Business as usual for Everts in Bulgaria

Career win number 93, six Grand Prix in succession, the third double on the trot and nine consecutive moto victories fell to Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team's Stefan Everts at the fast Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the sixth round of fifteen in the 2006 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship. 25,000 spectators (weekend figure) witnessed the 33 year old Belgian and absolute series leader own another two motos in vastly different weather conditions in which the YZ450FM excelled once more. The wide expanse of the Sevlievo track, situated in the modern and impressive infrastructure of the circuit, was quick and dry for the first moto but then the heavens opened and dropped a plethora of rain onto the venue creating a difficult and technical test, as well as constituting the first wet race of the season. Despite insisting that a repeat of his Japanese domination would be unlikely Saturday afternoon, Everts faced little opposition in both races after taking the lead within the first two laps of both sprints. He controlled the distance assimilated both times over Kevin Strijbos and his superiority has now translated into an 81 point advantage from Kawasaki's Tanel Leok in the World Championship standings meaning that he can afford not to finish three motos and still be in front. Cedric Melotte completed only three laps today during the first outing. The Belgian fell heavily on Saturday and hit his head. Feeling dazed and unable to concentrate he elected to retire frustrated instead of risking further mishap. The 27 year old did not take to the line for the second race. Melotte has also been suffering from reduced energy and stamina possibly brought on by over-training. He had several tests after arriving back from Japan and his body was found to be lacking certain minerals. "Cedric had been training quite hard, as normal but has been feeling bad after the races, which is unusual for the condition he should have," said Team Manager Carlo Rinaldi. "The season has been up and down for him. Portugal was bad but then Teutschenthal was better after he had some rest. Japan was again not so good, so we rested him before this GP. The blood tests said he was low on iron and some B12 among other things in line with the symptoms of over-training. Cedric needs to rest and renew his levels and we should see an improvement." The trip to Bulgaria represented the first of three consecutive meetings. The teams now travel directly to Italy and the Montevarchi circuit before then heading to Matterley Basin and the British Grand Prix. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Any race is a new race so anything can still happen but I have managed to keep the pace up and not make any mistakes. The second moto was difficult because of the conditions and I had to lose my goggles after a few laps. I had to slow down because of all the mud in my eyes but overall I am happy with the day. Coming here I was unsure because this is not the best track for me to try and win like Japan but I was consistent with my speed. The bike has been great on the starts and being able to push hard in the first ten to fifteen minutes really makes a difference." Cedric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I had a big crash on Saturday and I found that I could not concentrate on my riding today. I tried to make some fast laps but it was getting dangerous so I decided to stop. I am having very little luck at the moment." Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It was two different races today because of the track conditions and Stefan proved that it doesn't matter what weather or demands he faces. He made two very consistent and error-free races. The rhythm was strong at first but he could deal with it. The bike came through very well because there was a lot of water and you can sometimes have a strange problem like with the electrics. We made some changes between the motos to cope with the changing terrain and they worked out fine." Race classification MX1 Round: 6 - 2006 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria Circuit: Sevlievo Circuit Length: 1695 Race 1: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 47.650 2 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +6.971 3 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +11.846 4 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +16.978 5 P. Leuret Honda FRA +27.050 6 W. Avis KTM RSA +31.597 7 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +33.118 8 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +35.635 9 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +47.909 10 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +56.167 11 G. Crockard Honda GBR +58.292 12 C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +59.949 13 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1' 3.002 14 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 11.247 15 C. Federici Kawasaki ITA +1' 17.882 16 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 19.780 17 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1' 27.943 18 B. Verhoeven Kawasaki NED +1' 29.174 19 D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1' 35.502 20 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1' 38.832 Race 2: 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 51.233 2 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +2.117 3 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +3.631 4 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +27.962 5 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +39.143 6 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +1' 40.327 7 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 53.287 8 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1' 59.266 9 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +2' 5.055 10 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1 lap(s) 11 C. Federici Kawasaki ITA +1 lap(s) 12 C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +1 lap(s) 13 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1 lap(s) 14 W. Avis KTM RSA +1 lap(s) 15 B. Verhoeven Kawasaki NED +1 lap(s) 16 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1 lap(s) 17 G. Crockard Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 18 A. Bobkovs Honda LVA +1 lap(s) 19 J. Noble Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 20 M. Norlen Suzuki SWE +1 lap(s) Championship standings MX1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 292 2 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 211 3 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 209 4 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 197 5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 191 6 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 150 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 123 8 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 106 9 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 105 10 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 102 11 Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 97 13 Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 90 14 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 84 15 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 82 16 James Noble Honda GBR 79 17 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 60 18 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 43 19 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 40 20 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 31 Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 292 2 Suzuki 245 3 Kawasaki 211 4 Honda 205 5 KTM 202 6 TM 82 MX2 : Cairoli takes fourth moto win of the season but leaves Bulgaria disappointed Round: 6 - 2006 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria Circuit: Sevlievo Date: 4 June 2006 Crowd: 25000 Temp: 18ºC Weather: Rain World Champion Antonio Cairoli became the rider with the most moto victories this season after taking his fourth success at Sevlievo for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the sixth round of the MX2 World Championship. The Italian would limp away from the impressive venue however after two crashes in a very wet and slippery second moto forced a second DNF from the twelve heats in total held so far. The track was fast, dry and bumpy in the first sprint but showers during the lunch break meant a far muddier and more slippery prospect for the MX2 riders later in the afternoon. Cairoli weathered a late first race attack from Championship leader Christophe Pourcel for a very convincing win in a moto he had pretty much set the pace from the start. In contrast he crashed on the first corner of the second heat and was on the fringes of the top ten in very tricky conditions when he crashed on the rhythm section and went down heavily. The Sicilian hurt his knee in a spill that snapped his brace and damaged his Yamaha too much to continue. Kenneth Gundersen shared a similar fate in race1 when he fell on the first lap and collected fellow Yamaha compatriot Billy Mackenzie. The Norwegian pulled into the pits. He was however able to obtain 11 points for tenth later on. Winner of the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago Bike it Yamaha UK Dixon Racing's Mackenzie was also to leave Bulgaria disappointed. The 22 year old was last after falling when Gundersen hit the deck right in front of him and slipped off again before retiring far behind any possible points. The Scot had broken his left hand a week prior at the fourth round of the British Championship and despite using painkillers could only trail Gundersen in the second moto for a lowly ten point haul from the whole meeting. Gundersen's team-mate Davide Guarneri was eigth in the first moto but was given a one minute penalty in the second race due to a damaged exhaust exceeding the permitted noise limit. JK Racing's Luigi Seguy was ninth overall although he did suffer a spill in the opening forray. Yamaha Team Ricci's Alessio Chiodi had to miss the meeting after his injured knee, sustained as a result of his Japanese practice accident, was diagnosed as a torn muscle. The Italian should be back for his home Grand Prix and round seven next week at Montevarchi. The standings reveal four Yamaha riders in the top ten. Cairoli is fourth 32 points behind Tyla Rattray and just 27 points in front of Billy Mackenzie who has dropped one position to sixth. The Grand Prix was won by KTM's Marc de Reuver with David Philippaerts second and Christophe Pourcel third. The World Championship continues at pace now with two more Grand Prix - in Italy and Great Britain - taking place in the next two weeks. Antonio Cairoli: "This year is not going so well at the moment. When I finish the first lap in the top three I can win but when I don't start OK or go down early on then my result is not great. I felt fast here and even though I was at the back in the second moto by the fifth lap I was near the top ten. The track was very slippery and I made a small mistake and it was a big punishment. I lost a lot of points and I don't feel very lucky so far this season. Physically I am OK but I feel bad inside for the loss today." Kenneth Gundersen: "In the first race I had a crash with Mackenzie when I was running fifth on the first lap. My bike was destroyed so I could not finish. In the second heat I was right near the front but on the first corner I almost crashed so I went from virtually first to last. I came back to ninth and could not do any better than that. In terms of riding I am happy with the last race. I am not having much luck at the moment. During practice yesterday there was a haybale on the track and I landed on it and hurt my wrist. I got some points today though and for that I am happy." Billy Mackenzie: "I was really looking forward to this GP but as the weekend it went on the track became more hard-pack and faster and I felt like I was losing speed and holding people up on the uphill sections purely because of my weight. It became a horsepower race rather than any technical ability and my hand was bothering me a little bit because I could not grip the bike like I wanted. Anyway, I could not avoid Gundersen in the first race and it went from bad to worse at the back of the pack. In the second moto I lost my goggles early on but I was still able to pass a few people. It was disappointing to lose so many points. I was on a real downer after the first race and with Philippaerts making the podium it has been a poor weekend in terms of the Championship Race classification MX2 Round: 6 - 2006 GP of Sevlievo, Bulgaria Circuit: Sevlievo Circuit Length: 1695 Race 1: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40' 35.110 2 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +1.274 3 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +11.806 4 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +23.350 5 T. Rattray KTM RSA +26.069 6 M. De Reuver KTM NED +36.806 7 N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +41.223 8 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +49.615 9 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +52.725 10 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +58.522 11 C. Nunn KTM GBR +1' 2.918 12 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 5.056 13 L. Seguy Yamaha FRA +1' 8.415 14 A. Leok Yamaha EST +1' 9.178 15 C. Campano KTM ESP +1' 19.566 16 M. Seistola Honda FIN +1' 25.012 17 M. Schiffer KTM GER +1' 30.278 18 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +1' 35.721 19 R. Goncalves KTM POR +1' 37.503 20 X. Boog Yamaha FRA +1' 53.541 Race 2: 19 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 M. De Reuver KTM NED 41' 34.286 2 T. Rattray KTM RSA +2.234 3 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +19.618 4 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +45.692 5 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +55.654 6 R. Goncalves KTM POR +56.996 7 C. Nunn KTM GBR +1' 0.230 8 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 2.588 9 L. Seguy Yamaha FRA +1' 36.083 10 K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +1' 42.325 11 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +1' 44.308 12 M. Schiffer KTM GER +1 lap(s) 13 M. Kohut Honda SVK +1 lap(s) 14 S. Simpson Honda GBR +1 lap(s) 15 T. Church Kawasaki GBR +1 lap(s) 16 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +1 lap(s) 17 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1 lap(s) 18 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +1 lap(s) 19 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +1 lap(s) 20 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +1 lap(s) Championship standings MX2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 236 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 234 3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 219 4 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 187 5 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 160 6 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 160 7 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 143 8 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 122 9 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 111 10 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 109 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 107 12 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 104 13 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 101 14 Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 83 15 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 80 16 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 66 17 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 64 18 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 53 19 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 46 20 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 45 Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 KTM 268 2 Yamaha 262 3 Kawasaki 240 4 Honda 94 5 Suzuki 6