Cairoli keeps series lead with Benelux podium

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli scaled a world championship podium for the second time in succession with the runner-up position at the Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard and the Grand Prix of Benelux for the fourth round of fifteen in the 2009 FIM series. The Sicilian keeps his position as leader of the standings and with a chequered flag in the first outing in Holland has secured three moto victories from the last four. He was joined on the rostrum by team-mate Tanel Leok who took third spot on the YZ450F, and with Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's David Philippaerts in fifth and Josh Coppins in seventh, four Yamahas filled the top seven. Several new jumps and sections had been added to the dark and rutted sand at the all-weather circuit near Eindhoven. The surface churned up and became rougher throughout the meeting, increasing the physical and technical demands of the two motos. The qualification heat on Saturday saw Coppins take third position but Cairoli and Philippaerts were victims of a first corner tumble and pile-up. Cairoli emphatically attacked the terrain from almost last to finish 7th while Philippaerts - restarting even further back - was 14th. Tanel Leok was 5th. Race-day dawned overcast and damp thanks to rainfall during the night. Thankfully the conditions became brighter later on for the 20,000 spectators, and some fantastic racing lay ahead with up to six riders disputing podium positions at the end of an unforgettable and almost indescribable first moto. Cairoli took his third chequered flag in succession when he emerged victorious from a frantic scrap in the final five minutes of the opening race that saw crashes for protagonists Steve Ramon and Marc de Reuver. Positions changed seemingly with every corner as the clock ticked down on the moto. Cairoli's achievement was all the more remarkable for the fact that he had broken three spokes on his front wheel on the third lap. Philippaerts -who led at one point - tired in the closing stages and was just beaten to 5th by Leok. A bad start for Cairoli kept him away from the front-running twosome of Jonathan Barragan and Leok, who flew from the mid-top ten to circulate in second place during what was a calmer Moto2. The Estonian would earn 3rd overall for his second podium of the season and his first since victory in Faenza. Cairoli made his way to 3rd while Philippaerts - who again was leading in the formative stages - was 6th. It was not a happy day for Bulgarian GP winner Coppins who felt the harsh physical effects of a blood disorder and did not have the energy to be in contention negotiating the sand. The New Zealander had to be satisfied with 27 points and 7th place overall. Cairoli continues to control the world championship and now has an advantage of 15 points over Barragan. With Philippaerts, Coppins and Leok filling slots 4th, 5th and 6th, YZ450F and YZ450FM machinery occupy four places in the first six. Yamaha also front the manufacturer's standings with a 31 point gap over their nearest rivals. A trip across the Iberian Peninsula represents the next phase of the world championship. Round five takes place at Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal while the sixth race occurs one week later on the opposite coast at Bellpuig for the GP of Catalunya. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 2nd: "I was third in the first lap of the first moto and I tried to pass Steve Ramon but he almost crashed and stopped so I caught my front wheel with his footpeg. I could see the wheel was broken and I was pretty scared. I dropped back to 12th place because I wanted to see if I could keep on racing. I was not doing many jumps and nursing the bike but it was OK, and I increased the speed and pushed. I could pass Steve and then he had a big crash, and also Philippaerts. There have been a lot of things happening that I didn't expect this year in MX1. It was a surprise to win here but I am having a lot of fun on the bike and I want to keep it this way until the end of the championship. I was really happy to win that race. My second start was really bad and I had some contact with other guys in the first corner. I was riding well after that and passed a lot of people but I had some trouble overtaking Desalle for a few laps and that held me up. I wanted to reach Tanel but in the last minutes I was quite tired and just stayed steady to the flag." Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 3rd: "I lost a lot of points in Turkey so this helps towards getting some back. I made some silly mistakes in the first moto but really that was the only negative part of the day. I am feeling good and fit and it showed in that second race. It has been really good to be riding and training with Antonio and I am happy with how things are going for me." David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 5th: "I had some good times and felt fast at the beginning of the races but I felt tired towards the end as the track was pretty hard and the conditions were warm for the Benelux! Things are still going well and although this was a physically tough race, more than the others so far, I could take some good points and keep consistent. After twenty minutes of each moto here I had to ride conservatively because crashing would have been worse than losing another position." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 7th: "I'm done, it was a tough weekend and I knew it would be like that before I arrived here. I have been suffering with a blood problem. We have been working on it and I had some injections but it hasn't helped. I want to get healthy and be able to actually battle with the guys instead of just surviving out there; that is the hardest thing, not the result but knowing that I can't affect the race. It is not fun to take a good start and then just hang on. There is still so far to go in the championship and the result is not as disappointing as the fact that I could do nothing at this GP. I will go for some tests tomorrow and will try to improve for Portugal." Circuit Length: 1750 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Ken De Dycker 2009 GP of Benelux 26/04/2009 Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     39'47.158 2     Marc De Reuver     Honda     NED     0'04.286 3     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     0'07.183 4     Ken De Dycker     Suzuki     BEL     0'08.550 5     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     0'09.808 6     David Philippaerts     Yamaha     ITA     0'09.939 7     Kevin Strijbos     Honda     BEL     0'17.209 8     Billy MacKenzie     Honda     GBR     0'23.940 9     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     0'39.108 10     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'50.965 11     Maximilian Nagl     KTM     GER     0'58.686 12     Cedric Melotte     Honda     BEL     1'19.903 13     Steve Ramon     Suzuki     BEL     1'22.028 14     James Noble     Suzuki     GBR     1'22.244 15     Bradley Anderson     Honda     GBR     1'28.951 18     Rob van Vijfeijken     Yamaha     NED     -1Laps Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Jonathan Barragan     KTM     ESP     40'18.300 2     Tanel Leok     Yamaha     EST     0'06.449 3     Antonio Cairoli     Yamaha     ITA     0'21.339 4     Kevin Strijbos     Honda     BEL     0'27.157 5     Joshua Coppins     Yamaha     NZL     0'37.250 6     David Philippaerts     Yamaha     ITA     0'43.042 7     Steve Ramon     Suzuki     BEL     0'46.374 8     Clement Desalle     Honda     BEL     1'18.127 9     Ken De Dycker     Suzuki     BEL     1'31.576 10     Aigar Leok     TM     EST     1'34.994 11     Gert Krestinov     KTM     EST     1'36.882 12     Gareth Swanepoel     Kawasaki     RSA     1'40.470 13     David Vuillemin     Kawasaki     FRA     1'42.218 14     Billy MacKenzie     Honda     GBR     1'44.021 15     Rob van Vijfeijken     Yamaha     NED     2'03.410 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Antonio Cairoli    Yamaha    ITA    143 2.    Jonathan Barragan    KTM    ESP    128 3.    Ken De Dycker    Suzuki    BEL    124 4.    David Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    118 5.    Joshua Coppins    Yamaha    NZL    112 6.    Tanel Leok    Yamaha    EST    111 7.    Steve Ramon    Suzuki    BEL    100 8.    Maximilian Nagl    KTM    GER    87 9.    Clement Desalle    Honda    BEL    86 10.    Kevin Strijbos    Honda    BEL    82 11.    Aigar Leok    TM    EST    48 12.    David Vuillemin    Kawasaki    FRA    48 13.    Marc De Reuver    Honda    NED    45 14.    Gareth Swanepoel    Kawasaki    RSA    43 15.    Billy MacKenzie    Honda    GBR    42 24.    Rob van Vijfeijken    Yamaha    NED    11 30.    Carlos Campano    Yamaha    ESP    3 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Yamaha    166 2.    Suzuki    135 3.    KTM    134 4.    Honda    118 5.    Kawasaki    60 6.    TM    48 7.    Aprilia    35 8.    CCM    21 RACE REPORT     26/04/2009 Aubin scores third place on 21st birthday Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team's Nicolas Aubin gave himself a pleasant 21st birthday by taking pole position and third place overall at Valkenswaard for the Grand Prix of Benelux and the fourth round of fifteen in the 2009 FIM MX2 World Championship. The Frenchman buried the memory of a lacklustre appearance in Turkey two weeks ago to show good speed in the sand and his finishes of 5th and 2nd were rewarded with his first silverware of the season. The rough and demanding terrain punished the slightest mistake and saw riders struggling to maintain the same race rhythm for the duration of the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. Aubin, starting from the first slot in the gate, suffered two small falls in Moto1, the first while holding second position, but was nevertheless content with his pace to rise from mid-pack to the top five. In Moto2 he was more decisive and reached the runner-up position by the last third of the race. In fourth spot overall was team-mate Davide Guarneri; the Italian enjoying one of his best performances on the sand. He pushed hard in Moto1 to rise from outside the top ten to third and was missing some energy for Moto2 in which he could only manage ninth. A crash in the qualification heat on Saturday left Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne with an uphill task in the Netherlands, but the Turkish GP winner rode well on his first visit to Valkenswaard and despite a problem with his rear brake he was 4th and 7th for 6th overall. In the world championship standings Guarneri is third, 29 points from the peak of the table. Osborne is fourth and just 11 points from being the first Yamaha rider. Aubin has moved up to seventh. The Grand Prix of Portugal at the Agueda circuit will represent the fifth round of the series in two weeks time. Nico Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 3rd: "I felt a bit nervous in the first moto and that led to some mistakes. I came back from sixteenth and was fast but made another error when I reached Musquin and we crashed together. It was a pretty good race regardless. In the second one I tried to catch Rui but everyone knows he is fast in the sand. My priority today was not to take big risks but to get some points and I am happy I did that. It is nice to get a podium on my birthday, but I would have preferred a win!" Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 4th: "It was a good day and I felt good in the sand; I was quite surprised to be the fastest in practice yesterday. The heat race was unlucky and with three crashes I was down in 21st, which was not a good position in this gate. I was quick in the first moto and it was no problem to pull through from 14th to 3rd but I felt the effects in the second moto and when I reached 5th place I had nothing left to give. The result was not bad at all." Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 6th: "I fell at the start in the heat race which did not give me the best pick in the gate today. I was a bit nervous about being that far down but got a good start and worked my way up to fourth, which I was happy about. In the second race I did my best to pass through the pack. I lost the back brake about five minutes into both races and that made it tougher. I enjoyed the track. It was hard on Saturday but once I got the rhythm and worked out the flow, things went well. I have put together some consistent finishes now and rising up to fourth in the championship. I wanted to be in the top five today and I feel with that first race I did OK to get up to that position." Circuit Length: 1750 Crowd: 20,000 Weather: Cloudy Last Years Winner: Tyla Rattray 2009 GP of Benelux 26/04/2009 Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Shaun Simpson     KTM     GBR     39'30.097 2     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     0'19.692 3     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'36.610 4     Zach Osborne     Yamaha     USA     0'40.292 5     Nicolas Aubin     Yamaha     FRA     0'43.298 6     Xavier Boog     Suzuki     FRA     0'45.718 7     Gautier Paulin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'48.671 8     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     0'53.618 9     Matiss Karro     Suzuki     LVA     0'54.654 10     Arnaud Tonus     KTM     CHE     0'54.854 11     Dennis Verbruggen     Honda     BEL     1'01.423 12     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     1'05.434 13     Mike Kras     Suzuki     NED     1'09.178 14     Herjan Brakke     Honda     NED     1'15.298 15     Loic Larrieu     Yamaha     FRA     1'15.780 16     Alessandro Lupino     Yamaha     ITA     1'16.395 Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Total Time 1     Rui Goncalves     KTM     POR     40'09.337 2     Nicolas Aubin     Yamaha     FRA     0'19.978 3     Shaun Simpson     KTM     GBR     0'24.363 4     Gautier Paulin     Kawasaki     FRA     0'32.063 5     Jeremy Van Horebeek     KTM     BEL     0'34.490 6     Joel Roelants     KTM     BEL     0'38.323 7     Zach Osborne     Yamaha     USA     0'55.543 8     Davide Guarneri     Yamaha     ITA     0'58.023 9     Loic Larrieu     Yamaha     FRA     0'58.428 10     Marcus Schiffer     KTM     GER     1'02.131 11     Steven Frossard     Kawasaki     FRA     1'04.401 12     Marvin Musquin     Honda     FRA     1'08.797 13     Dennis Verbruggen     Honda     BEL     1'12.014 14     Manuel Monni     Yamaha     ITA     1'17.363 15     Xavier Boog     Suzuki     FRA     1'18.965 Rider Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Rider     Manu.     Nat.     Points 1.    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    140 2.    Marvin Musquin    Honda    FRA    125 3.    Davide Guarneri    Yamaha    ITA    111 4.    Zach Osborne    Yamaha    USA    100 5.    Shaun Simpson    KTM    GBR    97 6.    Xavier Boog    Suzuki    FRA    94 7.    Nicolas Aubin    Yamaha    FRA    85 8.    Rui Goncalves    KTM    POR    78 9.    Steven Frossard    Kawasaki    FRA    63 10.    Marcus Schiffer    KTM    GER    55 11.    Manuel Monni    Yamaha    ITA    52 12.    Joel Roelants    KTM    BEL    49 13.    Arnaud Tonus    KTM    CHE    46 14.    Khounsith Vongsana    Honda    FRA    44 15.    Loic Larrieu    Yamaha    FRA    39 19.    Alessandro Lupino    Yamaha    ITA    35 22.    Evgeny Bobryshev    Yamaha    RUS    22 28.    Cedric Soubeyras    Yamaha    FRA    10 33.    Deny Philippaerts    Yamaha    ITA    6 Manufacturer Standings     26/04/2009 Pos.     Manufacturer     Points 1.    Kawasaki    149 2.    Yamaha    141 3.    KTM    133 4.    Honda    131 5.    Suzuki    98