot in the second moto and was a strong second behind Steven Frossard for more than five laps when the race was red-flagged. It was the agonising low of a weekend in which the MX1 rookie certainly showed his speed without reaping the rewards of his efforts. Simpson reached 16th and 10th to claim 14th position overall. Team-mate Ken De Dycker sat out the event nursing a cracked C6 vertebrae.

After qualifying just outside the top 10, in eleventh place, Shaun was pumped to provide his fans with his best result of the season on Sunday. Once again the likeable Scotsman would be cursing his misfortunes because he was fast indeed! Shaun got off to a decent start in the opening moto, he was circulating in sixth position when he ran off the track and swallowed some green fencing in his rear wheel. He dropped back to 11th, but managed to claw back in to contention with eighth place just over half race distance. Unfortunately ‘Braveheart’ than suffered a near-crash that led to a heavy impact with the handlebars hitting his head. Finally Shaun would cross the finish line in sixteenth.

A fantastic holeshot in the second sprint provided Shaun the perfect opportunity to get the GP result he and the LS Honda Racing team have been working for all season long. After leading most of the opening lap he had to let Steven Frossard go by but Simpson looked very comfortable riding second and keeping Frossard in his sights. However it was not meant to be as the second race was stopped after 15 minutes due to a big crash involving Mackenzie and Leok. The rerun saw the former British MX2 champion claiming another solid start just outside of the top 5. Unfortunately Shaun had his speed hampered by a sore neck as a result of the earlier race incident. Still Simpson reached 10th position.

Shaun Simpson: “I think that summed up my year a little bit; certainly the start of the second moto… when I finally think I have something to build on then it gets taken away from me. The first moto of the day was tough because I made a bad job of the first corner. I managed to get up to sixth or seventh, but then ran off the track. I got up to eighth or something like that then I hit my head really hard on the handlebars when I took a false neutral on one of the step-downs. I don’t know how I saved it and a few people told me I was so lucky. My neck was really sore, not broken like a few people, but even the weight of the helmet in that last race was killing me. If I get away with the front guys then I can settle down and make the speed. It shows with good starts what I might be able to do. When I am back in the pack I seem to struggle to relax and find the lines. I don’t know what I can do to get where I need to be.”

TEAM SUZUKI

STRIJBOS 11TH AT BRITISH MX1 GP
Kevin Strijbos took the Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 factory RM-Z450 to 11th position overall at a bright and warm British Grand Prix for the 13th round of 15 in the FIM Motocross World Championship.

The majority of the riding fraternity rightfully lauded Matterley Basin - surrounded by a healthy 26,500 crowd - as the best track seen on the calendar this season. The wide, grippy, line-laden and jumpy course invited the world's best to manipulate the terrain and created some great racing scenes.

Strijbos, representing the team alone after Clement Desalle underwent surgery on his broken left shoulder last week and will be out for the remaining two Grands Prix of the year, was unlucky to damage his goggles on the first lap of the first moto and upon entering the pits for new eyewear on the next circulation had to push back hard to reach 13th. The second race was stopped after 15 minutes after a big crash between Billy Mackenzie and Tanel Leok. Strijbos had been holding fifth position at the time and was closing on the top three. The rerun saw the Belgian claim eighth place by the flag and his classification was partially determined by a slow-speed fall when he lost control of the motorcycle exiting a corner.

The absent Desalle is now third in the MX1 Championship table and could very well remain in the top five thanks to his 90 point distance over Rui Gonçalves in sixth with a maximum of 100 left to win. Strijbos is 13th with the injured Steve Ramon in 12th. Desalle will be substituted by New Zealander Cody Cooper this week.

The Grand Prix of Europe at the circuit of Gaildorf in southern Germany will represent round 14 of the series in a fortnight and immediately precedes the visit to Italy for the last event.

Kevin Strijbos:
"My riding was OK but the results weren't! In the first race I had a good start but a rock hit my goggles on the first lap and the lens fell out. I had to come into change and then worked up from dead last to 13th. It was OK but I was pretty tired. In the second race I was fifth when they red-flagged it. It was a shame because I was making ground. I had a crash on the restart when I got on the gas out of a new rut and the bike slipped away. After that I gave all I had and eighth was the best I could do. I feel that I have the speed for the top five. It was a shame I didn't get the chance to get up there."

TEILLET RACES TO BEST MX2 RESULT
Suzuki Europe MX2 left the superb setting of Matterley Basin and the Grand Prix of Great Britain ruing its luck after a weekend of work and good speed ultimately delivered 12th position overall for Valentin Teillet on the factory-backed RM-Z250.

The 13th round of 15 in the MX2 category of the FIM Motocross World Championship visited the UK and the Winchester site for the first time since 2006 and the jump-laden, soft and open layout was an excellent course for racing; prompting many of the paddock - including the exciting Teillet - to praise the track as the best of the season.

Some 26,500 spectators travelled to southern England for the first British GP for two years and were rewarded with some bright weather and entertaining fare. After setting the fastest time through a damp free practice session on Saturday and then suffering a bit of arm-pump to take sixth position in the qualification heat, Teillet was a proactive force in the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos.

The former European Champion was pushing for the top five in the first moto and took a lot of confidence from a decent start and his pace to keep ahead of Jeremy Van Horebeek to confirm fifth and his best race result of the year. A repeat performance was on the cards at the second time of asking but a problem with his gear-shifter and dislodged chain forced a disappointing DNF while holding a comfortable fourth spot.

Teillet holds 16th place in the MX2 standings and has moved up two positions. The team will face its second home Grand Prix of the season in two weeks time with Gaildorf (in close proximity to Stuttgart) entertaining the European round and the penultimate fixture of the FIM calendar.

Valentin Teillet:
"It was one of the first times this year that I felt it was really possible to be twice in the top five. I had a small problem with the bike in the second moto but these things happen; it is a mechanical sport. At the end of the day my speed was not bad and I will go home with this positive feeling. We need more tracks like this. It is real motocross; lots of jumps, good ground and big ruts. I need to think about Gaildorf now."

YAMAHA VAN BEERS RACING
World Championship points for the Yamaha van Beers-riders in Great Britain

The Yamaha van Beers riders Petar Petrov and Herjan Brakke has scored World Championship points at round thirteen of the World Championship Series at Matterley Basin in Great Britain. Petar finished in 18th and 16th position in the MX2 motos and scored eight World Championship points. Herjan Brakke finished in nineteenth position in the second MX1 moto and scored two World Championship points.

Petar set the eighteenth fastest time in the pre qualifying session on Saturday and started his qualifying heat in seventeenth position. He found his rhythm straight away and managed to work himself up to fifteenth position before the midway point. In the second part of the race he gave everything he had and managed to pass two more riders to finish the race in thirteenth position.

In the first moto he didn’t took a good start and came out of the first corner outside of the top twenty. In the beginning he had several duels around 20th position. He changed from position several times but in lap ten he worked himself up to eighteenth position. In the following laps he moved up to seventeenth position but a lap later he lost this position again. In the rest of the race he managed to held on to eighteenth position and scored three World Championship points.

In the second moto he took a poor start again and he had to start the race in the back of the pack. He started a charge back trough the field and within a few laps he had worked himself up to 18th position. In the following laps Petrov managed to pass several more riders and finished the race in sixteenth position.

Overall he finished in eighteenth position and after this round he sits in 17th position in the World Championship Standings.

Herjan Brakke qualified himself in eighteenth position in the MX1 class. In the first moto he came out of the start around twentieth position. In the beginning of the race the pace was to high for Herjan and this forced him into a mistake. He dropped back all the way to 30th position. After the crash Herjan tried to come back as far as possible. He finally finished the race in 25th position but scored no World Championship points. The second moto got red flagged after thirteen minutes. At the restart he came out of the first corner in 22nd position. After several laps he started to put the pressure on the riders in front of him. In the second part of the race he was riding inside of the points and after a strong end of the moto he finished the race in 19th position.

Overall he finished in 24th position and after this round he sits in 28th position in the World Championship Standings. In two weeks time the series will continue in Gaildorf in Germany.

BEURSFOON SUZUKI TEAM
Solid ride for Mike Kras at British Grand Prix

Round 13 of the World Championship series was ridden last weekend in the English Matterley Basin. A track with some different levels in height that also offered a lot of spectacular jumps like we're used to on these British motocross tracks. The Beursfoon Suzuki Team travelled down with their MX2 rider Mike Kras who loved the track because of its jumps. These conditions were in favour of his riding style and made him finish his qualify heat in a proper 16th position. Finishing 20th and 19th in both heats made it a though ride for Mike who got rewarded with 3 extra GP points.

Saturday:
Strong start of this qualify heat in Matterley Basin, England – brought our Suzuki rider into an 11th position. The pace could not be picked up so they forced him to drop back into a comfortable 16th position to finish his qualifying heat.

Sunday:
Heat 1:
Mike scored one extra GP point in this first heat with not having his best feeling on board of the Beursfoon Suzuki. Being in 19th position Mike started pushing really hard in order to make some passes to a top-15 classification. Fighting and struggling with the pace and feeling, he dropped back into a 20th position towards the end.

Heat 2:
An even tougher track got served for he second heat of the MX2 World Championship class. Missing a good start and being in 28th position made things look not so bright. Only we did not expect to find such a good riding Mike Kras out there in these rough conditions. He made his way from 28th position up to 19th position. A solid ride which he was happy about and earned another 2 GP points.

BOOST ENERGY KTM TEAM
More world championship points for Boost Energy KTM at Matterley Basin

Matterley Basin just due east of Winchester hosted the most anticipated event of the British motocross calendar this weekend – The British Motocross Grand Prix. Boost Energy KTM was once again given the opportunity to field both riders, and the team looked forward to making a good impression in front of its fans and sponsors.

Saturday morning's free practice set a good time for riders Martin Barr and Nathan Parker as they familiarised themselves with the extraordinary circuit. Pre-qualifying practice later in the afternoon set the starting positions for their qualifying race at seventeenth and twenty-fourth. While Barr cemented his position more firmly in the qualifying race late on Saturday, Parker had to make do with twenty-sixth.

Then Sunday dawned – Race day. Although the start for Parker left him in the rear of the pack and the usual first-lap pushing and shoving dropped him back even further, he worked relentlessly to push forward again, returning to twenty-fourth by half-distance. However, much to the team's disappointment, Parker landed short off a downhill jump, banging his head on the bars and aggravating the neck injury sustained originally at the German Grand Prix. This earned him a trip to the local NHS hospital to make sure there was no serious damage and he forfeited his place in the second race. He nonetheless returned to the circuit later in the afternoon to lend his support to team-mate Martin Barr.

For Barr, the first race started off in the middle of the pack after a good start. He struggled to make much progress through the pack, having his hands full with regular Grand Prix veterans Kevin Strijbos, Jonathan Barragan and Xavier Boog. By the halfway mark, Barr found himself settled into a rhythm, and soon chased after Carlos Campano and Tom Church to the end. Eighteenth place and another three points in his pocket was the reward.

The ill-fated second race got off to a bad start, and Barr found himself in the back of the pack trying to make up time quickly. After a bad landing, Barr sprained his wrist and tried to continue, which only made matters worse. With the fifth round of the Red Bull Pro Nationals being held on the next weekend, he made the decision not to jeopardise his current second place in the standings and pulled in just before the red flag was raised for an incident elsewhere on the circuit. The decision not to race the restarted second race was made without much ado.

The points earned in the first race gave Barr a twenty-third overall for the day, and places him thirty-fourth in the world championship overall.

“What can I say?” mused team principal Steve Turner at the end of the day. “For Martin the first race was pretty steady, he got stuck in there and finished with an eighteenth which was not too bad. In the second race he was running all right and looked comfortable, but then he landed wrong off a jump and bent his wrist back. It wasn't worth the risk trying to finish because of our races next week. Nathan injured his neck again after short-jumping a downhill jump and that was the day done for him. All in all, not the best day we've had, but I’m hopeful that the lads will be okay for the Red Bull at Hawkstone.”

Nathan Parker: “Good. Bad. Worse. Disaster. That's how it went for the whole weekend for me. Free practice on Saturday went well before we had a little rain shower that made the track pretty slippery. I struggled a little bit in pre-qualifying practice, made a few big mistakes and ended up twenty-fourth. In the qualifier I was up to twenty-second when I made a few mistakes and they dropped me back to twenty-sixth. In the only race today I had a terrible start and was pulling through the pack in the first few laps. Then I cased one of the big step-down jumps into the middle and hurt my neck again like I did in Germany and that was the end of my day. I’ll be straight down to the physiotherapist to see if he can get me back into shape for next week.”

Martin Barr: “The weekend started off OK; in free practice I was twelfth and in pre-qualifying practice dropped back to seventeenth. For the heat race I got a pretty good start and it took me a few laps to get my rhythm going and eventually finished seventeenth. In the first race today I got an OK start, but I'm just not used to the races being so long, and compared to the British championship it's hard to jump in at the deep end. I had an eighteenth in the end but I wasn't happy with that result. I wanted to be in the top fifteen or twelve. In the second race I had a really bad start and was trying to come through; I landed short on one of the table tops, bounced into the braking bumps after and sprained my wrist. I tried to continue riding but it just wasn't happening, I was making mistakes and I didn't want to go down and get hurt again, so I pulled out. Overall I am pretty disappointed with the way things went but I’m hopeful that my wrist will be okay and I’ll be fighting for the win at next week’s Red Bull Pros.”

QUALIFYING

TEAM SUZUKI

STRIJBOS 8TH IN BRITISH MX1 GP QUALIFYING
Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1's Kevin Strijbos finished eighth in the MX1 qualification heat race and will take up the same position in the gate for the British Grand Prix at the impressive Matterley Basin circuit.

The 13th round of 15 in the FIM Motocross World Championship began with an overcast and chilly climate and in front of a decent Saturday crowd. After a bout of rainfall, midday sun and blue skies greeted the rest of the first-day programme.

Strijbos was ninth and fourth in the first practice sessions to be run at the sweeping Matterley track with its soft and rutted terrain since 2006. The Belgian, who was MX1 runner-up here on the RM-Z450 five years ago, was swamped negotiating the first corner of the qualification heat and then took part in a frantic chase with three other riders for seventh spot. Strijbos crawled over the back of Rui Gonçalves and Billy Mackenzie and was actually able to demote the Portuguese rider on the last lap.

Clement Desalle is currently injured and left hospital after an operation this week on his fractured left shoulder. The Belgian, presently second in the Championship standings, will be replaced by New Zealander Cody Cooper for the last two rounds of the series in Germany and Italy.

Kevin Strijbos:
"Practice went pretty well and I had a good feeling but the race was not so great. My start was fine but I was not aggressive enough in the first turn and people just seemed to be going past me left and right. I couldn't make any time in the first laps. After that first period I was fast but it was difficult to pass. There are lines out there but everyone holds the fastest one. The bike is working good; I just need to be a bit better."

TEILLET FAST ON BRITISH MX2 GP 1ST DAY
Suzuki Europe MX2's Valentin Teillet revelled on what he called the 'best track of the season' at Matterley Basin to qualify sixth in the MX2 category with the RM-Z250 for the British Grand Prix and the 13th round of 15 in the FIM Motocross World Championship.

The Frenchman set the fastest time in the first practice session around the wide, quick climbs and drops of the English course that welcomed GP action back to the Winchester region on the first occasion since 2006. Teillet was then fourth quickest in his second attack of the soft terrain but was ultimately frustrated by his heat race in the dry and sunny afternoon.

The 21-year-old suffered with arm-pump in the opening phases of the 20-minute sprint but then settled into a pacey-rhythm and got quicker and more assured as the race hurried to a conclusion.

Dry conditions are forecast for the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos tomorrow.

Valentin Teillet:
"I'm not so satisfied with sixth. The day started really well with first place in practice and then fourth in the pre-qualification was OK. I made a bad start for the heat race though and was too tense; I had really bad arm-pump in the first laps. When Anstie crashed I moved up to sixth and then got close to Van Horebeek at the end with what I think is my best lap of the race. This is by far the best track of the season."

HONDA WORLD MOTOCROSS TEAM
Gonçalves steady in Saturday qualifying for GP of Great Britain

Honda World Motocross Team’s sole representative, Rui Gonçalves, took 9th position in Saturday’s qualifying heat for the GP of Great Britain at Matterley Basin, Winchester.

In a weekend that has seen team-mate Bobryshev ruled out of proceedings, with an injury to the C7 vertebra, the Honda World Motocross Team were not in the mood for taking risks and this showed in Gonçalves qualifying performance.

 
Not getting the jump out of the gate, the Portuguese was forced to make some early moves on lap one, pushing into the top-10 and establishing himself in 8th position. On a fast flowing track, that appeared to be fairly one speed, making progress proved hard work and much of the field remained steadfast throughout.

Gonçalves was following close in the tracks of Billy Mackenzie for the entirety of the moto but couldn’t quite get in a position to make the move. Towards the end of the moto he let his guard down for one moment and Strijbos made the pass for 8th. Gonçalves was forced to settle for a solid 9th position as they crossed the finish but for tomorrow the attitude will be different and he will need to put in on the line to get his CRF450R on the podium once again.

Rui Gonçalves, Honda World Motocross
“I did not get the start as I got caught in the gate with a bit of wheelspin but I pushed through early on and got into a decent position. As the field strung out it was kind of difficult to make ground and I didn’t really get to string the fast laps together to get past Billy (Mackenzie). I was not happy after the race but tomorrow is a different day. Starts will be crucial.”