Philippaerts takes 4th in Limburg

Yamaha Monster Energy riders Gautier Paulin and Harri Kullas were the stand-out YZ250F riders through the many waves and ripples of the demanding Lommel circuit for the Grand Prix of Limburg in Belgium. The eleventh round of fifteen in the FIM MX2-GP World Championship was attended by 23,500 spectators who saw Paulin put on a display of improved sand riding to place 5th overall while rookie Kullas equalled a season-best with 6th. Clouds partially obscured sunshine throughout the day at the flat and busy venue that gave the world's best their first deep sand outing of 2010. As expected, Lommel represented a heavy and difficult meeting. Paulin was buried well within the pack around the opening corners of the first moto and this cost him ground to the pace-setting group but the Frenchman quickly found his rhythm to rise to 7th. In the second race he was hotter out of the gate and made better in-roads to his rivals ahead, moving to 4th which he held without hassle until the flag. His ranking of 5th was an improvement of seven positions over the standing he managed twelve months ago at the same circuit (slightly different in terms of layout).

Kullas was a welcome sight with the leaders around the first section in both races. The Finn, negotiating his maiden GP at Lommel but with many training laps of experience in the Belgian terrain, rode superbly despite rear brake fade in the two motos for two 6th positions. Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi team-mate Christophe Charlier crashed with Alessandro Lupino in the first moto and both riders retired. Charlier managed 13th in the second affair. Bike it Cosworth Yamaha's Zach Osborne had a disappointing day to take 12th. The American had sustained a concussion last Sunday in the fifth round of the British Championship and was not fully on-form for the harsh requirements of Lommel. His best result was a 10th in Moto2. Osborne is still Yamaha's highest rider in the standings and holds 6th, needing 8 points to move into the top five. Kullas is 10th and 33 points ahead of Paulin. Charlier holds a respectable 13th despite missing two rounds due to a thumb injury. As with the MX1 class the MX2 field will now travel east and to Loket for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic and round twelve that will precede the trip to Brazil.

Gautier Paulin, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team: "I am feeling strong but I had one bad start - in that first moto - and one average start where I was in the top ten but not closer enough to the front. These were the main problems today that prevented me getting nearer the leaders. I was not competitive in the sand last year but now I feel that I can race with the sand specialists. The track was rough with many bumps but overall I am quite happy with my riding here after a lot of sand training in Belgium over the last few weeks." Harri Kullas, Yamaha Monster Energy Gariboldi: "I was quite fast all weekend and knew my speed was near the top five. Together with my dad I worked out a good strategy for the starts and it worked really well. I rode with a consistent pace but ten minutes before the end I lost my rear brake so I had to adapt to that and lost the back of Simpson. In the second moto it was a very similar situation and Roelants passed me at the end but the brake fade was another mystery; but still, you have to deal with these things in motocross, it is tough for us and also the bikes out there. I am happy with the result and this was one of the hardest GPs for sure." Zach Osborne, Bike it Cosworth Yamaha: "It was a tough weekend for me. Coming from last weekend and a concussion but still winning a moto I think I deluded myself as to how much that crash in Britain had affected me, so I came here with big expectations and leave highly disappointed. I struggled with the track all weekend. I rolled the dice and went for it in the last race; gambling like that is not a good thing but it worked out for me and I was pleased to get tenth. Damage limitation was pretty good."