South Africa falls to Everts and Yamaha might

Reigning World Champion Stefan Everts, of the Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross team, now has just three more victories to reach a magical and all-time record total of 100 career wins after taking his 97th success and tenth consecutive triumph at Sun City in South Africa today. The 33 year-old Belgian clinched both motos in dominant and now familiar fashion in front of 25,300 spectators to stretch his unbeaten run to ten rounds and nineteen races. A journey of almost 200km was necessary to reach the luxurious holiday 'oasis' of Sun City from the capital of Johannesburg. The complex boasts one of the best and most spectacular hotels in the world in the form of the 'Palace' and the motocross circuit is an entirely man-made creation sculpted from land next to the large car-park situated just beyond the entrance to the resort. The venue set standards once again for its organisation and the pleasant layout of the surroundings including two sides of the track flanked by grandstands and decent viewing possibilities. The terrain had been improved over the two previous years with softer dirt allowing for more ruts and racing lines although the hard pack was still slippy in places. Everts captured his fourth pole position in a row and sixth of the season yesterday with a late lap only eight hundredths of a second ahead of Steve Ramon. He started moto one in third place and needed a circulation to gently ease his way past his countryman and then holeshotter Josh Coppins. With a customary clear track stretching ahead, Everts began to work and pulled out a lead of five seconds over his Honda rival in a matter of minutes. His 18th consecutive moto victory was then a formality and he only had to worry about the backmarkers which was a tough task in itself. The second outing was almost a carbon-copy and Everts crossed the line almost five seconds ahead of the New Zealander with Ramon also in attendance. The eighth double of 2006 represented Everts' first triumph on African soil and the landmark means that his lead in the standings has pulled to 136 points. In theory his tenth World Championship could be won in the fairytale setting at Namur, Belgium during the first week of August. Cédric Melotte finished the opening race in sixth position and put up a stiff resistance to the speed and aggression of Ken de Dycker while holding fourth but eventually had to concede two places to his fellow Belgian and Tanel Leok. Later on in race two he was picking his way through the field after a bad start but got a stone in his throat and struggled to breathe. The luckless Belgian was again forced to stop and the DNF was his sixth of the campaign. He is 8th in the World Championship 14 points behind Pascal Leuret. The Grand Prix of the Czech Republic, home to two World Championship celebratory parties for Everts and Yamaha in the last five years, will take place once more at the Loket circuit in the far west of the country near the idyllic town of Karlovy Vary. Stefan Everts, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I am a bit surprised myself at how I can win so many GPs, and maybe in a few years time I will look back at what I have done so far and realise the achievement. I have also never won ten in a row, nine was the most; so that is a personal record. I have never won in South Africa before so that also was special. I did not wave to the crowd on the last lap this time! I came here with a positive outlook after two years of bad luck and it really worked out today." Cédric Melotte, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "I am trying to ride and enjoy myself on the bike at the moment and that is what I did in the first race. My arms got a little bit tired in the last three or four laps. I had a really bad start in the second race but I was coming back slowly. I was gaining on De Dycker and Leuret and was enjoying myself. I was pushing hard for the top ten but then something entered my throat and I could not breathe and wanted to vomit. It is a real shame because I could not continue and should have had a good result." Carlo Rinaldi, Racing Manager, Yamaha Intur Sports Motocross Team: "It was another perfect weekend. Stefan's starts were not as good as we have become accustomed to but he proved again who is the fastest. There is not much to say because we have seen this type of GP before this season; Stefan just wants to win at any cost. We made a few settings on the bike but we changed hardly anything. Cédric had a half decent race the first time and while he was coming back from a bad start he got a piece of dirt caught in his throat. He could not breathe and had to stop, losing a lot of points, so that was a pity."   Race classification MX1 Round: 10 - 2006 GP of Sun City, South Africa Circuit: Sun City Race 1: 20 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  39' 49.835  2   J. Coppins Honda  NZL  +5.555  3   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +11.709  4   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +19.545  5   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +21.713  6   C. Melotte Yamaha  BEL  +53.306  7   P. Leuret  Honda  FRA  +1' 2.336  8   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +1' 4.923  9   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +1' 11.786  10   J. Bill Yamaha  GBR  +1' 27.554  11   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1' 34.262  12   W. Avis KTM  RSA  +1' 49.209  13   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +2' 43.560  14   J. Garcia Vico Honda  ESP  +1 lap(s)  15   G. Crockard Honda  GBR  +1 lap(s)  16   C. Dugmore Kawasaki  RSA  +1 lap(s)  17   K. Stegen  Suzuki  RSA  +1 lap(s)  18   L. O'Farrel Yamaha  RSA  +1 lap(s)  19   D. Keramidis Honda  GRC  +3 lap(s)  20   C. van Niekerk TM  RSA  +4 lap(s)  Race 2: 20 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   S. Everts Yamaha  BEL  40' 19.139  2   J. Coppins Honda  NZL  +4.591  3   S. Ramon Suzuki  BEL  +9.215  4   T. Leok Kawasaki  EST  +37.551  5   K. Strijbos Suzuki  BEL  +40.730  6   J. Barragan KTM  ESP  +1' 25.723  7   K. De Dycker Honda  BEL  +1' 32.927  8   P. Leuret  Honda  FRA  +1' 37.300  9   A. Pyrhonen TM  FIN  +1' 39.573  10   J. Bill Yamaha  GBR  +1' 40.537  11   G. Crockard Honda  GBR  +1' 41.009  12   M. Priem Yamaha  BEL  +2' 4.872  13   W. Avis KTM  RSA  +1 lap(s)  14   C. Dugmore Kawasaki  RSA  +1 lap(s)  15   J. Noble Honda  GBR  +1 lap(s)  16   L. O'Farrel Yamaha  RSA  +1 lap(s)  17   R. van der Westhuizen Honda  RSA  +2 lap(s)  18   K. Stegen  Suzuki  RSA  +2 lap(s)  19   K. Bowen KTM  RSA  +3 lap(s)  20   A. Nielsen Yamaha  KEN  +3 lap(s)  Championship standings MX1 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Stefan Everts Yamaha  BEL 492  2   Kevin Strijbos Suzuki  BEL 356  3   Steve Ramon Suzuki  BEL 334  4   Tanel Leok Kawasaki  EST 330  5   Ken De Dycker Honda  BEL 322  6   Jonathan Barragan KTM  ESP 235  7   Pascal Leuret  Honda  FRA 186  8   Cedric Melotte Yamaha  BEL 172  9   Javier Garcia Vico Honda  ESP 172  10   Manuel Priem Yamaha  BEL 168  11   Julien Bill Yamaha  GBR 167  12   James Noble Honda  GBR 138  13   Brian Jorgensen Honda  DNK 131  14   Antti Pyrhonen TM  FIN 128  15   Marvin Van Daele Honda  BEL 127  16   Joshua Coppins Honda  NZL 116  17   Gordon Crockard Honda  GBR 102  18   Sebastien Tortelli KTM  FRA 99  19   Danny Theybers Suzuki  BEL 84  20   Wyatt Avis KTM  RSA 63  Manufacturers standings MX1 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  Yamaha 492  2  Suzuki 409  3  Honda 361  4  Kawasaki 334  5  KTM 291  6  TM 128  MX2 : Cairoli takes first victory of 2006 Round: 10 - 2006 GP of Sun City, South Africa Circuit: Sun City Date: 16 July 2006 Crowd: 25300 Temp: 31ºC Weather: Hot MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli climbed the top step of the podium for the first time this season at a hot Grand Prix of South Africa. The De Carli Yamaha rider completed an excellent tenth round of the FIM World Championship for the manufacturer and only the second time this term that Yamaha have owned both classes on the same day. The Sun City circuit was again a gleaming picture of good organisation and attention to detail. In its third and final year of hosting the South African round the venue even counted on an improved terrain, perhaps the biggest weak point of past editions. Softer dirt from the dark clay texture meant less dust and more grip. Cairoli was masterful in qualification and enacted a text-book performance by leading from gate to flag in the second heat, earned second pick of slot on the start line for the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. The first race saw the World Champion circulating in a lonely third after a dodgy start meant that he lost the back of David Philippaerts and Tyla Rattray disputing the win. He pushed through to third despite having trouble with a bent plastic radiator guard catching the bars of the 250F because of an off-track excursion. The top three finish was a decent platform from which to try for the overall and he defeated local favourite Rattray by winning the second moto in style for his sixth race trophy from the twenty held so far. Kenneth Gundersen was visiting South Africa for the first time having missed the last two years due to injury. The first moto saw the Norwegian clatter a haybale that had been dragged into his path and he fell heavily onto his left hand. The Ricci Racing rider needed medical attention at the side of the track and will now head back to Italy tomorrow night for an examination on a possible broken bone in his wrist. Alessio Chiodi showed signs that he is coming back to the decent speed he showed before a fast practice crash in Japan left the former World Champion with an injured knee. The Italian is still missing race fitness however and ended the day twelfth overall after a set of average starts. Davide Guarneri slipped off his 250 in the first qualification heat race yesterday and injured his right knee. The Italian was a reduced force but scored ninth overall with moto finishes of ninth and 12th. Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "For sure I am very happy about this win because for many GPs I have been close to victory but one mistake has cost me dear. I managed to take one moto in the past but then finished too far back in the other. It is the first time I have won in South Africa. I had some trouble with the radiator guard in the first moto after I jumped off the track; it was difficult to balance and I lost a lot of time. It was a fast race so I thought about the points. I really liked the track because the mud was softer this year and there were many jumps." Alessio Chiodi, Yamaha Team Ricci: "The knee is a little bit better but my physical condition is not so good because I have not been able to train properly recently. I hope things will get better, it is coming back slowly."   Race classification MX2 Round: 10 - 2006 GP of Sun City, South Africa Circuit: Sun City Race 1: 20 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   D. Philippaerts KTM  ITA  39' 58.600  2   T. Rattray KTM  RSA  +1.252  3   A. Cairoli Yamaha  ITA  +27.332  4   G. Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA  +32.669  5   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +34.481  6   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +38.529  7   D. Guarneri Yamaha  ITA  +42.451  8   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +45.990  9   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +46.376  10   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +47.003  11   M. Monni KTM  ITA  +59.201  12   R. Goncalves KTM  POR  +1' 11.559  13   T. Church Kawasaki  GBR  +1' 39.682  14   J. Dougan Honda  GBR  +2' 1.111  15   M. Kok Suzuki  RSA  +2' 4.076  16   B. MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR  +1 lap(s)  17   K. Fitzgerald Yamaha  RSA  +1 lap(s)  18   N. Naude  Yamaha  RSA  +1 lap(s)  19   F. Fourie KTM  RSA  +1 lap(s)  20   F. Ford Yamaha  RSA  +1 lap(s)  Race 2: 20 Laps  Pos.  Rider Manufacturer  Nat. Total Time  1   A. Cairoli Yamaha  ITA  40' 44.327  2   T. Rattray KTM  RSA  +4.810  3   C. Nunn KTM  GBR  +6.250  4   C. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +21.592  5   M. Monni KTM  ITA  +23.473  6   R. Goncalves KTM  POR  +26.331  7   S. Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA  +29.590  8   T. Searle Kawasaki  GBR  +30.146  9   D. Guarneri Yamaha  ITA  +38.294  10   G. Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA  +52.685  11   B. MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR  +1' 2.303  12   A. Chiodi Yamaha  ITA  +1' 29.588  13   T. Church Kawasaki  GBR  +1' 47.242  14   J. Dougan Honda  GBR  +1 lap(s)  15   N. Naude  Yamaha  RSA  +1 lap(s)  16   R. Branch Kawasaki  RSA  +1 lap(s)  17   J. Kruger KTM  RSA  +1 lap(s)  18   J. de Bruin Yamaha  RSA  +1 lap(s)  19   F. Fourie KTM  RSA  +1 lap(s)  20   K. Fitzgerald Yamaha  RSA  +2 lap(s)  Championship standings MX2 Pos.  Rider  Manufacturer  Nat. Points  1   Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 379  2   Antonio Cairoli Yamaha  ITA 347  3   David Philippaerts KTM  ITA 329  4   Tyla Rattray KTM  RSA 305  5   Marc De Reuver KTM  NED 284  6   Carl Nunn KTM  GBR 241  7   Billy MacKenzie Yamaha  GBR 228  8   Tommy Searle Kawasaki  GBR 224  9   Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki  RSA 210  10   Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki  FRA 207  11   Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha  NOR 194  12   Rui Goncalves KTM  POR 193  13   Alessio Chiodi Yamaha  ITA 185  14   Davide Guarneri Yamaha  ITA 153  15   Manuel Monni KTM  ITA 125  16   Luigi Seguy Yamaha  FRA 94  17   Anthony Boissière Yamaha  FRA 87  18   Aigar Leok Yamaha  EST 73  19   Matti Seistola Honda  FIN 69  20   Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda  FRA 56  Manufacturers standings MX2 Pos. Manufacturer Points  1  KTM 459  2  Yamaha 433  3  Kawasaki 403  4  Honda 153  5  Suzuki 22