Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team rider Stefan Everts steered his YZ450FM to a sixth consecutive victory and the third this season today at a warm Grand Prix of Portugal and the Agueda circulated populated by 15,500 spectators. It was the 90th career success for the reigning number one and came after a gripping first moto tussle with Sebastien Tortelli (KTM). The third round of fifteen in the 2006 FIM MX1 World Championship took place in good weather conditions with sunshine and decent temperatures bathing the fifth and sixth motos of the season. Only 24 hours early the climate had been quite different. Hard rain throughout Friday night and some more showers Saturday forced the FIM to shrink the Saturday practice timetable to conserve the sodden track. With only one free practice before the 30 minute qualification 33-year-old Everts sealed the third fastest lap time. The track was dry and rough for the opening moto and the various ruts provided a nice technical contrast to the faster sections of the course. The first outing of the day was a classic and one of the best performances by Everts in several years. The Belgian fought all race long with Sebastien Tortelli and produced what has to be considered as a contender for the 'over-taking move of the season' by leaping past the Frenchman cresting a jump-on-the-turn to regain the lead early in lap ten. Tortelli kept applying pressure but Everts was faultless and needed to be. Eventually the Frenchman made a mistake on the final circulation and crashed giving the reigning number one an easy passage to the chequered flag. In the second race Everts was fourth going around the second corner but attacked aggressively and passed leader Tortelli in the same bend as earlier in the day. The Frenchman crashed shortly afterwards and dislocated his hip. The severity of the injury is unknown but if he is forced to miss the next Grand Prix then it will leave Everts in a strong position in terms of the Championship. Alone at the front he controlled the moto by a relatively comfortable margin over Jonathan Barragan (KTM). Cedric Melotte continues to find his speed after a pre-season wrist injury but the friendly Belgian suffered with two bad starts and a second moto crash today. The 27-year-old had to dispel a lot of energy to come back from a lowly position in the first moto to ninth and then fell on the tight second corner of the second race and was far behind the field before deciding to retire after another spill. Stefan now heads Tanel Leok (Kawasaki) by 27 points in the world championship standings. After two consecutive rounds within the Iberian Peninsula the fourth test of the series will take place in a fortnight at the Teutschenthal circuit for the Karcher Grand Prix of Germany. Stefan Everts: "It has been a hard day for me, especially with that first moto. I was in the lead but Sebastien was there the whole race and pushing me. I had to ride defensively because I know he is very aggressive and could try anything. The moment he passed me I got him back going up the hill and I think that was an important move that decided the rest of the race. In the second moto I was very aggressive on the first lap and could pass Sebastien in the same place. I tried to pull away but the moment I saw him on the ground I lost my concentration and couldn't really find my rhythm or pace. Jonathan followed me hard and I know he is very fit. It was another tough race but I am happy with this double victory." Cedric Melotte: "I don't know what happened today but it was not a good weekend for me. My jumps were not bad out of the gate but everybody closed me off on the first turn and that happened twice. I had two bad starts and the track was not good for passing. I tried to come back in the first race and ended up ninth; I know I can do better than that but I was feeling a bit lost out there. In the second heat I crashed on the second corner with Brian and took a long time to get going again. I tried hard to come back but lost the front wheel. It was hard to restart again and finally I decided to stop. It was a weekend without any luck and I just want to focus on the next GP now." Carlo Rinaldi: "It was a very good day on Stefan's side as once again he proved that he wants to beat everybody, even if it means riding defensively like he did in the first moto. It looked like Tortelli had a bit more than him but he rode with a good strategy and in a smart way. In the second moto he was quickly in the lead and tried to manage the gap with Barragan but was not riding so well or as smooth as he usually is. It was a bad day for Cedric and I feel very sorry for him because he needs some good results. It was very difficult to come back on this track." NB: In the last few years the manufacturer standings were calculated by FIM based upon the total GP result (combined overall standings after two motos), with 25 points for the manufacturer winning the overall GP. This was remarkable as riders can win 25 points per heat, and therefore a maximum of 50 points per GP. As per 2006 the manufacturer standings of FIM are based upon the same calculations as for the riders championship: for each heat manufacturer points are to be gained, regardless of the overall GP position. Race classification MX1 Round: 3 - 2006 GP of Agueda, Portugal Circuit: Agueda Race: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 40' 11.933 2 S. Tortelli KTM FRA +20.727 3 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +33.544 4 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +40.260 5 J. Barragan KTM ESP +44.074 6 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +49.921 7 S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +54.458 8 J. Noble Honda GBR +1' 19.327 9 C. Melotte Yamaha BEL +1' 25.116 10 S. Sword Kawasaki GBR +1' 28.637 11 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1' 30.252 12 G. Crockard Honda GBR +1' 30.862 13 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1' 33.701 14 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +1' 36.929 15 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 42.669 16 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1' 50.107 17 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1' 52.142 18 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +2' 5.337 19 C. Federici Kawasaki ITA +1 lap(s) 20 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1 lap(s) Race 2: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 S. Everts Yamaha BEL 39' 23.754 2 J. Barragan KTM ESP +5.746 3 K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +11.695 4 T. Leok Kawasaki EST +18.728 5 K. De Dycker Honda BEL +22.443 6 M. Priem Yamaha BEL +29.741 7 J. Bill Yamaha GBR +50.317 8 P. Leuret Honda FRA +1' 1.967 9 W. Avis KTM RSA +1' 9.310 10 A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1' 15.542 11 J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1' 18.807 12 L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1' 21.424 13 G. Crockard Honda GBR +1' 30.916 14 D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1' 34.707 15 A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1' 37.602 16 J. Lindhe KTM SWE +1' 38.460 17 M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1' 39.379 18 S. Sword Kawasaki GBR +1' 40.329 19 K. Salaets Yamaha BEL +1' 40.598 20 B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +1' 48.115 Championship standings MX1 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 142 2 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 115 3 Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 98 5 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 97 6 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 97 7 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 83 8 Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 66 9 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 65 10 Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 53 11 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 51 12 Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 44 13 James Noble Honda GBR 42 14 Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 41 15 Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 39 16 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 30 17 Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 27 18 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 25 19 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 18 20 Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 16 Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 142 2 KTM 125 3 Suzuki 121 4 Kawasaki 115 5 Honda 97 6 TM 41 MX2 : Cairoli takes first podium of the season Round: 3 - 2006 GP of Agueda, Portugal Circuit: Agueda Date: 23 April 2006 Crowd: 15500 Temp: 20ºC Weather: Changeable MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli was third overall today at Agueda for the Portuguese Grand Prix. The De Carli Yamaha representative made the perfect start in the first moto and defended a slender margin ahead of Kawasaki's Christophe Pourcel for the entire race distance. It was his second consecutive moto win after success in Spain last week, but, like the meeting at Bellpuig, the Italian was luckless in the other half of the Grand Prix and was the victim of a collision entering the first turn that caused him to crash and restart last. The world champion showed considerable skill on a layout that was difficult to pass on, rising to 10th - good enough to take his first top three result of the year. The track was very rough and dry after sunny spells on Saturday and clear blue skies throughout race day. The Grand Prix had begun under a dark cloud - literally - as heavy rain battered the circuit through Friday night and forced the MX2 qualification heats to be scrapped in favour of a 30 minute timed practice period. Thankfully the weather did not play further havoc and 15,500 spectators attended encouraged by a decent forecast. Kenneth Gunderson had taken his first podium since 2002 at Zolder and proceeded to notch a moto victory at Bellpuig last week for the first time in three years. The Norwegian was in no condition to play the role of protagonist on this occasion however after feeling sick all weekend. He started well in moto1 and was briefly as high as third but faded back to 12th and had to be assisted into the medical centre for a saline drip. In moto two he tried to gather some points but had to pull out after eight laps. Bike it Dixon Yamaha's Billy Mackenzie was sixth overall. The 22-year-old Scot had marked his first career Grand Prix podium at the same venue for the 2005 Grand Prix of Portugal and was the second Yamaha home in moto one after just being beaten to a possible fifth position by the KTMs of Carl Nunn and David Philippaerts; the trio crossed the line only three seconds apart. In the second moto he was slightly off the pace and had to fend off British championship rival Tommy Searle for sixth. Former three times world champion Alessio Chiodi was the second best Yamaha rider with fifth overall. The veteran was pass the chequered flag in eighth after finally managing to get the better of Rui Goncalves and Searle. The Italian was not assisted by a poor jump from the gate that placed him mid-pack on the opening lap. Later in the day he made a better launch from the line and rode safely to third. Davide Guarneri was again unfortunate after a crash caused him to retire in moto one. He was 15th in moto two. Cairoli is now fourth in the series standings and 39 points behind Tyla Rattray who won for the third consecutive GP. Chiodi is fifth and Mackenzie is tied in seventh. The world championship will reconvene after a one week break at Teutschenthal for the Karcher Grand Prix of Germany on May 7th. Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha: "The first race was good for me but I am not happy about the second because of the crash at the start. I pushed so hard to close the gap to the other riders and take positions but this track was not an easy one for overtaking. I finished tenth which was OK but it was not a good day for me. Race after race we are getting better and faster. I want to fight with Tyla and he is a very fast rider. We need to be stronger at the start because I showed that I have the speed." Kenneth Gunderson, Ricci Racing: "I don't know what the problem is now but I know I am sick. I need to see a doctor on Tuesday and find out what's wrong. I think it must be a virus or something because I could push for two laps and then after that I was completely finished. I tried in the first moto to get some points but in the second it was impossible." Alessio Chiodi, Ricci Racing: "The first moto was all about a bad start and the track made it difficult to pass. The other riders were fast and it was difficult to catch them. Finishing 8th was not so good and I understood where I needed to improve. In the second moto I was riding with more confidence. My rhythm was fast and I could take third. The track was difficult because in some places you had grip and in others not and it was very rough. I am about 80 per cent satisfied with the result today." Race classification MX2 Round: 3 - 2006 GP of Agueda, Portugal Circuit: Agueda Race: 22 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40' 13.833 2 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +0.890 3 T. Rattray KTM RSA +19.172 4 M. De Reuver KTM NED +33.150 5 C. Nunn KTM GBR +47.112 6 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +48.536 7 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +50.388 8 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +54.435 9 R. Goncalves KTM POR +1' 5.476 10 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +1' 8.568 11 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +1' 12.363 12 K. Gundersen Yamaha SWE +1' 26.011 13 M. Seistola Honda FIN +1' 28.273 14 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +1' 29.044 15 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1' 50.163 16 N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +1' 31.498 17 M. Monni KTM ITA +1 lap(s) 18 M. Schiffer KTM GER +1 lap(s) 19 J. Wing KTM SWE +1 lap(s) 20 X. Hernandez Yamaha ESP +1 lap(s) Race 2: 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time 1 T. Rattray KTM RSA 39' 11.834 2 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +8.857 3 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +17.681 4 P. Caps Honda BEL +22.236 5 M. De Reuver KTM NED +25.641 6 B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +27.180 7 T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +30.227 8 C. Nunn KTM GBR +32.700 9 G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +35.124 10 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +45.236 11 L. Seguy Yamaha FRA +50.739 12 A. Boissière Yamaha FRA +58.974 13 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +1' 4.029 14 M. Nagl KTM GER +1' 5.196 15 D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +1' 16.064 16 M. Seistola Honda FIN +1' 18.555 17 N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +1' 19.248 18 M. Monni KTM ITA +1' 39.370 19 X. Hernandez Yamaha ESP +1' 45.106 20 P A. Renet Honda FRA +1' 59.068 Championship standings MX2 Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points 1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 128 2 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 108 3 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 108 4 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 89 5 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 81 6 Carl Nunn KTM GBR 76 7 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 74 8 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 74 9 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha SWE 73 10 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 57 11 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 54 12 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 52 13 Patrick Caps Honda BEL 46 14 Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 42 15 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 38 16 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 37 17 Antoine Meo Honda FRA 27 18 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 26 19 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 24 20 Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 20 24 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 13 28 Xavier Hernandez Yamaha ESP 5 Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points 1 Yamaha 139 2 KTM 137 3 Kawasaki 110 4 Honda 68
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.