Just 250 points remain up for grabs in the 2009 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship after the first ever Grand Prix of Latvia at the Kegums circuit and with a lead of 57 – extended by 16 as a consequence of his fourth victory of the season and second inside a week – Yamaha Red Bull De Carli’s Tony Cairoli is getting closer to the premier class title in his rookie season.
The numbers are impressive: 29 career wins, four from 10 in 2009, five from 11 as an MX1 rider, and winner of eight motos from 20, but the digits are almost matched by the infinitely likeable Sicilian’s panache. Opting for a non-sand profile tire meant that he spun out of the gate and was nowhere near the top five around the first corner both times, but he somehow reduced deficits close to 10 seconds for the lead in the two motos to go 2-1 and give Yamaha a seventh win from 10.
The finale of moto one and the pursuit of the other main protagonist in Kegums, Clement Desalle (LS Honda) was riveting and the two-10ths of a second at the flag testify as much. Cairoli passed no less than six riders in three-quarters race distance to leave at last three laps to attack Desalle in moto two and succeeded with the Belgian struggling due to a faulty clutch.
Kegums was suitably brutal; the loose terrain mingling hefty ruts and sandy bumps with many jumps, rollers and wave sections. The technical and physical demands were met by a thumbs-up by the majority and the high quality of the presentation of the sight is also to be commended. The GP was even visited albeit briefly by the president of the country that received independence from the Soviet state in 1991.
Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team’s Josh Coppins charged through in typical style to take second place in moto two, equaling a season-best, and mounting the podium in third; his first silverware since winning round two in Bulgaria back in April.
Ken De Dycker (Teka Suzuki WMX1) and World Champion David Philippaerts (Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team) both had physical problems. Philippaerts sick in the lead-up to the GP and De Dycker feeling low over the weekend – although a tangle and crash with Desalle while contesting first place in moto one hardly helped. French Grand Prix winner Max Nagl admitted the power of the KTM was a bit too much to handle across the terrain and local hope Tanel Leok made a mistake and crashed in moto one, needing three laps to restart and silencing the 32,000 attendance that was packed with fans from Estonia. Only 27 machines filled the MX1 second moto classification.
Cairoli now has a lead of more than one GP over Nagl, who heads Philippaerts by one point.
“I am really happy with this GP, for sure,” he said. “When I first saw the track I thought it would be hard to win, because I still need to learn how to ride 40 minutes in the sand with the 450, but my technical ability was good here, and my lines also, so I did not get as tired as I thought I would. I did not start so well, but I took it easy in the first few laps and slowly pushed more and more. I worked really hard this winter, so I know I am in good shape and that helped me make that fastest lap at the end of the first moto and also win a lot of time in the second. I am making good results at an important part of the season.”
Red Bull KTM’s Rui Goncalves continues to hold the MX2 class by the throat when it comes to sandy ventures. The winner of the Benelux GP in the Dutch terrain back in April, the Portuguese (who will be out of MX2 in ’10 due to age limit regulations) took his third win thanks to 2-1 and actually put teammate Marvin Musquin in the shade after beating the Frenchman confidently in moto two. Musquin’s legal fate between Honda and KTM contracts should be known in the next fortnight after a verdict was postponed during the week. Musquin still stretched more points in the standings after his sixth win from the last seven in moto one. Goncalves pipped German GP victor Ken Roczen on the last circulation of the opening sprint. The teenager finding the sapping terrain heavy going and his fifth in the second moto gave the last podium slot to Gautier Paulin, who insisted after the GP that the KTM of Musquin is still beatable.
“This was my third GP win and it was great to win here at this new track. It’s the first time we have had a race here so it’s a bit like going into the MX history books. I already had a very good impression of the track when I walked it on Friday, and I knew I was going to enjoy the racing here.
Musquin’s window holds at 49 points over Paulin with Goncalves now into third and no doubt eager for round twelve in the deep sand of Lommel.
The third Grand Prix in three weeks will take place in a few days at Uddevalla for the customary early July visit to Sweden. Round eleven of the world championship in Scandinavia will also instigate a three week summer break.
MX1 MOTO 1: 1. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 40:05.568; ; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:00.258; 3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:23.770; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:44.151; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:17.536; 6. Aigar Leok (EST, TM), +1:27.503; 7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +1:38.978; 8. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:41.537; 9. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), +1:46.161; 10. Carlos Campano (ESP, Yamaha), +1:49.773
MX1 MOTO 2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 39:10.586; ; 2. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:05.777; 3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:14.985; 4. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), +0:17.525; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), +0:32.897; 6. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:51.444; 7. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +1:00.833; 8. Aigar Leok (EST, TM), +1:05.582; 9. Manuel Priem (BEL, Aprilia), +1:15.691; 10. Carlos Campano (ESP, Yamaha), +1:29.377
MX1 OVERALL: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 47 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 41 p.; 3. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 40 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 35 p.; 5. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 34 p.; 6. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 30 p.; 7. Aigar Leok (EST, TM), 28 p.; 8. Manuel Priem (BEL, Aprilia), 22 p.; 9. Carlos Campano (ESP, Yamaha), 22 p.; 10. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), 21 p.
MX1 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 385 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 328 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 327 p.; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 314 p.; 5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 309 p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 298 p.; 7. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), 270 p.; 8. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 215 p.; 9. Aigar Leok (EST, TM), 167 p.; 10. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Kawasaki), 151 p.
MX2 MOTO 1: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 39:56.178; ; 2. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:05.504; 3. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:05.765; 4. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:12.918; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:16.400; 6. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +0:17.077; 7. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +0:35.406; 8. Dennis Verbruggen (BEL, Honda), +0:35.870; 9. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), +0:36.058; 10. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Yamaha), +0:59.012
MX2 MOTO 2: 1. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 40:32.203; ; 2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:14.133; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:23.789; 4. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +0:46.401; 5. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:50.211; 6. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), +0:51.150; 7. Dennis Verbruggen (BEL, Honda), +1:27.441; 8. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), +1:33.664; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Yamaha), +1:36.924; 10. Jose Antonio Butron Oliva (ESP, Suzuki), +1:37.871
MX2 OVERALL: 1. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 47 points; 2. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 47 p.; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 36 p.; 4. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 36 p.; 5. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 32 p.; 6. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 30 p.; 7. Dennis Verbruggen (BEL, Honda), 27 p.; 8. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Yamaha), 23 p.; 9. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 18 p.
MX2 CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 371 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 322 p.; 3. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 301 p.; 4. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 296 p.; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 264 p.; 6. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 200 p.; 7. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 197 p.; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 197 p.; 9. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 165 p.; 10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 157 p.
