Philippaerts keeps red plate with 3rd in UK

41,000 spectators, the largest attendance to see the FIM MX1-GP World Championship so far this season, followed Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's David Philippaerts take his fifth consecutive podium with third position on his YZ450FM. A busy and demanding Mallory Park hosted the British Grand Prix under grey skies for the sixth round of fifteen in the 2008 campaign. The brand new track provided riders with an unseen challenge and while the layout generally got a 'thumbs up' from the majority of the MX1 field, the new dirt was soft (from days of rain beforehand) and very rough; making overtaking a hard task. The course, built alongside - and using vast sections - of the historic road racing facility that used to entertain such luminaries such as Giacomo Agostini, Mike Hailwood and Barry Sheene, was inaugurated with some fantastic scenes. Philippaerts was at the heart of the action in an eventful outing for the team. The Italian, and world championship leader, crashed on the third corner of the first lap of Moto1 after being hit by another rider, an incident similar to his accident at the start of the Italian Grand Prix last month. Despite a damaged silencer Philippaerts embarked on an incredible comeback, again akin to his situation and flight in Mantova. The 24 year old raced from 19th place to reach 2nd position behind title rival Steve Ramon. The Belgian's team-mate Ken De Dycker was also close in third. With the trio running close together in the final laps and the crowd sensing a grandstand finish, Philippaerts lost traction on a damp part of the circuit deep into the penultimate circulation and again hit the floor. He recovered to take 5th position as De Dycker won metres from the flag. In the next race the Tuscan, who started from 14th in the gate, his lowest position this season after failing to find a fast lap on Saturday, completed the first lap without incident and although he was nursing a painful rib from his last excursion he passed several riders, one of whom was a fading Ramon, to move into 2nd position. Crashes by Marc de Reuver and Julien Bill assisted his cause and although Jonathan Barragan ran away with the race to gain his maiden overall victory, Philippaerts was able to secure 3rd (a fresh Seb Pourcel took 2nd after failing to complete a single lap of Moto1) and the same overall ranking. Josh Coppins, who tried some different front forks and adopted some suspension settings taken from tests in the UK during the week, qualified in 10th position and was handicapped with crashes on the first laps of both motos. The Kiwi started badly and was clipped on the first corner of race one and then went down twice more as he tried to come back from the rear. He eventually worked hard to manage 11th. In Moto2 he was held up by a fallen Lauris Freibergs on turn two and went down again. A result of 12th was the best he could manage on an even rougher track for 11th overall. Yamaha Van Beers Racing's Aigar Leok was just behind Coppins with 12th place. The Estonian took his YZ450F to 8th spot, equalling his season's best so far, in Moto1 and then was 15th later in the afternoon. Philippaerts increased his advantage in the MX1-GP world championship standings by one point and he now fronts the pack by 28. Coppins is now fourth and 55 from his team-mate. Yamaha head the manufacturer's table by 4 points. The Yamaha Monster Motocross Team will now have another free week before travelling to St Jean d'Angely for the Grand Prix of France and round six on June 15th. Both riders will be using the break for further tests in Italy. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 3rd: "My goal in the winter was to finish each GP in the top five and I'm happy because since Valkenswaard and round one I have been on the podium each time. I was 14th in Timed Practice but Saturday was a different day to Sunday! In the warm-up I changed the bike a little bit and it was great for the races. It was a little bit like Mantova for me! I crashed in the first corners and then pushed so hard to come back. The crash was stupid and ruined any chance of a top three, maybe even the win but I was pleased with the top five after being so far back. I just hit some water with my back wheel after the jump and it put me off the bike. I was happy with my riding though. The track was more difficult for me on Saturday than today and I could see from my pit-board that my times were fast. I had some pain from my ribcage in the second race and took things a little easier. I got faster with each lap although I only passed two riders, Mackenzie and Ramon. I really like the next track in France, it was where I took my first Grand Prix win and I hope we continue with the good results." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 11th: "A day of bad luck. I had a bad jump in the first moto and then someone on a Kawasaki went a bit wide and pushed me out. I was about 15th and then crashed. I started from last and then hit a false neutral; going down again. I worked my way back to 11th. In the second race I got away OK but then Freibergs had crashed just over the little jump of the second corner. I was already committed and jumped straight into the back of him. I had to stop to take off the fork-guard because it was in the front wheel and I did not want to go over the big triple like that. I went from last to 14th. Overall there was not much I can do; it was a terrible day and I am disappointed. Realistically I need to qualify better to get a better start but I was unlucky. I just need to keep working." Massimo Raspanti, Racing Manager: "It was a hectic day! David made a good race in the first moto, he was almost last but he was faster than the others and rode well. In the final two laps he pushed to pass Ramon and win but he changed his line and crashed. He was not quicker than Pourcel in the second moto but the result was good for the championship. Josh was unlucky and it took him some time to get going after the crashes. The results were not good but there was not much more he could do." Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 39'43.553 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'1.776 3, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'6.692 4, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'28.122 5, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'35.264 6, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'36.634 7, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'43.035 8, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'44.071 9, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 0'45.624 10, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'46.513 11, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'49.738 12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'23.247 13, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 1'30.365 14, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'34.509 15, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'37.176 16, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 1'39.220 17, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 1'40.147 18, Wayne Smith, Honda, GBR, 1'40.579 19, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'41.588 20, Cedric Melotte, Aprilia, BEL, 1'45.867 Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 40'29.703 2, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'5.567 3, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'6.502 4, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'7.528 5, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'8.843 6, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'34.239 7, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'40.069 8, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'43.855 9, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 0'47.748 10, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 0'54.614 11, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 1'9.203 12, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 1'13.595 13, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'14.849 14, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'16.290 15, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'23.886 16, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'34.583 17, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, 1'42.204 18, Jordan Rose, Honda, GBR, 1'46.801 19, Wayne Smith, Yamaha, GBR, 1'50.483 20, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, 1'53.675 Rider Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 223 2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 195 3, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 175 4, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 168 5, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 159 6, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 151 7, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 150 8, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 138 9, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 132 10, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 129 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 95 12, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 87 13, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 83 14, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 80 15, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 71 16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 60 17, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 51 18, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 48 19, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 36 20, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 31 25, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 15 Manufacturer Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 225 2, Suzuki, 221 3, Kawasaki, 207 4, KTM, 206 5, Honda, 188 6, TM, 27 7, Aprilia, 1 ---------- RACE REPORT - 01/06/2008 Second victory in a row for Cairoli MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli entertained the vast crowd of 41,000 people at Mallory Park and the British Grand Prix by guiding his nimble Yamaha Red Bull De Carli YZ250F to a second victory in a row and his third of the season. The sixth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX2-GP series took place under grey skies and among the rough and tricky terrain of the brand new venue but the Sicilian was able to shine brightly to regain the red number plate as world championship leader. Mallory Park is steeped in road racing and motorsport history and can now add GP motocross among its chronicles. The course boasted some of the biggest jumps seen so far this year, although the new dirt cut up quickly the resulting deep ruts and single line in many places meant that overtaking was not easy. Cairoli began the weekend in fine fashion with his fourth consecutive pole position and a comprehensive triumph in his qualification sprint. An average start, caused when he mistimed the gate, meant that he circulated in fourth and then third position for long periods of Moto1. Eventually he was able to increase his pace to catch Tommy Searle and a block-pass saw him rise into second even though Searle did not read the move and fell to the floor. Cairoli raised the temperature of the race in the closing stages as he drew to the back of Rattray and looked poised to strike for the lead until he was baulked by a back-marker on the last lap. Building on his second position and judging the gatedrop better for Moto2 the defending number one went to lead through the first few corners and then never looked back. Searle attempted to follow the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli representative but Cairoli remained mostly undisturbed to collect his fifth win from twelve motos. He also took possession of the red plate and helped give Yamaha an 8 point lead in the manufacturer's standings. Second highest YZ250F rider on the day was 3C's Manuel Monni, who scored 8th place overall for his second best finish of 2008 thus far. The Italian rode to 7th position in Moto1 which was his finest effort since the rain-hit Spanish GP, where he made the podium for the first time. In the second race he was involved in a multi-rider crash at the start and also fell again in the formative stages. He nevertheless came back to a respectable 13th. Nico Aubin had a hard weekend and never really found an effective speed or rhythm around the circuit. The Frenchman tried to push and gave maximum effort but his pace was not enough for the top five. A crash saw him lose a mid-top ten position but he recovered for 8th. A mechanical problem curtailed his involvement in Moto2. Cairoli's team-mate, Matteo Bonini, had a decent first race with 8th place; his best finish of the season to-date. Sadly he was caught in the same incident as Monni at the commencement of Moto2 and a damaged front brake meant that he tried but ultimately could not make the points. The Italian was 15th overall. Utag Yamaha.com's Martin Barr was back in action after recovering from a broken collarbone but lacked race fitness and was not inside the points. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Davide Guarneri received some positive news last week. The Italian was initially feared to be out for a sizeable part of the season with broken ligaments in his right knee. Further examinations revealed that he has actually strained two ligaments and could even be on the entry list for the Grand Prix of France in two weeks time. Cairoli is leading the championship by one point from Rattray. Aubin is fourth but 75 points from the top three. St Jean d'Angely, near the west coast of France, is the venue for round six in a fortnight. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st: "It was a good weekend for me, I just had a bit of trouble at the start and this is something I will work on. I was lucky in the first moto because I found a hole in the pack in the first corner and then could get back to fourth from seventh place. When Shaun crashed I pushed hard to pass Tommy and then again to catch Tyla, but he rode really well and I had a problem with a lapped rider. I saw the door was open when I overtook Tommy. He did not slow when I went through, we touched and he went down. For sure it was not my intention to hit him. The second race was really good and I take confidence from a good start like that. We are very close together in the championship now and it will be a hard season ahead but I am enjoying it." Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 16th: "I felt better than I did yesterday and my bike worked really well but for some reason I could not get going in the motos. I had two good starts but I was too slow at the beginning of the first heat and I crashed down to 12th before finding a way back to 8th. It was not good but the best I could do. In the second race I felt I had better speed and better lines but when I started to push I had a little problem with the bike and the exhaust. It was a mistake and I am disappointed but these things happen. I have pushed a lot with the training and now I feel tired so I think I will make a blood test in Belgium this week because the team is working hard but I can't give them the result." Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 15th: "I made a bad start in the first moto but afterwards my rhythm was very good and to finish eighth was a decent result. In the second race I crashed at the start and lost a lot of time to recover and restart the bike. The front brake was broken so it was difficult to ride fast, so I just aimed for some points and could not make it. I am disappointed because I was quick on this track but I feel my level is improving each GP." Manuel Monni, 3CRacing, 8th: "I'm quite satisfied with the result and I liked the track today. In the second moto I had my line cut at the start by Rattray and crashed and also stopped when there were many riders in a group stationary in front of me. I pushed back to 13th. The first moto was pretty good, I made some decent points." Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 39'19.887 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'0.558 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'41.901 4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'53.881 5, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 0'58.662 6, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'4.178 7, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'12.700 8, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 1'16.956 9, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'23.438 10, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'25.627 11, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, 1'26.937 12, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'27.688 13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'30.534 14, Shannon Terreblanche, Suzuki, RSA, 1'32.180 15, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'32.354 16, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'33.738 17, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'36.546 18, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 1'37.561 19, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, 2'59.301 20, Dennis Verbruggen, Yamaha, BEL, -1 Laps Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 40'4.833 2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'5.609 3, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'37.874 4, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'50.806 5, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'52.032 6, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'0.405 7, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'2.484 8, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'3.046 9, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 1'12.706 10, Mickael Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'13.814 11, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'15.004 12, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'31.857 13, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'34.266 14, Julien Vanni, KTM, FRA, 1'39.689 15, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'41.157 16, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'42.272 17, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'47.964 18, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 1'49.847 19, Neville Bradshaw, Honda, RSA, 1'55.799 20, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, -1 Laps Rider Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 243 2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 242 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 233 4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 158 5, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 156 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 148 7, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 144 8, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 119 9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 119 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 109 11, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 97 12, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95 13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 91 14, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 76 15, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 68 16, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 63 17, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 59 18, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 56 19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 54 20, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51 23, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 25 25, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 20 29, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 13 Manufacturer Standings 01/06/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Yamaha, 283 2, KTM, 275 3, Kawasaki, 182 4, Suzuki, 160 5, Honda, 88