Everts denied 100th win but manufacturer's crown secured

Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team's Stefan Everts was beaten for the first time this season after a thrilling contest against Josh Coppins at Desert Martin for the Grand Prix of Northern Ireland.

The Belgian was forced onto the second step after accumulating a 100% perfect winning streak of twelve rounds in succession when he lost a second race duel with Coppins. He had earlier taken his 22nd consecutive moto triumph by capturing the opening foray from the New Zealander and this haul of 25 points contributed towards the confirmation of Yamaha's ownership of the Manufacturer's title in MX1 with the YZ450FM.

The powdery soil at the venue some 60 kilometres west of Belfast became increasingly rough after a day of practice and qualification. Quick, undulating and technical the layout demanded complete concentration but also offered several racing lines for some interesting and intense action.

For only the second time this year the 35 minute and 2 lap Grand Prix motos encountered rainy conditions as brief showers scattered the scenic Irish landscape. Everts was too busy to notice the spurts of light rain as he faced his hardest challenge since the Portuguese round in April during Moto1. Coppins harried the World Champion for the duration of the sprint and the duo were only separated by more than a second when they had to negotiate backmarkers. It was entertaining fare but Coppins only really showed his front wheel to the Belgian in anger on several occasions, an overtaking move would have been another feat altogether.

Everts started the second moto in a similar vein but Coppins was a renewed force and a fantastic race between the rivals with numerous lead changes occurred. They lapped all of the riders up to 3rd position but in the closing stages Everts had to concede the moto, and the Grand Prix, to the determined Kiwi who extended his lead throughout the last ten minutes.

Everts has already claimed the 2006 campaign with an emotional victory three weeks ago at Namur. He heads the standings by 181 points from fellow Belgians Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon.

Cédric Melotte was absent in Desert Martin after breaking three toes on his right foot last week in a Belgian Championship event. The 28 year old is hoping to be back in action for the following race at Lierop taking place next weekend for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands; the fourteenth and penultimate round of the Championship. 

Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sport Motocross Team: "It has been a tough race today. The track was hard. The first race was exciting and in the second Josh was so fast. At one point I could not stay with him anymore and physically I was finished. I think that we had the same speed but he was a bit stronger so I decided to go for a safe second towards the end. I am happy for Josh, he has been working hard for this. Of course I am a bit disappointed to lose but I still have two more chances to reach 100."

Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It has been a long time since we have lost and this was a situation we were very used to! Second place overall is by no means a bad result and our moto classifications were the same as Josh's, but he deserved to win because in the second race he seemed more physically prepared than Stefan. Towards the end of the second moto Stefan struggled to keep the rhythm. It is a pity because we very much wanted to take the 100th win this weekend but I hope it is only delayed by one week or maximum to Ernee. In the meantime we have won the manufacturer's title which is important for Yamaha. It is possible that Cédric will be back next week, we should know by tomorrow."

Temp: 18 Crowd: 18243 Weather: Changeable     2006 GP of Desert Martin, Ireland 27/08/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 40'50.848 2 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 0'0.722 3 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'58.605 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 1'9.286 5 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 1'27.028 6 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'51.475 7 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 1'59.467 8 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 2'1.314 9 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 2'2.284 10 Christian Beggi Honda ITA 2'5.783 11 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 12 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST -1 Laps 13 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 14 Wayne Smith Honda RSA -1 Laps 15 Mark Jones Honda GBR -1 Laps 16 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA -1 Laps 17 Neville Bradshaw Suzuki RSA -1 Laps 18 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -1 Laps 19 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 20 Scott Columb Suzuki NZL -1 Laps

Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 40'51.512 2 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 0'25.650 3 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 2'4.676 4 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL -1 Laps 5 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 6 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 7 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps 8 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST -1 Laps 9 James Noble Honda GBR -1 Laps 10 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN -1 Laps 11 Johnny Lindhe KTM SWE -1 Laps 12 Lauris Freibergs Suzuki LVA -1 Laps 13 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE -1 Laps 14 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA -1 Laps 15 Neville Bradshaw Suzuki RSA -1 Laps 16 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL -1 Laps 17 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED -1 Laps 18 Wayne Smith Honda RSA -1 Laps 19 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL -2 Laps 20 Tom de Belder Suzuki BEL -2 Laps

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 1'57.572

 Rider Standings 27/08/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 639 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 458 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 418 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 409 5. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 387 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 306 7. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 249 8. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 242 9. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 239 10. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 224 11. James Noble Honda GBR 198 12. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 196 13. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 167 14. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 161 15. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 153 16. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131 17. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 129 18. Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 106 19. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 102 20. Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99

Manufacturer Standings 27/08/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 639 2. Suzuki 523 3. Honda 494 4. Kawasaki 391 5. KTM 384 6. TM 161

RACE REPORT 27/08/2006 Cairoli takes seventh podium of the season   Antonio Cairoli   

World Champion Antonio Cairoli was third overall in the MX2 class at Desert Martin today for his second podium appearance in a row and seventh of the season. The Team Yamaha De Carli rider was 2nd and 7th for the bottom step of rostrum despite a crash in the second moto.

The Sicilian completed a lonely race to second place in the initial race after Tyla Rattray had escaped. Unfortunately for the reigning number one, series leader Christophe Pourcel pushed through from a mediocre start to collect third and minimise any damage to his margin in the standings. Cairoli, who struggled with his suspension set-up on the rough and physical terrain, finally ended up giving his French rival two more points with a fall from third place on the second lap of Moto2, necessitating a hard trawl back into the top ten.

Kenneth Gundersen   

Yamaha Team Ricci's Kenneth Gundersen withstood a pursuit by David Philippaerts in the second half of the first moto to make sure of sixth position and the second highest Yamaha rider home. It was the Norwegian's best finish from the last four Grand Prix. However, his poor luck struck again later in the day as he barely walked away from a pile-up of riders on the first turn. Slightly concussed Gundersen's moto finished only seconds after it had started.

Fellow Yamaha Team Ricci representative Davide Guarneri's season hangs in the balance after several problems with illness, breathing problems and a virus that has left the Italian in a weakened state. He will now spend some time away from the sport to fully recover and although he may attempt to return for the final Grand Prix of the year at Ernee it depends on his progress and the results of a complete physical examination conducted in Italy this week.

Alessi Chiodi opted to stay away from the trip to Ireland after his painful broken finger from Namur several weeks ago prevented the Italian from being able to ride and train. He climbed back on the YZ250F a day before the Grand Prix and is expecting a return at Lierop.

Billy MacKenzie   

Cairoli's team-mate Matteo Bonini finished out of the points in both motos. Bike it Yamaha Dixon's Billy Mackenzie also had a fall in each outing but finished 9th in the second race.

Tyla Rattray won his fourth Grand Prix of the season with Pourcel assuming the status of runner-up.

Cairoli now stands 28 points behind Pourcel at the top of the Championship table. Two more Grand Prix and 100 points remain. Mackenzie is the next Yamaha rider in eighth while Gundersen is twelfth.

The finale of the World Championship is rapid approaching and the penultimate round of fifteen will take place at the flat, sandy Lierop circuit for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in seven day's time.

Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "I am not so happy because I wanted to take points away from Pourcel today. I made a stupid mistake and crashed in the second heat, losing a lot of time in picking up the bike and restarting. We had some suspension problems this weekend and we have to get it fixed for Lierop. I did not have a good feeling out there and had to use a lot of energy to push hard. In the first race I did my best and finished second but in the second I felt tired and it was harder."

Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "The first moto was quite good. I was riding a bit stiff at the beginning but at the end things were coming better and better. I was looking forward to the second moto to make an improved result but that ended in the first corner. I don't know what happened. I was right next to Cairoli but someone hit me from behind and I was thrown into the ground. I am going to go home and get healthy and try to do better in Lierop because I like the sand."

Temp: 18 Crowd: 18243 Weather: Changeable     2006 GP of Desert Martin, Ireland 27/08/2006 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 41'19.221 2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'7.757 3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'15.579 4 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'20.357 5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'32.583 6 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 0'34.607 7 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'40.106 8 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'51.108 9 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'54.777 10 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'58.962 11 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1'2.674 12 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'8.972 13 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 1'10.743 14 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'14.177 15 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'21.390 16 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'25.612 17 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'31.068 18 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 1'32.734 19 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 1'40.206 20 Nicolas Aubin Kawasaki FRA 1'43.836

Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 39'52.916 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 0'20.796 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'29.930 4 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'42.802 5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'47.523 6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'48.687 7 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 1'16.210 8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'18.640 9 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 1'19.069 10 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'27.582 11 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'30.662 12 Martin Kohut Honda SVK 1'33.566 13 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'35.089 14 Manuel Monni KTM ITA 1'36.839 15 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'54.252 16 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'58.572 17 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 2'3.705 18 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR -1 Laps 19 Jeremy Tarroux Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps 20 Carlos Campano KTM ESP -2 Laps

Best Lap Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 1'57.584

 Rider Standings 27/08/2006

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 496 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 468 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 427 4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 402 5. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 373 6. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 315 7. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 291 8. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 281 9. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 278 10. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 267 11. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 264 12. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 215 13. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 211 14. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 183 15. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153 16. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 119 17. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 118 18. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 98 19. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94 20. Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 82 39. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 7

Manufacturer Standings 27/08/2006

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. KTM 596 2. Yamaha 562 3. Kawasaki 521 4. Honda 210 5. Suzuki 22