MX1

MX2

EMX2

KTM RACING

Victory for Tony Cairoli in MX1 GP of Spain
Red Bull Teka KTM rider and current world champion was back to his winning form on the track in La Bañeza Spain to wrap up the MX1 GP of Spain in impressive style to ensure that KTM dominated both classes on the tricky northern Spanish circuit.

It was the Italian rider’s 39th career GP win. Cairoli conceded defeat in the opening moto but went out like a man possessed in the second. He was out of the gate like a rocket and slowly but surely distanced himself from the rest of the field and was five seconds in front at the checkered flag. The result has thrown down the challenge to championship leader Clement Desalle who now leads the standings by a single point from Cairoli. Tony has struggled with minor but debilitating injuries in the first half of the season but is looking confident for the second half of the season.

Tony Cairoli: “I made one small mistake when I was leading in the first race when I was in the lead then I didn’t have the chance to pass again. They I took the holeshot in the second race. Tanel Leok was riding very fast and I couldn’t pull away but then maybe he was getting a bit tired so I could make a good gap. I think in Sweden we can take back the red plate.”

Red Bull Teka KTM factory team-mate Max Nagl finished with a 4-6 result for 33 points and fifth overall.  The German rider is also fourth in the championship standings. Nagl said after the race that he had two good starts on Sunday and gained a lot of confidence in the first moto because he was able to keep up with Cairoli, Philippaerts and Frossard.

“After that I knew I was getting mentally stronger. I got a good start again in the second then I got stuck behind Barragan. He slowed down going over the big tabletop and I almost ran into him so a lot of riders passed me,” he said.

Red Bull Teka KTM MX1 Team Manager Claudio de Carli said he was very satisfied with both riders and the bikes.

“This was a great result for Tony especially after he had some problems with his thumb that was injured last week in Portugal. He managed to win today so this was perfect for him. Also Max is coming back into good form after his back problems and if he works on some technical points he is going to be back at the same level as he was earlier in the year, he said.

“Also from a technical point of view we are doing very well and our bikes are certainly at the top level,” he added.

Roczen the star of the MX2 GP of Spain
Ken Roczen, riding still battered and bruised from a big crash last weekend in Portugal completely dominated the MX2 GP of Spain in La Bañeza with two superb victories to pick up 50 points and reclaim the red plate as championship leader.

Factory team-mate Jeffrey Herlings, who briefly held the red plate after the last GP finished fourth overall after taking a 3-4 result in the two motos. Now Roczen has reclaimed it and put a six points advantage between him and Herlings.

But while 16-year-old Herlings seemed to struggle on Sunday, Roczen put in two stunning rides on the northern Spanish circuit, which was the shortest on the current competition. The young German rider left no doubt about his championship intentions on a track that was very difficult to pass, putting in two near perfect starts and going on to dominate the races. He allowed Kawasaki rider Tommy Searle to briefly take the lead in the second moto but only in the first lap and only for a few corners. Then Ken concentrated on putting as much distance between him and the rest of the field and finished the second moto an impressive 10.5 seconds ahead of his rivals.

Ken Roczen: “I came here in a lot of pain and it didn’t work out so well yesterday because I was still in a lot of pain but now we had some good days. I was really calm and riding smooth and this is what I needed. I finally won two motos and I made two mistakes. Now I will go back home to relax a bit because I want to come back strong in Sweden.”

Claudio de Carli, the Red Bull Teka KTM MX1 Team Manager: “This was a very good weekend after last weekend when we all had a lot of worries about Ken Roczen after his bad crash in Agueda.”

The races provided thrills and spills for the enthusiastic crowd with many experienced riders battling the gnarly track and sliding on the banked loose earth on the sides of the track as they battled to overtake.

YAMAHA RACING

Double MX-1 podium joy at Spanish GP
Monster Energy Yamaha saw riders David Philippaerts and Steven Frossard finish second and third on their works YZ450FM machines at La Bañeza and the Grand Prix of Spain in front of 16,000 spectators.

The Circuito de Salgada was the site for the seventh round of fifteen in the FIM Motocross World Championship and was a curious venue with the narrow and short layout on the hardpack offering a unique test for the riders. The Moto Club had worked immensely hard to upgrade the facility normally used for national meetings to entertain the worlds fastest but the stony and fast course was not easy for overtaking and was low on plaudits.

David Philippaerts walked the second step of the podium and picked up his third trophy of the season after aggressive pushes to third and fourth positions. The former world champion bounced back from his difficult weekend in Portugal to again be able to spray champagne. DP19 moved past Max Nagl to enter the top three of Moto1 and then rode with impressive application to recover from a fall while challenging for second place and reach third in the second moto. The Italian just didn’t have the final reserve to defend his slot from Clement Desalle on the final circulation of the 35 minutes and 2 laps but his result was good enough to be runner-up.

Steven Frossard started the first moto in the leading group and his chase and demotion of Cairoli for the lead was a case of exemplary riding. The Frenchman then fended-off the world champion on the last two laps for the third chequered flag of his rookie term. Unfortunately a coming-together with Clement Desalle on the first lap of Moto2 meant Frossard was buried in the pack and had to put his head down to work his way up into the top ten. In the closing stages his injured hand proved too painful to ignore and the GP of France winner crossed the line in ninth.

Anthony Boissiere is still chasing full race fitness and mediocre starts placed the Frenchman thirteenth and fourteenth for thirteenth at the end of the day.

Frossard maintains third position in the MX1-GP standings with 250 points, 34 behind Tony Cairoli in second place and 25 ahead of Max Nagl. Philippaerts recovered from his double DNF last week In Portugal and is sixth, 5 points from the top five. Boissiere is fourteenth.

After races in France, Portugal and now Spain in successive weeks, Monster Energy Yamaha have a brief respite before another three Grands Prix in a row, taking in Uddevalla (Sweden), Teutschenthal (Germany) and Kegums (Latvia).

David Philippaerts, 2nd:
I've had too many crashes recently so this result was important for the confidence. I was fast in the second moto and had a little fall trying to pass Leok. I then pushed too much to catch and pass Barragan and Leok again and in the last two laps I didn’t have any more energy to give. The track was hard and it was very hot. I didn’t train last week because of the crash in Portugal but now we have a break I want to do more exercise and also use the time to do a little bit more testing on the bike. I want to keep at the top of every GP now; this is my goal.

Steven Frossard, 3rd:
I'm very happy for the first race but I lost any chance of the GP win in the second. I think the gate was a little bit soft and had a bad start. I touched together with Clement and we didn’t crash but we lost speed. I pushed hard but again had pain in my hand after about twenty-five minutes. It was hard to grip and ride like I want. I haven’t been able to train during the week so I hope to use this next week to recover and get better.

Fourth podium on the trot for Paulin
Monster Energy Yamaha filled an MX2-GP podium berth for the fourth time in as many events as Gautier Paulin extended his run of trophies with third position overall at the Grand Prix of Spain and the seventh round of fifteen in the FIM Motocross World Championship.

16,000 spectators travelled to La Bañeza as the Circuito de Salgada filled the Spanish spot for on the FIM calendar after the cancellation of the Catalan round three months ago. The track a previous host of national and regional competitions was short, hardpack and stony and the one-line layout did not assist the riders in their efforts for overtaking.

Paulin, a podiumee in Brazil, France, Portugal previously was not able to make the crucial starts in the top two/three positions that would have enabled him to fight for victory on the prototype YZ250FM but his solid speed and handling of the nimble motorcycle led to fourth and third positions in the races. The Frenchman ended the day with only seven points more than Bike it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamahas Arnaud Tonus; the Swiss was fifth in the overall ranking. Tonus was again his stylish and efficient self although his speed was a little inconsistent on the way to sixth in the first moto. The newly-turned 20-year-old (it was his birthday on Friday) started with the leaders at the second launch and had a race-long tussle with Jeffrey Herlings before taking fourth.

Team-mate Zach Osborne had a day to forget. The American was chasing his third rostrum finish but two slips in the first race saw him pit with a motorcycle bent out of shape and complaining of a lack of top-end power. He rectified the DNF with sixth place in the second moto but left La Bañeza not entirely satisfied. Another frustrated rider was Harri Kullas who seized his sought-after excellent start in the first moto but was plagued with arm-pump and rolled to tenth position. A poor getaway and slightly easier outing in the second race led to the same ranking for ninth overall. Team-mate Christophe Charlier did not start the races after two broken metacarpals in his left hand (a result of his tangle with Jose Butron in Portugal) proved too painful to bear on Saturday. The Frenchman will now rest for almost two weeks and will hope to enter the Grand Prix of Sweden.

Paulin is now the principal YZ250F runner in the MX2-GP standings and is fourth, 34 points behind Tommy Searle and 21 in front of Osborne. Tonus is sixth, Kullas ninth and Charlier in eleventh.

The FIM Motocross World Championship will stop for breath now but after one week will again begin a period of three back-to-back races with trips across northern Europe and Sweden, Germany and Latvia through an intense period in July.

Gautier Paulin, 3rd:
I had a really bad start in the first moto and it was difficult to pass. I pushed hard to come back and was pretty happy with the race. I made some good lap-times and felt fast. My second moto start was better and made things much easier. I'm really happy to have this team behind me and the support and equipment they give to me. I have so much fun on the YZ250FM and I'm really motivated. I enjoyed the track a lot here and now just need to work on my starts for the Grands prix to come. We will do a little bit of engine and suspension testing next week.

Arnaud Tonus, 5th:
It was a good day and was good from the warm-up in the morning. I didn’t have the best start in the first one but came back to sixth that was OK. I was a little bit up-and-down with my lap-times so the rhythm was not the best but the points were OK. In the second moto I had one of my best starts this season and was pushing hard to make the same speed as the leaders. It was good to be with then and fight with Herlings. I got close to him but it was difficult to pass here and even to make the difference on other riders. Anyway I'm really happy with how the GP finished.

Harri Kullas, 9th:
On Saturday I had a good feeling and the speed was OK but today I struggled all day and I don’t know why. I had a really good start in the first race and was second but made a mistake and lost four positions. I was around eighth but after ten minutes I had so much arm-pump that I could not do anything. I tried to finish and keep the position but two people passed me at the end. It was really bad; I could barely move my hands. In the second race by start wasn’t so good and was only able to pass one guy all race. It was a really hard weekend for me but at least I didn’t crash. The speed can be better but I'm not such a fan of the hardpack.

Zach Osborne, 13th:
The weekend was worse than mediocre. It was a big disappointment because this is the home race for our main sponsor Wild Wolf and I wanted to put on a good show and it just didn’t happen. The bike wasn’t right in the first race. I made two small crashes but if things had been going well then I wouldn’t have been in those situations to crash. In the second race it was sort of the same; not really pulling. I did what I could to finish sixth. I think we have seen worse tracks although Bellpuig would have been better.

KAWASAKI RACING

MX2 - Searle maintains his title challenge
Tommy Searle of Kawasaki Team CLS maintained his challenge for the FIM World MX2 Championship with his 5th podium finish of the season in the Spanish round at La Bañeza.

The British rider was again in startling form as he charged through the field to take over second place in the first moto and close down the leader Ken Roczen until backmarkers cost him the chance of victory on a track which only had one really fast line for most of the lap. The two leaders had left the remainder of the field nearly half a minute behind and, knowing that the overall victory in the event of a tie would be decided by the second race result, Tommy concentrated all his efforts on getting quickly to the front in the second encounter. With his first holeshot of the season he did just that, but an unfortunate wrong choice of line on the heavily-watered track saw his rival nip past and a few more errors settled it. Nevertheless Searle has not lost any ground in the title chase as he actually pulled back six points on previous leader Jeffrey Herlings, and the Brit goes to Sweden for the start of the second half of the series full of confidence.

Searle's team-mate Max Anstie had a most unfortunate accident during Saturday's qualification race. Having chased through the pack, he was just about to grab fourth place when he lost control in the rhythm section and cartwheeled down the track, eventually being hit in the back by his own bike. Max bravely went to the start of the opening GP moto despite heavy bruising to the lower back and hip, but had to withdraw from the race after half an hour when it became evident that the pain was too great for him to challenge for points.

Dylan Ferrandis, Kawasaki Bud Racing's challenger for the European MX2 championship, once again proved that he is the standout rider in the series as he swept to two more clear-cut victories. The French teenager has now won the last five motos and, despite being forced to sit out the series opener through injury, is now only five points from the series lead with three rounds remaining.

Tommy Searle: “I feel that we made another step this weekend, even if I didn't win the GP. I’m very happy with my first race. I had some good lines, and I felt really good on the bike. I had a decent start and passed Herlings and Aubin to get to second and close down Roczen, but there was only one good line round most of the track and I lost time behind lappers. I started thinking about the overall win when I got my first holeshot of the season in the second race. That was great ! I had a good jump out of the gate, and the bike was perfect, but then I made a silly mistake during the first lap when I went wide in a corner. That's how Roczen passed me and it took me a couple of laps to find a good rhythm again. It was really hot and sticky today; normally I’m strong in these conditions but after about 15 minutes I felt a little tired. I didn’t get the right food in the hotel on Saturday evening, and I think that it affected my shape today.”

Max Anstie: "It took me some time to get used to the track during practice, but I was really starting to move in the qualifying race and had already passed several riders when I came up behind Coldenhoff. I wanted to get past him quickly but I made a big mistake in the waves and flew over the bars. My bike hit me hard in the back and I was in a lot of pain, but I didn't want to let the team down so I decided to start the GP. I kept going for half an hour in the first race, but the pain was just too much for me to challenge for points, so the only thing to do was to stop and sit out the second race so that I can come back strong in Sweden."

Dylan Ferrandis: “It was another good weekend, with two different races. On Saturday the track was in great shape. I did my best race of the season, and set a new record as I beat my rivals by 46 seconds ! On Sunday the track was not as good, and my start was not so good, but I made some good moves during the first lap to already get to fourth; after five laps I was already leading. It’s great to win five races in a row and to fight back to within just five points of the leadership of the series. Many people are trying to persuade me to do some GPs this season but it’s up to the team to decide; we can now win the European MX2 title and that’s important for all of us.”

MX1 - Barragan thrills the home fans in Spain
Jonathan Barragan put in his best race since the FIM MX1 World Championship opener as he challenged for a podium finish in his home GP at La Bañeza in northern Spain.

The Spanish fans had flocked to this new GP venue to cheer on the Kawasaki Racing Team star from Madrid and were already rewarded in the opening moto as he charged up the leaderboard from a 12th placed start to finish 9th, a fine achievement on the rapid circuit where overtaking proved difficult all weekend. Having warmed to the enthusiastic crowd Jonathan went even better in race two as he stormed through from an initial 6th place to hold down third for many laps before losing out narrowly to two championship challengers in the closing laps to finish an excellent 5th.

Team-mate Xavier Boog again showed good speed all weekend but mistakes in both GP motos cost him valuable points on his way to an eventual 10th overall. The start proved vital on the one-lined track and despite setting some of the fastest laps of the race in the final stages of race one, an early crash ruined his chances as he found himself 10th at the finish, just seven seconds from the rider in 5th position.

Finding it difficult to settle into a consistent rhythm in the second race the Frenchman again gave himself a lot of work to do in race two, but he knuckled down to the task well and made several significant advances during the closing stages, passing first moto winner Frossard on the final lap of the race to finish 8th.

Davide Guarneri, the lone representative of Kawasaki Bud Racing in this GP, proved that he is rapidly rebuilding his speed after a string of injuries during the early GPs. Already on Saturday he had stormed to 8th place in the qualification race, but his hopes of a repeat were dashed in the opening GP moto as he made a poor start; showing his fighting spirit he battled away to pass ten rivals before the chequered flag for a highly respectable 12th place. Hopes of a better score in race two after starting 12th were dashed when he crashed heavily in the rhythm section and the bike was so badly damaged that he was unable to continue.

Jonathan Barragan: “It was great to race for a podium result in the second moto with the support of my fans; we have all seen this year that the start is the key to the race and I had one of my best starts so far this year in that race. It was even more difficult to pass here as the track was tight, and it’s good for the entire team to have a top five result in the second moto. The first race was more difficult; there are so many fast riders and with a start around 12th position it was tough to come back ninth. It’s my best result since the opening round of the series, but now I go to Sweden in two weeks with confidence; I have good memories of the Uddevalla track so it will be nice to go there again.”

Xavier Boog: “I had a good qualifying race on Saturday, but my races on Sunday were not as good. I just couldn't get out of the start here and during the first few laps of the first moto I had a crash which cost me three positions so I finished tenth. In the second moto I made several small mistakes early on; later I found a good rhythm and posted consistent laps but it’s always difficult to find somewhere to pass on such a tricky track. I have finished the last eight races in the top ten; now I would like to be as consistent but in the top five.”

Davide Guarneri: “I was happy with my speed in the qualifying race yesterday; I battled with Frossard and Bobryshev to finish eighth. My first start was not good at all, I was 22nd after one lap but I found good lines to fight back to twelfth after a strong ride. My second start was better and I was twelfth until I did a mistake and crashed in the waves section. It was a big crash, and the bike was badly too damaged to continue.”

TANEL LEOK
LEOK RIDES TO FIRST GP RACE PODIUM ON TM

It was on a Sunday night much like this, many years ago, on the great grandfather of this very keyboard, that the phrase “Estonian Express” was coined. Tanel Leok had on that day again wowed a crowd somewhere or another with his no-compromise, unconventional style and warp drive corner speed. A good way into the 2011 world championship season, the title was teetering. It's all relative of course, for in the 5 metres deep talent pool that is the 2011 MX1 class, a top 10 result is already a good thing. But the crowds were baying for more, and Estonia's top sport export was only just breaking into the top 10 with overall motocross results in the GP series.

Fickle as many followers are, the rumours were flying about. “He's lost the drive.” “He doesn't like the bike.” “He doesn't have it any more.” None of this is true. The series is tough – probably tougher than ever before. About 15 of the riders in the current championship chase have won GP races before. This is definitely not the Nowhereville South Amateur Motocross Association. In his last two post-race interviews, Tanel had made much of the fact that the team were working very, very hard to get the bike adapted to suit his riding style, and passionate as they are over at the TM works, the midnight oil was burning and burning and burning.

After hitting top 10 overalls in France and Portugal, Tanel was chomping at the bit for a proper breakthrough – one of his signature rides to announce in big, bold, pale blue letters that he is still around. Roll on the GP of Spain. The 2011 action took place at La Bañeza, a new venue on the calendar and therefore pretty much new territory for all the riders. The track is slightly shorter than the GP riders are normally used to, but the objective is the same, to get around the thing as fast as possible for the required time duration.

Tanel pulled the bike's ear with the necessary enthusiasm during the first training session on Saturday, and posted the third fastest time. Although not quite matching it, he posted the 8th fastest time during qualifying practice. A duff start in the qualifying race held him back, and he finally got to choose the 13th gate for Sunday's race activities.

Tanel launched into a good start in race 1, and held 6th spot for a while. Two riders ahead of him collided, however, and this set the skittles toppling. He had an unplanned off-track excursion, and collected some of the much-beloved trackside netting in his rear wheel. Now as we've reported before, this stuff is as effective at stopping a bike as the anchor of an oil tanker, so it's highly advisable not to let it get too friendly with your bike's wheels. Fortunately for him, Tanel is blessed with hands so big he cold slap a man on both sides of his face using only one of them. He used these to good effect to rip the netting away, and got going again in 26th position. After 40 minutes' worth of hard work, he had worked himself back up to 13th position, and the race day didn't get off to a good start at all.

The planets came into alignment in a big way in race two, though. As Antonio Cairoli barrelled through the first corner after yet another of his holeshots, the rider hot on his heels had a very distinctive style. From 10 000 odd km away and peering at a small internet image, your reporter knew without a shadow of a doubt who it was. Tanel had manufactured his best start of the year, and now all his pit-bull instincts rose to the top.

The attacks soon came, fist in the form of David Philippaerts, then as the race progressed, from former team-mate and local favourite Jonathan Barragan. Series Leader Clement Desalle also came forward to join the party, with Max Nagl in tow. The Estonian Express was in full flight now, however, with afterburners. And complimentary cherries on top. He fended off all and any attacks and held his second position all the way to the flag after a spine-chillingly exciting last few laps, In the end he pipped Desalle by 6/100ths of a second, or about the difference between the knob on a new – as compared to a 2 hours-old tyre.

Over in TM-ville the happiness was unbounded. They had worked ceaselessly to provide their rider with the kind of motor and suspension set-up that he needed, and now he came through with elan. The interview was long distance, but the happiness beamed through the ether. “That was a great race,” he remarked in his quiet way. “Everything worked just perfectly off the start, and once I was in the groove, I could match just about everyone's speed out there. The team have been working so hard in the last few weeks to improve even further on the bike and the suspension, and now it is showing.”

The Red Bulls flanking his ears must have been snorting with joy too. Tanel had, with the help of his team, rediscovered his muse. The Estonian Express had left platform 13 and is at full momentum again.

HONDA WORLD MOTOCROSS TEAM
Tight performances at a tight La Bañeza

Both Rui Gonçalves and Evgeny Bobryshev put in uncharacteristic and cagey performances on the tight La Bañeza track, at a sun-drenched GP of Spain. Struggling to breach the top-five in both motos, Bobryshev and Gonçalves would finish eighth and ninth respectively in the overall classification.
 
Bad starts were also highly uncharacteristic on the CRF450R that has proved to have good power out of the start gate, but both riders appeared to have difficulty getting the power down on the dry, deep Spanish soil. In the first moto, Gonçalves had the better of the two and by the end of lap one was within the top-five. Duelling with Desalle he would lose one place to sixth but was then promptly handed it back as Desalle went down. A moment at half race distance would see him lose two places in the space of two laps and drop to an eventual finishing position of seventh.
 
Team-mate Bobryshev would have a challenging moto, crashing early on out of 6th position and slipping back to eleventh as he remounted. A charge back through would see him regain eighth position but this is as far as he could come. Steven Frossard would take the victory ahead of Antonio Cairoli.
 
The second moto would be a similar story. The inside gates appeared to be less favourable and once again both Bobryshev and Gonçalves struggled to put themselves at the sharp end of proceedings early on. Cairoli would come from a middle gate position to take a commanding lead.

Despite best efforts, Bobryshev and Gonçalves would fail to make inroads to the top-five and were forced to settle for finishing positions of seventh and tenth respectively. Cairoli would press home his early advantage and take the moto win, along with the overall.

Evgeny Bobryshev, Honda World Motocross: “The second moto was a lot better for me as I found it easier to pass and found some better lines. I felt more comfortable in the second moto but still the track did not really suit me. The tight sections I struggled with lap to lap and lost a lot of time there. I had to try and make it up in the fast parts but to not feel like I am putting in a strong lap each time was frustrating.”

Rui Gonçalves, Honda World Motocross: “I got a big stone in my left shoulder in the first moto and then the same thing happened to me three laps into the second. There are lots of big stones in the surface and you have to be wary when you are in someone’s roost. To finish ninth overall is not really what I was looking for but to finish top-10 on a bad day is important rather than have a DNF and lose a lot of points.”

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

Weather: Sunshine, slight breeze
Temperature: Ambient 26 degrees C
Attendance: 16,000

BOBRYSHEV LEADS THE HONDA LINE AGAIN IN SPAIN

As world champion Antonio Cairoli claimed his second victory of the season, Honda World Motocross team’s Evgeny Bobryshev was again the fastest CRF450R runner in front of 16,000 spectators at a sweltering La Bañeza for the Grand Prix of Spain and the seventh round of fifteen in the 2011 FIM Motocross World Championship.

La Bañeza, normally a host for domestic events, but hurried onto the international stage after the late cancellation of the Grand Prix of Catalunya three months ago, provided a simple challenge for the grand prix fraternity with its fast and short layout of hardpack and stony mud. A consequence of the narrow collection of corners was a lack of viable overtaking opportunities and this was the main complaint throughout the weekend.

Bobryshev – collector of two podium finishes already this season – rued two average starts to circulate outside the battle for the top five at both times of asking. He diced with team-mate Rui Gonçalves for seventh place in the first moto and just lost out to the Portuguese by a second at the finish line. Fighting the discomfort of an array of blisters on his left hand, the sturdy Russian went one position better in the second moto and classified eighth overall on the factory machine.

Gonçalves was the brightest out of the start gate and around the relentless curves on Saturday to take fourth position in the qualification heat. Sadly the Portuguese had to fight through the pain barrier from the midway point of the first race after a rock smashed against his collarbone. He was seventh at the first time of asking and pushed to tenth later in the afternoon for ninth overall.

LS Honda’s Ken De Dycker set provisional pole position on Saturday, but was shoved to the back of the gate after a freak technical problem in the heat race caused a DNF. The Belgian was hamstrung by his start slot and came back through the pack as quickly as he could for two elevenths and twelfth spot in the final ranking.

Team-mate Shaun Simpson admirably attacked the Spanish bumps, but was undone by two falls and a snapped radiator shroud in the first moto (obtaining sixteenth) and was then embroiled in Alvaro Lozano’s spill in the second race as the Spaniard’s rear wheel flipped up and broke the radiator of the number ‘24’ machine. Simpson pitted to change material, but was unable to enter the points and finished five laps down.

Swian Zanoni was back in action on the CRF250R for the Honda World Motocross team after recovering from his hand injury. The Brazilian MX2 rookie got near the points with twenty-third in the first moto even though he wasn’t able to establish an effective rhythm on the track. The second moto start was better, placing the youngster in sixteenth, but a crash in the middle of the race eventually led to his retirement with a sore right heel.

Bobryshev holds fifth in the MX1 standings and is just 21 points away from fourth. Gonçalves has slipped one place to seventh, but is a comfy 32 points in front of Jonathan Barragan. De Dycker is twelfth with Simpson in fifteenth.

After three meetings in succession the FIM Motocross world championship now pauses for a week before beginning another three-race spell with Grand Prix visits to Sweden, Germany and Latvia during July.

Evgeny Bobryshev (Honda World Motocross)
Race Result: 8th / 7th Championship position: 5th
“I feel alright about the GP, but my starts weren’t great and it was hard to come back on this track. They made lots of lines out there, but it didn’t help when you changed because there were no faster alternatives. You had to take a risk to pass. The track was flattened a little bit for the second moto and it was better in some places. The first corner was slippery and I fought to get as high as I could. I’m happy to score points on a difficult track –not really my kind of track – and I want to thank the team for their help all weekend. The bike was unbelievable; the problem was with my reaction from the gate. The next race is Sweden and I hope to do better there.”

Rui Gonçalves (Honda World Motocross)
Race Result: 7th / 10th Championship position: 7th
“It was tough today. You had to get good starts, which I did, but in the first moto I had arm-pump and made things difficult for myself. Half way through a stone hit my collarbone and I just lost my strength. I couldn’t hold the bike that well and had to ice the bone in between the motos. The second race was a struggle and unfortunately I got another rock on the same shoulder. Now I need to go home and sort this out. Some people like the track and some people didn’t, but we had to race it. I think there are some better tracks to come.”

Ken De Dycker (LS Honda Racing)
Race Result: 11th / 11th Championship position: 12th
“Not a good day. It is so difficult to pass guys and it felt like there was no real decent chance of being able to come from the back. We still need to improve in the coming races because it is so important to be in the top five at the start. Saturday was going well, but today… it was too difficult.”

Shaun Simpson (LS Honda Racing)
Race Result: 16th/DNF Championship position: 15th
“It should have been a lot better. Two bad starts, but in the first moto I did a good job in coming through and reaching sixth. I made a stupid mistake trying to pass Desalle and then crashed on my own at slow speed. I ripped the shroud off and just had to ride around for what points I could get. I was ready for the second one and must have been near the top ten, but Lozano crashed in front of me and his rear wheel came around and ripped the other shroud off and one side of the radiator. I had no water and had to come-in. We changed it and I decided just to go out for a few laps for a bit of extra training or whatever. I can’t seem to get into any of those little gaps inside the top ten at the moment, but we will keep trying. This is not a grand prix track and I don’t think the paddock is even up to scratch. It is fun for riding and practising and maybe OK for a Spanish Championship meeting, but for a GP? Not really.”

Swian Zanoni (Honda World Motocross)
Race Result: 23rd/DNF:
“Today was a real shame. I felt good on the track. The first moto was hard, but I got near the points. In the second my start was mid-pack and I was setting a good speed until I got out of control up the waves. I crashed and took a hit to my right heel. I had a lot of pain and couldn’t continue. I have some swelling now but I think I will be OK for Sweden.”

Roger Harvey, Honda Motor Europe Off-road Racing Manager:
“A pretty disappointing day all-round and the results should have been better. If you get mediocre starts at a track like this then you will get mediocre points-scores and this was our problem today. Even if a circuit has one line you still have to tackle and face it like one of our more respected venues on the calendar. The boys will have a break now before we start another busy period and I hope we can pick things up in this middle phase of the season.”

TEAM SUZUKI

DESALLE DEFENDS MX1 LEAD IN SPAIN
Clement Desalle inaugurated the La Bañeza circuit for the Grand Prix of Spain and the seventh round of the FIM Motocross World Championship with a fantastic second moto comeback performance on his works Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 RM-Z450 to finish third and take fourth overall.

La Bañeza was another example of the diversity of the series. The short, narrow and twisty layout provided hardpack terrain, deep ruts in the corners and stony soil. The onslaught of jumps and corners made overtaking a tricky task and placed extra emphasis on the start and first corner for podium positions as 16,000 spectators filled the small banks around the compact venue.

Desalle gained a top-four finish - missing the podium for only the second time this year - after two dramatic races. In the first sprint of 35 minutes and 2 laps he was attacking the back of David Philippaerts for fourth spot when he ran wide and swallowed green fencing in his rear wheel. He was fortunate to be able to continue but completed half of the moto without a rear brake. In the second outing, a collision with Steven Frossard in the opening corners forced an impressive push through the field from a first lap position outside of the top 10. On the last lap a valiant attempt to demote Philippaerts to fourth place paid-off and Desalle was able to hold on to his red plate as MX1 World Championship leader from Antonio Cairoli.

Team-mate Steve Ramon was 11th overall with finishes of sixth and 12th. The former World Champion admirably reached the chequered flag in spite of wrenching his right groin in the second moto that was already injured after his crash last week in Portugal.

Desalle has led the MX1 World Championship standings since the U.S. Grand Prix - round three - and now has an advantage of just one point over Cairoli. Ramon is 10th.

The team will travel home this week and will have time to prepare for the fourth round of the Belgian Championship at Tongeren before another three week stretch of back-to-back races in Sweden, Germany and Latvia.

Clement Desalle:
"It was a really difficult day for me. My first start was OK and my speed and riding was good but I made two mistakes trying to pass David and took the green fence in my rear wheel. There were still 20 minutes and two laps to go and I didn't have my rear brake any more so I just did the best I could. My start wasn't great in the second moto and I had a 'moment' with Steven Frossard. I then took an outside line in one corner and there wasn't any traction there and I lost the front wheel. I had to fight for the rest of the moto and I was happy with my riding to come back to third. I was just able to find a way to pass David on the last lap because overtaking was difficult on this track. Thankfully we have some good circuits coming up now and I'm really happy with my physical condition to be able to ride the way I did. The bike worked really well and we didn't have to change the set-up."

Steve Ramon:
"It wasn't good! The first moto was OK and my start was better in the second as I reached fourth. Then in one corner my front wheel slipped away and I had to put my leg out. I stretched my sore groin again and had so much pain. It was a really tough moto and I tried to make the best of it but I'm not satisfied. It was not easy with the deep ruts in some places. I hope this heals quickly and I need some treatment when I get back to Belgium. I hope I can recover enough to race in the Belgian Championship but we will see."

ZECCHINA SIGNS OFF WITH MX2 POINTS
Simone Zecchina ended his brief taste of FIM Motocross World Championship competition with the Suzuki Europe MX2 team and on the factory-backed RM-Z250 by getting on the scoreboard at a hot and stony La Bañeza circuit for the Grand Prix of Spain.

Some 16,000 spectators found a spot inside the compact venue and watch the riders cross a short and twisty course that was difficult for overtaking and placed even more importance on the launch from the start gate.

After feeling good through practice and qualification on Saturday the Italian started brightly and held a spot in the top 20 for virtually the entire duration of the first 35 minute and 2 lap race. A position of 20th by the finish line delivered a single point and his second score in five motos. Sadly, the rookie was unable to follow-up in the second race as a small technical problem curtailed his participation.

Zecchina will now revert to his RM125 for the second round of six in the European 125cc two-stroke championship that runs parallel to the GP series. The teenager heads the standings after one event and his next engagement will be in Sweden in two weeks.

Valentin Teillet will be back on his number 37 motorcycle this week and will contest the third round of the ADAC MX Masters German Championship at Aichwald as a warm-up to the Grand Prix of Sweden at Uddevalla on July 3rd.

Simone Zecchina:
"One race was very good and another GP point, and the second was about some bad luck. I think I could have taken some more points until we had the problem with the bike. It has been a fantastic experience for me and I have to say a big thank you to Suzuki Europe MX2. I have learnt a lot from watching the fast GP riders in front of me and I think these three races have helped me improve, for sure."

Thomas Ramsbacher - Team Manager:
"It was good to come together and work together and next year we are planning to be in the European Championship and it would be ideal to be able to give Simone Suzuki support in the future. He showed us some good potential and with some more experience on a four-stroke he will be the man in the coming years."

BEURSFOON SUZUKI
Beursfoon Suzuki successful in Grand Prix of Spain

The seventh round of the World Championship hosted in La Bañeza, Spain last weekend. Mike Kras and Rasmus Jörgensen who were guest commentators on the TV race show presented the Beursfoon Suzuki team. Heavy stomach cramps chased Rasmus during the weekend, which prevented him from riding in both heats because of suffering too much pain and dizziness when riding. Mike made a big step forward riding hard tracks during the past three weeks of Gp races. He gained speed, which he showed us on the high speed track in La Bañeza during the practice sessions. An excellent start in this first heat brought him into a top-10 position and was able to defend this position until a couple of laps from the end. He finished this first heat in 12th position, which is the best result of the season so far for Mike. He could not repeat this in the second heat due to a minor start and finished in 17th position. The target of a top-15 finish is reached and Mike took 13 GP points.

Qualification:
Both riders confirmed their evolution during the qualification sessions on Saturday. Rasmus qualified in 10th position despite his heavy stomach cramps. His team-mate Mike on the other side started his qualification heat in 22nd position and showed us once again he gained speed on hard tracks by coming back to a 17th qualify position for the Sunday races.

Heat 1:
Once the gates dropped, Mike took his Beursfoon Suzuki into 7th position. The fast track played in favour of Mike and his Beursfoon Suzuki. Halfway this heat Mike defended his top-10 position with the utmost of his abilities. A very good speed was shown into the final phase of the heath and headed for his best result so far this season. The 12th position got taken by Mike in his first race and herewith achieved his goal of getting a top-15 result. Rasmus decided to give it a try despite his stomach cramps. He started the first heat but already had to pull off after one lap. It was causing too much troubles and dizziness, so Rasmus decided not to risk anything.

Heat 2:
Not a good start this time when Mike got sent to 17th position. He was having good speed on board and closed the gap to 16th position. Making the move, Mike was determined to close the gap to fifteenth. Once the gap got closed he just could not find a right spot to make the pass happen. As he tried to push his pace a little more, Mike made a small mistake going into a corner. He got overtaken and went into 17th position until the end of the heat. Mike took 13 satisfactory GP points in this round at La Bañeza Spain.

A successful result for the team in this GP of Spain. We can look forward to the upcoming Belgian Championship with a rider that improved a lot on hard pack tracks.

Next Race: 26/06 - Belgian Championship Tongeren

YAMAHA VAN BEERS RACING TEAM
Petar Petrov scores six World Championship points at the Spanish GP

Petar Petrov of the Yamaha van Beers Racing Team has scored six World Championship points at round seven of the World Championship MX2 Series in La Bañeza, Spain. In the first moto he was riding in 14th position for a long time but with still one lap to go he got passed and finished the race in 15th position. In the second moto he was riding just outside of the points when he crashed. He restarted in 24th position and charged back to 21st position. Unfortunately he didn’t score points with this. Overall he finished in 19th position.

In the first moto he started around 20th position. He found his rhythm straight away and worked himself up to 14th position. He managed to held on to this position till the closing stages of the race. Unfortunately when he got lapped he let the leader by and at the same moment the 15th place rider passed him. Petar gave everything he had in the final lap but couldn’t pass him back and finished the race in 15th position.

In the second moto he started around the 20th position again. In the beginning of the race he had some nice battles just outside of the points. Unfortunately in lap nine he made a small crash and dropped back to 24th position. Petar gave everything he had in the second part of the race but when he moved up to 21st position the 20th place rider was already too far gone. Petar tried to close down the gap but ran out of time and finished the race in 21st position.

Overall he finished in 19th position and after seven rounds he sits in 19th position in the World Championship Series as well.

Herjan Brakke crashed in the first free practice session and bruised his tailbone. He decided to sit out the races on Sunday.

LS HONDA RACING
De Dycker and Simpson out of luck at La Bañeza

LS Honda riders Ken De Dycker and Shaun Simpson endured a tough weekend in Spain as the MX1 World Championship visited La Bañeza for the first time. The venue for the seventh round of the series provided a curious challenge with a compact, tight layout and stony, hardpack soil. Although the fast and testing track created close racing, riders were generally disappointed with the lack of line choice and overtaking options.

What turned out to be a disappointing weekend for the Honda Europe supported Belgian team had started very promising indeed on Saturday. It was a crafty De Dycker who snatched an impressive provisional pole in pre-qualifying practice. Not to be denied team mate Simpson posted the fifth time of the session. Shaun charged on to take 10th in the qualifying race.

After a terrible start, De Dycker’s fortunes did not improve as he was forced to pull out of the race with clutch problems. Although Keeno had made a point about his speed on Saturday, his race day would be a frustrating experience due to his bad gate position. Starting at the back of the pack the spectacular Belgian made an inspired push to 11th position in both motos. The nature of the track made overtaking even more difficult, denying Ken the possibilities to make a crack a top-10 finish. After a mediocre start Shaun Simpson decidedly progressed through the ranks attacking wherever he could. From his tenth position on the gate the 23-year old Briton climbed up to 6th, but two crashes and a snapped radiator shroud shredded his chance at a a strong result. Shaun finished the opening moto ranked in 16th position The second moto saw more bad luck for Simpson when he was hit by the crashing Alvaro Lozano. The Spaniard’s rear wheel flipped up and broke the radiator of the LS Honda Racing number ‘24’ machine. Although Simpson pitted to change material, he was unable to enter the points and finished five laps down.

Ken De Dycker: “Not a good day. It is so difficult to pass guys and it felt like there was no real decent chance of being able to come from the back. We still need to improve in the coming races because it is so important to be in the top five at the start. Saturday was going well, but today it was too difficult.”

Shaun Simpson: “It should have been a lot better. Two bad starts, but in the first moto I did a good job in coming through and reaching sixth. I made a stupid mistake trying to pass Desalle and then crashed on my own at slow speed. I ripped the shroud off and just had to ride around for what points I could get. I was ready for the second one and must have been near the top ten, but Lozano crashed in front of me and his rear wheel came around and ripped the other shroud off and one side of the radiator. I had no water and had to come-in. We changed it and I decided just to go out for a few laps for a bit of extra training or whatever. I can’t seem to get into any of those little gaps inside the top ten at the moment, but we will keep trying.”

GAUTIER PAULIN
Fourth consecutive MX2 GP podium for Paulin

A new venue on the FIM MX World championship calendar has seen Gautier Paulin post his fourth consecutive podium of the season in La Bañeza, Spain.

After setting fastest qualifying time by over 1 second in Saturday’s pre qualifying session, Gautier Paulin, looked to be  the fastest man on the hardpack hillside circuit.  A lesser qualification race still had him showing bursts of speed but the start would be all-important for Sunday’s race.  As moto 1 in the MX2 class got underway, Paulin was out powered in the start and had to come from outside the top 10. The hard charging Frenchman put his head down and climbed the ladder to fourth before the end of a scorching 35 min + 2 lap race.

With temperatures rising even further for moto 2, Paulin moved his starting position closer to the inside and came out third on lap 1.  With Roczen taking over the lead from Tommy Searle, Paulin set his sights on the Englishman and at one stage closed to within a second but could not find any extra speed to make the pass and settled for third.

“I am happy with my consistency and another podium,” smiled the 21-year-old. “My speed was great on Saturday and  also coming through the pack in moto 1 today  I posted good times but the start was not there. This is very important and I need to make sure I get two good starts so I’m in a position to challenge for the win. We have some more testing scheduled this week and hopefully we can make some little improvements for Uddevalla.”

STEVE RAMON
Painful day for Ramon in Spain

Steve Ramon and his Rockstar Energy Suzuki World MX1 Team headed directly from Portugal to Round 7 of the Motocross World Championship held in sunny La Bañeza, Spain, this past weekend.

Despite a little aggravation from a recently strained groin Ramon soon settled into a good rhythm on the tight and twisty circuit and headed into Sunday morning confident in his form.

In the opening moto the ‘Bomb’ grabbed a reasonable start as he headed through the opening sections just within the top 10. Quickly getting the hammer down Ramon started to claw his way forward, ultimately finishing the race in 6th place, behind team-mate Desalle.

As moto 2 got under way Ramon looked awesome as he aggressively pushed his way into 4th position on the first lap. Riding well on the now rutted and choppy circuit Ramon was defending against a hard charging Nagl when he lost the front end in a corner and whilst putting his leg down to avoid falling, re-strained his groin injury. In excruciating pain Ramon made the decision to keep on the circuit in order to salvage any possible points, but inevitably dropped down the running order. At the end of a tough race Ramon crossed the line in 12th place, taking 11th overall for the GP.

Steve Ramon:
"It wasn't good! The first moto was OK and my start was better in the second as I reached fourth. Then in one corner my front wheel slipped away and I had to put my leg out. I stretched my sore groin again and had so much pain. It was a really tough moto and I tried to make the best of it but I'm not satisfied. It was not easy with the deep ruts in some places. I hope this heals quickly and I need some treatment when I get back to Belgium. I hope I can recover enough to race in the Belgian Championship but we will see."

QUALIFYING

TEAM SUZUKI

DESALLE AND SUZUKI SECOND IN SPANISH GATE
Rockstar Energy World MX1's Clement Desalle was metres away from vying for his fourth MX1 Pole Position of the season at a short, hardpack and stony La Bañeza for the Grand Prix of Spain and the seventh round of 15 in the FIM Motocross World Championship this afternoon.

The Belgian didn't require any refinement to his factory RM-Z450 to tackle the circuit that clocks in at just 1400m (several hundred less than the FIM stipulated maximum). In breezy but sunny and warm conditions Desalle closed to the back of Antonio Cairoli in the Qualification Heat but wasn't able to draw near enough to the Sicilian in order to pass.

Many riders commented on the stony nature of the dirt and the long and deep ruts in the twisty layout that didn't allow for generous overtaking opportunities.

Steve Ramon ended the day content with his adaptation to the terrain and a conservative performance to ninth in the qualification sprint. The Belgian altered the engine set-up on his RM-Z450 and was able to find his groove across the solid dirt despite a problem with his eye wear.

Increased temperatures are predicted for the Grand Prix motos tomorrow.

Clement Desalle:
"I had a good start in the heat race but I came upon Nagl in the way again and couldn't avoid touching his wheel. I found some good lines to reach Antonio but then made a few mistakes. I pulled him in again but when we reached the slower riders it was impossible to think about overtaking with the time left. It is so difficult to pass here because the track is so narrow."

Steve Ramon:
"I'm not really feeling so comfortable on the track but I'm riding well and we didn't change much on the bike, so I just need to get used to it. We modified the engine to make the engine delivery stronger and I could feel the difference with the all-round performance. The bike is working really well. I had a good start in the heat but then had a problem with my goggles. It was difficult to see the lines and keep smooth because dirt kept falling in my eyes. The track is short and tough with deep ruts and lots of stones. I will hope for a good start tomorrow and see what we can do."

ZECCHINA UPBEAT AFTER MX2 QUALIFYING
Simone Zecchina ended the MX2 Qualification Heat at a tight and rocky La Bañeza circuit in north-east Spain with a spring in his step after feeling encouraged by his potential.

The seventh round of the FIM Motocross World Championship saw the riders and teams move across the border from Portugal during the week for the inauguration of the small venue in the lowlands of Castilla and Leon.

Zecchina, on his last outing with the RM-Z250 before reverting to his 125cc two-stroke RM in Sweden in two weeks time, felt strong in the 20 minute and 2-lap sprint run under blue skies and in warm temperatures. The Italian was at home on the stony, dusty, fast and jumpy course and was given cause for optimism by his solid ride to 22nd, placing him in the middle of the gate and hopeful of his second batch of World Championship points in just his third appearance for the team.

Simone Zecchina:
"I feel very good today. I like the track a lot. It is not easy but you can change the lines and the ruts and really attack it. I lost some traction coming out of the start and I can do the first corner a bit better but I am hopeful for tomorrow. I found it very hard-going with the bumps and ruts in Portugal but I think this is a better track for me and we have some possibilities for points tomorrow."

HONDA RACING
Gonçalves fourth in La Bañeza qualifier

Rui Gonçalves has continued the solid form shown last weekend in Portugal into this weekend’s GP of Spain. 3rd in the second moto last week, Gonçalves has once again put himself at the sharp end proceedings with a 4th place finish in Saturday’s Qualifying Race in La Bañeza.
 
Having got the start required, Gonçalves rounded the first corner in the top five and quickly put the pass on Boog to move into 4th position. As Cairoli and Desalle duelled out front, both Nagl and Gonçalves stretched out from the chasing pack in 3rd and 4th respectively.
 
Behind team-mate Bobryshev was closing in on Boog and lining up for a challenge on 5th position. Just as he got within range a mistake saw him stall the bike and put an end to his charge. His rhythm disrupted, he would lose a position to Frossard before moto end, eventually finishing 7th. Out front Cairoli would take the victory with Desalle in close tow.
 
On a track that is extremely difficult to pass, a strong start will be crucial in tomorrow’s motos. With such a short layout, a close to 30-lap moto is not out of the question and lapped traffic may have a heavy part to play.

Rui Gonçalves, Honda World Motocross:
“It is a pretty tight track and quite difficult to pass. That’s why it is really important to get the start, which I did. I am happy with 4th in the qualifier. It was a pretty lonely race, I think I was in 4th position from the end of lap one until the end of the moto. I plan to do the same tomorrow and hopefully I can push more towards the end of the race.”

Evgeny Bobryshev, Honda World Motocross:
“it is really difficult to pass and to do so you have to take high risks! Many times I was getting close to Boog in front but every time I got close, I made a mistake. I stalled the bike in one corner after the triple. I did not lose any places getting it started but that disrupted my rhythm. Tomorrow I need to be more patient and concentrate on where I am strong on the track.”