Everts completes dream finale

Stefan Everts closed a record-breaking career - boasting numbers and results surely never to be equalled - with his fourteenth victory from fifteen events Ernee at the French Grand Prix for the final round of the FIM 2006 MX1 World Championship.

The 33-year-old decorated Belgian, 2006 World Champion and ten times title winner across 125, 250, 500, MXGP and MX1 classes scooped his 101st career victory with two double triumphs watched and applauded by 17.000 appreciative spectators. The masses acknowledged a special chapter in motocross history as Everts took to the podium for the fifteenth time this year and for the final occasion after an eighteen year stint at the highest level.

The Ernee circuit had dried significantly after lengthy spells of rain on Friday led towards the practice programme being shortened on Saturday in the interests of preserving the terrain. Sunday witnessed blue sky and sunshine for the first time in three days and the hill-side track was a slippery and rough test with many ruts chopping the corners and jump take-offs.

Steering his YZ450FM with a new colour scheme that involved a chequered flag design inscribed with his 100 Grand Prix victories, as well as a set of white painted Pirelli tyres, Everts pulled away from Jonathan Barragan in the first moto for a comfortable victory as main rivals Mickael Pichon and Josh Coppins both fell. Coppins recovered to sixth.

Everts completed a victory lap and then a lengthy podium ceremony with his World Championship peers gathered around in celebration.

Cedric Melotte will carry the number 11 plate for 2007. The Belgian's injured foot was still too painful for him to compete in what would have been his last Grand Prix for the Rinaldi team after a three year association.

From 15 Grand Prix Everts has won 14 and 27 motos, 22 of which he clinched in a row. He recorded 8 pole positions and posted 739 points from a possible maximum of 750. His lowest result was a third position taken in the first moto at Bellpuig for the Grand Prix of Spain.

Yamaha, with the new YZ450FM that has been so dominant this season, claimed the manufacturer's crown in Ireland and completed the campaign 140 points ahead of Suzuki. Michele Rinaldi has now finished his term as Team Manager and will step down to allow his brother Carlo to assume the reigns for 2007 and beyond.

Everts will now captain Team Belgium at Matterley Basin for the 60th Motocross of Nations next week for his last major international event.

Stefan Everts   

Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sport Motocross Team: "It wasn't such a difficult race. I really wanted to enjoy this day and try to capture a lot of things that I can remember later about the weekend. It has been a great GP and Yamaha and Team Rinaldi have made some really nice surprises. To go into retirement with a victory here at my last Grand Prix is wonderful. Just before the second race I was getting emotional when the 15 second board' went up. I said to myself for the last time I am going to go for it and enjoy it. It has been a great year and an awesome ride. I could not have expected such a record with 14 out of 15 GPs. I think Japan was the best; I have never won a GP so easy. The Yamaha this year is for sure one of the best bikes I have ridden. When I got the new 450 last October I immediately felt that I could step up my level and speed, but I was not expecting to win this many races. Thanks again to the team and to everyone around me who has supported me."

Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "Every time it is harder to make some comment about these fantastic races. I have to admit that I had some doubt before today because I saw Stefan mentally tired in Lierop, but I do not know where he found the resolve and the energy to make two very good starts and easy motos. He was pushing just enough to win again twice. It is sad to make a farewell for him but we are very proud of our history and our record over the last six years. This is the best way to say goodbye to him and for him to say goodbye to motocross. The new bike has been working so well and has been excellent for Stefan's riding style. The season has not finished in a good way for Cedric but the injury he sustained at the Belgian Championship meant that he couldn't ride. We still have a good relationship with him and wish him luck for the future."

Press room   

Michele Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "We signed Stefan for the 2001 season and we have had six years together trying to do our best. We have made some exceptional results. He is going to stop his career while still winning races and this is something unbelievable for sportsmen because you do not see this often, in any sport not just motocross. We have worked hard as a team but with a great Champion like Stefan he can really show all that effort. Motocross is a hard sport with many good riders but we did not expect a season like this. I think everyone; the team, Yamaha and Stefan can be satisfied today. It is a special day for me also and it was difficult for me this morning as my last time managing the team out front because next year I will be more behind-the-scenes and focus on YZ technical development."

Laurens Klein Koerkamp, Racing Manager, Yamaha Motor Europe: "It is difficult to comment because it is hard to take in what has happened today. It is the end of an era of a very special rider. To win six world titles with this Champion is an exceptional achievement and now it is the end of a unique relationship between rider and machine. It is an emotional day. Many years ago we raced mainly with prototype machines and every season we got closer and closer to using a production bike. Stefan's Yamaha this year is pretty stock, the frame is standard. Engine-wise there have been some tweaks but basically the Rinaldi team have worked with a production motorcycle that is already very good. We are really happy to have won in 2006 with this model."

Crowd: 17000 Weather: Dry     2006 GP of Ernée, France 17/09/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 39'47.108 2 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'3.994 3 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'20.304 4 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'31.984 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'34.192 6 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'36.959 7 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'47.813 8 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 0'52.007 9 James Noble Honda GBR 0'55.251 10 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'57.249 11 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'1.372 12 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 1'6.338 13 Mark Jones Honda GBR 1'17.602 14 Clement Desalle  Suzuki BEL 1'20.666 15 Julien Vanni KTM FRA 1'21.569 16 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 1'22.536 17 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'23.742 18 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 1'33.622 19 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 1'36.562 20 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'39.433

Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 39'50.449 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'8.456 3 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'18.562 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'28.354 5 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'30.939 6 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'32.686 7 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 0'47.489 8 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'58.681 9 James Noble Honda GBR 1'1.768 10 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 1'6.694 11 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED 1'8.514 12 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'16.892 13 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'31.347 14 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'39.713 15 Mark Jones Honda GBR 1'41.730 16 Clement Desalle  Suzuki BEL 1'44.078 17 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 1'50.532 18 Cyril Coulon Suzuki FRA -1 Laps 19 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 20 Rodrig Thain Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 1'56.367

 Rider Standings 17/09/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 739 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 529 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 483 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 463 5. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 443 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 376 7. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 330 8. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 278 9. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 267 10. James Noble Honda GBR 226 11. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 224 12. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 201 13. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 173 14. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 168 15. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 16. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 155 17. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 144 18. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 120 19. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 106 20. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 102

Manufacturer Standings 17/09/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 739 2. Suzuki 599 3. Honda 576 4. Kawasaki 458 5. KTM 454 6. TM 168

RACE REPORT 17/09/2006 Cairoli wins French GP but hands Championship title to Pourcel   Antonio Cairoli   

The MX2 Grand Prix of France at Ernee was won by De Carli Yamaha rider Antonio Cairoli with his second double triumph of the year and third GP success. While it completed a pleasant double victory for Yamaha at the final GP of the season, The 2005 World Champion had to settle for second in 2006 .

Cairoli led from first corner to the chequered flag for a superior opening moto victory ahead of Christophe Pourcel who was cheered on by the voluminous French public. At one stage it looked as though the Kawasaki rider might be able to challenge the De Carli representative but a spurt from Cairoli in the final laps was enough for him to keep control over a decreasing margin.

In the second race an exciting battle raged for two laps between the two protagonists. If Cairoli won again he would need Pourcel to fail to score and he would retain his World Championship. For a brief moment there was hope when Pourcel crashed out of the lead and down to fifth position. Cairoli assumed control ahead of Marc de Reuver and aced a set of laps in which he looked fast, comfortable and aggressive. Pourcel would finish the race however leaving the Sicilian second by 18 points. Cairoli ends the season as the rider with highest number of moto victories in the class with 12.

Billy Mackenzie   

Billy Mackenzie was the next best Yamaha rider in ninth position and his progress for a top five finish in the second moto was hindered by a bent gear lever that necessitated a visit to the pits. The Scot fought back hard to capture twelfth. Alessio Chiodi was eleventh but lacking race fitness after missing the last three Grand Prix. Ricci Racing team-mate Kenneth Gundersen could not get a good feeling on the track and only registered points in Moto one.

Six riders won MX2 Grand Prix in 2006 and aside from Cairoli with three triumphs, Billy Mackenzie was the other YZ250F pilot to mount the highest step of the rostrum with his second career victory at the Sugo circuit in Japan. The pair also collected eight fastest laps between them.

Mackenzie is the next highest placed Yamaha representative in the World Champonship with ninth, thanks partially to one GP win. The Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing rider was handicapped by six non-scores however.

Kenneth Gundersen has finished thirteenth and took a top three result with third at Zolder in Belgium but also picked up nine DNFs. Alessio Chiodi was right in front of him in twelfth and a decent season was ruined at round five when a fast practice crash led to a damaged knee. A broken finger added to his woes and meant four Grand Prix out of action. The third Ricci Racing rider Davide Guarneri has ended a troubled campaign in 16th.

Cairoli, Mackenzie and Gundersen will also be on Motocross of Nations duty at Matterley Basin in seven days time.

Antonio Cairoli   

Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha: "I am happy to end the year like this but not so pleased with how I started the Championship because some mistakes cost me the title. I lost too many points at the beginning. I tried to put pressure on Christophe today. He crashed but his bike didn't break so he was able to finish the race. I am happy with the GP however because the Yamaha worked really well and I had a good feeling on the track. I will start next MX2 season with more conviction and I want to win back the title for Yamaha and me next year for sure."

Kenneth Gundersen, Ricci Racing: "I had two bad starts and wasn't riding well. I want to forget this year, go away and work hard and try to do better next season. There have been too many mistakes in the second half of the season. There has been some bad luck but I have also made some errors. One small positive is finishing without any big injury."

Alessio Chiodi, Ricci Racing: "I made my first race last weekend at the Italian Championship but my hand was sleeping out there over the jumps and I did not have much strength. My feeling on the bike was missing because I have not been able to train during the week. The season started well but I had some bad luck in Teutschenthal and then had the knee injury in Japan so it has not turned out well."

Circuit Length: 1111 Crowd: 17000 Weather: Dry     2006 GP of Ernée, France 17/09/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'30.406 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'15.533 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'30.975 4 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 0'54.684 5 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 0'56.665 6 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 0'57.465 7 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 1'0.129 8 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 1'3.913 9 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'17.012 10 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'18.166 11 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 1'20.098 12 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1'21.323 13 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 1'23.989 14 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'45.334 15 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'48.356 16 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'56.912 17 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'58.355 18 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 2'0.355 19 Carlos Campano KTM ESP 2'2.133 20 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER -1 Laps 23 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA -1 Laps

Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'0.081 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'9.920 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'14.839 4 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'15.842 5 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 0'20.833 6 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'24.021 7 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'9.374 8 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'11.896 9 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 1'12.094 10 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 1'15.319 11 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1'16.093 12 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'17.863 13 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 1'30.863 14 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'35.190 15 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 1'38.843 16 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'40.023 17 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'42.087 18 Carlos Campano KTM ESP 1'47.200 19 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 1'48.354 20 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'52.027

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 1'57.015

 Rider Standings 17/09/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 581 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 563 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 480 4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 475 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 408 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 377 7. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 325 8. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 315 9. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 302 10. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 298 11. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 286 12. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 229 13. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 223 14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 196 15. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 160 16. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 17. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 150 18. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 112 19. Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 106 20. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 103 36. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 9

Manufacturer Standings 17/09/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 682 2. Yamaha 657 3. Kawasaki 606 4. Honda 262 5. Suzuki 16