FIM MX1 / MX2 World Motocross Championship Round 3 of 15 – Sunday April 25th 2010 Grand Prix of Netherlands, Valkenswaard
Crowd: 22,000 (weekend figure)
Weather: Saturday – Sunny, blue skies temperature 19C Sunday – Same conditions, high clouds, warmer 23C
| MX1 Race 1 | MX1 Race 2 | MX1 Championship |
| 1 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 40’47.473 2 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0’14.059 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0’15.316 4 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0’16.411 5 Tanel Leok Honda EST 0’20.301 6 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 0’38.548 7 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 0’39.841 8 Jimmy Albertson Honda USA 0’39.852 9 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0’44.176 10 Marc De Reuver Suzuki NED 1’23.255 11 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 1’27.286 12 Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 1’29.865 13 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1’31.604 14 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1’32.515 15 Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE 1’34.756 | 1 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 39’16.455 2 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0’03.399 3 Tanel Leok Honda EST 0’05.667 4 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0’08.087 5 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0’09.800 6 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0’10.960 7 Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 0’12.261 8 Jimmy Albertson Honda USA 0’34.354 9 Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 0’52.305 10 Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 1’12.818 11 Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 1’27.169 12 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1’32.428 13 S颡stien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1’54.309 14 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA -1Laps 15 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA -1Laps | 1. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 138 2. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 120 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 101 4. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 100 5. Ken De Dycker Yamaha BEL 94 6. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 79 7. Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 70 8. Tanel Leok Honda EST 66 9. Davide Guarneri Honda ITA 56 10. Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 56 11. Jimmy Albertson Honda USA 55 12. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 53 13. Gareth Swanepoel Honda RSA 51 14. S颡stien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 50 15. Joshua Coppins Aprilia NZL 49 |
| MX2 Race 1 | MX2 Race 2 | MX2 Championship |
| 1 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 40’38.808 2 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0’11.538 3 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0’31.190 4 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0’32.125 5 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 0’45.966 6 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 0’55.075 7 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 0’59.618 8 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 1’10.331 9 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1’10.864 10 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 1’26.462 11 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 1’29.764 12 Loic Larrieu Yamaha FRA 1’42.091 13 Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 1’51.960 14 Nikolai Larsen Honda DNK -1Laps 15 Petr Smitka KTM CZE -1Laps | 1 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 39’11.832 2 Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 0’12.186 3 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0’37.194 4 Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 0’51.914 5 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 1’05.231 6 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1’10.994 7 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1’13.917 8 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1’14.452 9 Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 1’27.641 10 Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 1’33.609 11 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1’42.865 12 Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL -1Laps 13 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA -1Laps 14 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA -1Laps 15 Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA -1Laps | 1. Ken Roczen Suzuki GER 130 2. Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 129 3. Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 122 4. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 107 5. Arnaud Tonus Suzuki CHE 90 6. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 87 7. Jeremy Van Horebeek Kawasaki BEL 80 8. Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 78 9. Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 61 10. Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 60 11. Jake Nicholls KTM GBR 59 12. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 54 13. Dennis Verbruggen KTM BEL 47 14. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 31 15. Matiss Karro Suzuki LVA 22 |
— KTM Report
KTM’s Cairoli thrills the crowd and takes his 31st career GP win in Valkenswaard
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Antonio Cairoli not only won the MX1 GP with a double victory in the slippery sands of Valkenswaard on Sunday but did it after making two superb recoveries in the second moto with the kind of skill and agility that few riders ever achieve
The Italian reigning World Champion completely dominated the first moto in the shifting sandy surface of the Dutch circuit, again proving that the new KTM 350 SX-F machine, making its world championship debut only this year, is definitely the one to beat. Cairoli soared over the finish some 14 seconds ahead of his closest rival. But it was in the second moto that all of the Italian maestro’s riding talents came to the fore when fighting to get back at the front end of the field after a start that was not as clean as his first, he was twice off the bike and twice made remarkable, lightning-quick recoveries to get back in the race. Tony delivered just the kinds of thrills and skills that drew such a big crowd to the Dutch circuit, again showing just why he has 31 career victories to his credit and why he leads the world championship standings.
Cairoli loving the spirit of the competition
“The second race, well I really liked it even though I crashed. I like it to be on the competition all the time. The first race was hard because I had some big leads and I tried to concentrate. The second heat was pretty exciting for the public and for everybody. I feel very satisfied about my riding so everything is going pretty good. The first moto I took the holeshot so I could ride my lines and my rhythm. In the second race I was riding with David (Philippaerts) we were trying to pass each other all the time and then I caught his back wheel and I crashed, “Cairoli said, adding that despite the crashes he never gave up on winning and clearly it paid off.
Nagl has to overcome stomach cramps in second moto
Cairoli’s teammate Max Nagl picked up enough solid championship points for his fourth and fifth place finishes in the two motos to remain in second place in the standings behind the Italian. Max said it had been a difficult weekend, even though his fourth place in the first heat was “quite okay”. “In the second heat I had some bad stomach cramps and I really had to fight with my body but in the end I was coming back a bit and I managed to get past de Dyker.” He will go for a medical check during the week.
Goncalves back on his KTM bike
The Red Bull KTM Factory Team also welcomed their third rider, Rui Goncalves of Portugal back to the track. He was forced to sit out the first two rounds to rest his shoulder after corrective surgery. On a track that was surely challenging coming back from injury, Rui managed to pick up six championship points and will now look forward to his own home GP in Agueda, Portugal in a fortnight’s time. “I came here without any expectations, to just use this as a practice to see where I was. It was good. I took points in both motos. I lost all the winter and the races till now so it will take some time to get back my speed but I’m very motivated to work. The bike is awesome and so I’m looking forward to seeing where I will be at the end of the season.” Rui said also in Portugal he would be taking his time to get back into his racing mode.
The MX1 and MX2 factory teams continued to draw praise from team boss Stefan Everts and KTM Offroad Director Pit Beirer for their collective efforts in the three GPs so far run. With 147 points, KTM already has a commanding 22-point lead in the Manufacturers Standings after only three rounds.
Red Bull KTM’s Herlings rides to glory in home MX2 GP in Valkenswaard
Jeffrey Herlings, the newest and the youngest of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders rode two perfect motos in front of his home crowd at Valkenswaard on Sunday to pick up his first career GP at just 15-years-old.
The young Dutchman put in a stunning performance on the track to take the first moto by a margin of 11.5 seconds and the second by 12.1 seconds leaving no doubt that he was not only the MX2 rider of the day but also one that will be carefully scrutinized by the opposition from now on.
Victory for Herlings in only third GP
It was only Jeffrey’s third ever GP and follows on from his first GP podium in the last round in Mantova, Italy, when he was third. The 50 points also consolidates his third place in the championship standings behind Ken Roczen of Germany and his own factory teammate Marvin Musquin.
“It was an indescribable feeling,” Jeffrey said. “Just amazing, I had two good starts from not a very good starting position. But one GP is not the whole season so I am just going to try to be consistent and take it one race at a time.” Herlings did admit to being a little nervous the night before the race but he also said he felt confident. “Maybe it was that confidence that let me win my first GP,” he said.
Difficult weekend for Marvin Musquin
If Herlings was the outstanding KTM rider in Valkenswaard, then Marvin, the reigning MX2 world champion, was probably the unluckiest. He put in two heroic rides on Sunday after being banged up in a mega crash in qualifying on Saturday and certainly rode with his share of bruises. To add to his bad day Marvin got tangled in some netting in the first moto, which affect his rear brake. “The problem was with my crash yesterday. I had no energy and I was very tired in my legs and my arms. In the first race I came eighth and in the second it was better, I was fifth and I came back to third but I crashed two laps before the end and finished fifth.” Marvin still picked up good championship points and although he sacrificed the red plate he is still only one point behind Roczen in the championship standings with a long season ahead of him.
Simpson fourth overall
His teammate Shaun Simpson who missed the first GP through injury was also on form on his KTM 250 SX-F finishing overall fourth while bagging a handy 34 championship points. The Scottish rider is now sixth in the standings, having garnered 87 points from the four motos he has so far contested. “It was a tough weekend and I had to put in some speed. The other two KTM guys were very fast so I had to think a bit and be consistent and do a good result. My pace and rhythm was really good in the first race so I just stuck with that for third. Then I did a really bad job of the first two or three corners of the second race and was back at about eighth. I just had no rhythm and about ten minutes to go I was burnt out. But I finished fourth overall and just a few points off the podium so its coming back,” he said.
Valkenswaard offered conditions that were tricky and challenging for the riders and thrilling for the huge crowd that turned out to cheer on the new Dutch star, who has clearly listened intensely to his mentor, 10-times world champion Stefan Everts, team boss of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team.
KTM has surged ahead in the Manufacturer’s Standings having now won all six motos in the three GPs held so far for a perfect scorecard of 150 points. It is a record they will be trying to hold on to when riders gather at Agueda in Portugal in two weeks time for the next event on the calendar.
— Yamaha Report
David Philippaerts marked a small landmark in Yamaha’s MX1-GP history when he took the innovative rear-slanting fuel injected 2010 YZ450FM to 3rd place overall through the rippled and demanding sand of Valkenswaard for the Grand Prix of Netherlands. 22,000 spectators witnessed the third round of fifteen in the ’10 FIM World Championship and saw the former World Champion gain a holeshot in the second moto and fill the role of protagonist at this vibrant meeting.
After demonstrating the required speed but falling foul of some misfortune in the first two rounds, Philippaerts was finally able to get his hands on a 2010 podium trophy. The 25 year old moved from 8th to 3rd in the first moto and chased down the figure of Steve Ramon, demoting the Belgian in the last three laps to secure 2nd and his first top three finish of the year from five motos up until that point. The factory Yamaha Monster Energy MX team representative led the first two laps of the second affair after exiting the tricky ‘S’ section of opening corners and then took part in an entertaining dice with Antonio Cairoli, Steve Ramon, Max Nagl, Tanel Leok and Evgeny Bobryshev among others. Philippaerts was just edged out of 3rd place to 4th by Leok on the last lap but had done enough to scale the rostrum.
Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross Team’s Ken De Dycker – a former GP winner at Valkenswaard – was 6th overall but had problems getting comfortable and with setting a consistent speed across the sand. The tall Belgian pushed as high as second place in the first moto but a small crash caused him to lose positions and he eventually made it to the flag in 6th. For the second race he was part of the same group vying for podium contention along with Philippaerts although lacked the force to rise higher than 7th by the end of the 35 minutes and 2 laps.
Philippaerts is 4th in the World Championship standings and 19 points behind Max Nagl in 2nd spot. De Dycker is right behind, with 5th, and stares at a 6 point deficit to his Italian brand-mate.
In the second round of the Veteran’s World Cup, champion Mats Nilsson controlled proceedings on his YZ450F to collect his second consecutive win and assert a clear 18 point lead in the standings. Round three of six will take place at Glen Helen for the US GP at the end of May.
The fourth round of the world championship will be entertained by the distinctive red soil of Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal on May 9th.
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 3rd: “I am really happy today but I made mistakes in Bulgaria and Mantova so this should not have been my first podium of the season; mistakes are part of the sport and today things went well. In the second moto I was pleased to get the holeshot and lead at the start. I was riding good but the track was very difficult and bumpy. I did not want to crash so I was not pushing over the limit. Leok passed me on the last lap but it was OK; I still made it up on the podium.”
Ken De Dycker, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 6th: “The whole weekend was tough. I had some pain in my right arm and it was difficult to hold on at times. I had arm-pump from the first lap of the first moto and could not get into the corners like I wanted; it was hard to be consistent. I was more relaxed in the second moto and could fight a bit more but again struggled near the end. We can only hope for better in Portugal.”
2009 European Champion and MX2-GP rookie Christophe Charlier took his YZ250F to 8th position overall at a bright, sunny and warm Grand Prix of Netherlands in the sand of Valkenswaard to finish as top Yamaha rider at the third round of fifteen in the FIM World Championship.
The French teenager made better starts compared to his first two GP outings in Bulgaria and Italy and also enjoyed more luck. He haunted the fringes of the top five on a terrain that demanded respect and technical mental and physical reserves due to the bumps and waves that churned through the sand. Charlier would post 6th and 8th positions in the two motos for his best ranking so far on the Grand Prix stage.
Team-mate and fellow MX-GP newcomer Harri Kullas was 10th. The Finn had to work hard to register 9th and 11th positions after being hit by another rider at the start of Moto1 and nudging the gate and being held-up at the beginning of Moto2. The unlucky teenager also had to contend with a fading rear brake in the latter half of the second outing.
Bike it Cosworth Yamaha’s Zach Osborne was frustrated to only finish 11th. The American had been flying through Saturday, setting the 3rd fastest time in Pre-Qualification, taking 4th in the Qualification Heat and notching the 3rd best time in morning warm-up. Any designs on the podium were lost in the first minutes of both races as the 2009 Turkish GP winner made two costly mistakes that bumped him down the field and limited his options. He was 10th and 13th by the end of the afternoon.
Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci Motocross Team’s Loic Larrieu made a welcome return from his recent injuries. The Frenchman rode steadily to 13th overall in his first Grand Prix appearance of the season. Team-mate Alessandro Lupino picked up 7 points in the second moto but did not finish the first after a fall led to a sore ankle.
Osborne holds 8th in the world championship points table but is closely chased by Kullas and Charlier in the following positions.
The Agueda circuit and the Grand Prix of Portugal will see the MX-GP riders next in action in two weeks time.
Christophe Charlier, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi, 8th:
“I started well and made my way to 6th but I am not used to racing with these guys in the sand and I struggled a little. I was up there again in the second moto but got a bit tired. Anyway I was able to take some confidence from my speed here and will go looking for better in Portugal.”
Harri Kullas, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi, 10th:
“It could have been better today. I had a top ten start in the first moto but someone hit me and I lost a lot of time; I was 29th or something. I started pushing hard and was riding well to get 9th. I made a mistake in the second race with the gate and was far back again. I won some positions and passed people but lost the rear brake in the second half of the race. My speed was OK and my bike was good but the day was ruined by the starts.”
Zach Osborne, Bike it Cosworth Yamaha, 11th:
“A huge missed opportunity. I was really good all weekend but ruined my chances on both first laps. In the first race I was top five at the start but just fell over in a turn and something similar happened in the second race; total mistakes on my part. I could not cut through the pack quick enough, and in the second moto the people ahead of me were a little bit more spread out so I could only come back to 13th. It is tough to swallow after good lap-times all weekend and a genuine chance of the podium but I will take the positives and that was some good starts and the improvement in my sand riding.”
Loic Larrieu, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 13th:
“Coming here for my first GP of the year was not the easiest! The races were not so bad, especially because I have not been able to train that much in the sand. I didn’t crash and will now try to build on this.”
— Team Suzuki
The Grand Prix of Lo
— HRC Report
Leok races to a fourth overall finish at Dutch GP
LS Motors Honda’s Tanel Leok was a forceful presence at a hot and crowded Valkenswaard for the Grand Prix of Netherlands and the third round of fifteen in the 2010 FIM Motocross World Championship. The rapid Estonian took his CRF450R to fifth and third place finishes in the two motos contested at the bumpy Dutch sand track end the day fourth overall, his best result since joining the Belgian team last winter.
Leok was the top Honda performer at a physical and demanding meeting for both rider and machine as the sand became a tough opponent in the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. The Grand Prix was a satisfactory work-out for CRF technology with all five MX1 representatives scoring top ten finishes in the final classification.
The former Dutch and Italian champion pushed hard from a mediocre start to take part in a multi-rider scrap for the final step of the podium in the first moto. His launch was better in the second race and he actually rose as high as second before suffering a mid-race lull that dropped him again into the throes of a podium battle. He regained some momentum towards the end of the outing and pushed hard to pass David Philippaerts on the final lap.
In seventh spot overall, with personal best finishes in each race, was CAS Honda’s Evgeny Bobryshev. The Russian MX1 rookie provided a surprising sight by pushing up to second place in the first half of Moto1 but could not stretch his pace the entire distance, finishing ninth. A more practical approach in Moto2 paid dividends for the powerful youngster and he burst into the top five with fifth spot.
Eighth place overall was Martin Honda’s Jimmy Albertson reward for an eventful but largely positive first sand track Grand Prix experience.
The American was eighth on both occasions and was unlucky not to have been able to capitalise on a brilliant start in Moto2 when a scare after catching his ankle caused him to lose ground.
Defying discomfort he rallied and worked his way back into the top ten on the works motorcycle.
Leok’s team-mate Davide Guarneri who showed a lively turn of speed in the sand, finished ninth but was again undone by his physical condition in the second race; his scorecard of seventh and 11th reflecting the Italian Champion’s struggle.
Tenth place was filled by CAS Honda’s Gareth Swanepoel who had the misfortune to start from 23rd in the gate after a miserable Qualification Heat on Saturday. The South African negotiated the first moto to 12th without any goggles and then made a decent start to take 10th on a rougher track for a decent salvation exercise.
The MX2 Grand Prix was won by local hope and teenager Jeffrey Herlings, ahead of new series leader Ken Roczen, with Steven Frossard third.
Martin Honda’s Alessandro Battig was lacking mileage in the sand after needing time to recover from tonsillitis but managed to complete both motos on the CRF250R for 28th.
In the MX1 World Championship standings Leok is eighth with 66 points and 28 away from the top five. Guarneri, Albertson, Bobryshev and Swanepoel inhabit 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th, and are separated by just 5 points.
Rounds four and five will take place on consecutive weekends with the Grand Prix of Portugal on May 9th followed by the meeting at Bellpuig in Catalunya.
Honda rider quotes:
Tanel Leok, LS Motors Honda: “I’m fairly happy; it was a pretty good GP. My start was not so good in the first moto because I hit neutral changing gears and was quite far behind. I worked really hard to get near the front and used a lot of energy but the riding and speed was good. The second moto start was better and the first laps were great. I was second and then third and struggled a bit with my rhythm and lost the lap-times. I wasn’t breathing so well and tensed up. After a few laps I got going again and pushed to get Philippaerts right up until the flag.”
Evgeny Bobryshev, CAS Honda: “I am quite happy.
The second race was much better because in the first moto I was pushing too hard. I made it to second place but on one lap when I passed the clock by the finish line and it read ’15 minutes’
I thought ‘no way…!’. I had to slow down and lost positions to ninth. I took it easy in the second race and built up my speed and found some good lines that were not too bumpy. On the last lap I used all the energy I had left in my body to go for that position. I twisted the throttle as much as it would go and passed De Dycker three corners before the finish. I am very happy about today.”
Jimmy Albertson, Martin Honda: “The first moto started pretty good. I burnt through the pack and went from like eighth to fourth but I was going like a maniac and was going to wear myself out fast. I got a bit tired in the middle of the moto but then started to find my rhythm and started working through the pack and some of the positions I had lost. I went over the finish line side-by-side with Bobryshev and got eighth; a top ten finish in my first sand GP and I felt that was a good start for me. The second moto was awesome. I got a fourth place-start, went for second and then came up with Philippaerts. I knew I could have got him but it would have meant touching him and we both could have gone down so I cut it sharp and dug my foot into the ground. For a second I thought ‘I’ve just broken my ankle’. I could not feel it at first but in the next corner it started to throb and I was going backwards. I decided just to ignore it and put my head down and ride. I managed to finish 8th again which was good and I got the ankle checked immediately afterwards and nothing serious has happened. Overall it was a good weekend and I’m glad we have next week off to heal-up.”
Davide Guarneri, LS Motors Honda: “My speed is good, close to the front guys, but I am missing stamina. I trained hard this winter with Marnicq Bervoets but maybe it was not enough or too much because at the moment I have a problem and the second motos are very tough; I am losing a lot of positions. I hope we can improve during the season.”
Gareth Swanepoel, CAS Honda: “It went really good today. Unfortunately I had a problem with my goggles in the first race and had to ditch them on the first lap; to ride for forty minutes without any goggles was tough! I still managed to come back to 12th so I was pretty happy with that. In the second race I had a good start and tried to go with the guys but had a bit of arm-pump and missed that little bit of extra speed. I lost the tow but still arrived to 10th and was pleased with that because I had a horrible day yesterday.”
Alessandro Battig, Martin Honda: “Overall I am pleased to have finished both races here. It was another learning experience. I could have done with more preparation in the sand but after being sick at Mantova I did not have time to ride much.”
Roger Harvey, Off-road Manager, Honda Motor
Europe: “It was a great showing from Tanel Leok today and we could also see the capabilities of Evgeny Bobryshev. I am pleased with Jimmy Albertson because he did not give up despite thinking that he had hurt his ankle and that is the kind of commitment we want from our riders. I still think we have to see Jimmy’s true potential but he is getting better and faster. We had five Hondas in top ten in tough conditions and that shows the high level of the CRF450R; we knew we would start slowly and build things up this season and we’re happy to see progress.”
