MANTOVA (ITALY), 18 May 2008 – The Lovemytime Grand Prix of Italy ended with a surprisingly almost dry Sunday, as the day was predicted to be rainy. Rain actually came out before the start to the MX1 final moto, at the end of which Marc de Reuver took his maiden MX1 Grand Prix win.
In the MX2 class Tony Cairoli set the crowd on fire with a brilliant win, making up for a first moto crash; Tyla Rattray was second overall today and still leads the standings ahead of the Italian, while home rider David Philippaerts retained the MX1 red plate courtesy of another podium result.
 The MX1 podium of the Lovemytime Grand Prix of Italy |
MX1
It was an incredible weekend for Martin Honda’s Marc de Reuver; the latter took the Lovemytime Pole Position Award yesterday and eventually topped the podium of this fifth Grand Prix, marking his comeback to victory after his last success in Sevlievo 2006, which was another wet race. This victory was a step stone for Honda as well, as the last Honda rider topping the podium was Ken de Dycker in 2007 (Uddevalla) and this is the first GP win since the manufacturer is back officially in the GP series.
GPKR’s Sebastien Pourcel was second after he took victory in heat one; on the other hand he went down twice and made a lot of mistakes in the final wet heat. Yamaha Monster Motocross’ David Philippaerts also showed up on his home rostrum to collect both the Cup and the red plate.
Teka Suzuki WMX1’s Ken de Dycker and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Max Nagl rounded off the top five as the latter dominated the second moto.
Top five overall: 1. Marc de Reuver (NED, Honda), 40 points; 2. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 39 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 38 p.; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 37 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 34 p.
 Marc de Reuver finally took victory in the MX1 class |
MX1 RACE 1
Pourcel put in a stunning performance in the opening heat, taking a start to flag victory in dominant style despite De Dycker tried to close in several times. The Belgian settled for a safe second while a battle went on for the third spot. De Reuver made a mistake to let Mackenzie by; the Brit eventually had an highside crash with De Reuver moving back up to third ahead of Coppins. Philippaerts rounded off the top five at the end of an eventful first moto, crashing out at the third corner after the start. The home rider worked his way up from last, making his final move both on Tanel Leok and Ramon in one single determined lap.
Top five: 1. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 41:10.667; ; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:06.173; 3. Marc de Reuver (NED, Honda), +0:08.384; 4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:10.939; 5. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:20.259
 The start to the MX1 opening moto |
MX1 RACE 2
The final heat was a different story as the rain started to hit the track right before the start. That was time for Nagl to show his speed in the slippery conditions, as the German took the eventual victory in a Pourcel like style. Philippaerts got the start alright to cruise in second for the entire moto, giving priority to the Championship points instead of the overall win. De Reuver sealed the overall by taking once again a third place finish despite stalling the bike once; Pourcel, who was level in points with the Dutchman, slipped twice to go backwards in the overall standings. Mackenzie rode to fourth with Coppins rounding off the top five after having taken the holeshot. De Dycker and Pourcel were respectively sixth and seventh.
Top five: 1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 40:35.621; ; 2. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:05.258; 3. Marc de Reuver (NED, Honda), +0:29.696; 4. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), +0:36.498; 5. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:40.720
 David Philippaerts remained at the lead of the MX1 Championship |
MX2
An incredible Yamaha Red Bull De Carli’s Tony Cairoli walked away from Mantova with his second season’s win despite a crash in the opening moto. The Sicilian entered Italy with the goal of snatching also the red plate from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray –riding ill- but the latter defended his leadership with a solid second place on today’s podium. Team mate Tommy Searle was third overall as he lost the opening moto from Ricci Racing Yamaha’s Nicolas Aubin after a hard fight. The Frenchman was fourth overall ahead of KTM UK’s Shaun Simpson and CLS’ Steven Frossard.
Top five overall: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 43 points; 2. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 42 p.; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 42 p.; 4. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 40 p.; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 32 p.
MX2 RACE 1
Aubin and Searle battled it out for victory in the opening moto, with the Frenchman taking the early lead to let Searle by at the second lap. The British made a mistake and Aubin was back on first, pulling away to win his first heat of 2008. Searle was an eventual second in front of team mate Rattray, while Cairoli delighted the crowd with a fantastic recovery from last to fourth after a crash at the start. Goncalves rounded off the top five ahead of Sword and Simpson.
Top five: 1. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 39:32.202; ; 2. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +0:00.972; 3. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), +0:22.192; 4. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:40.411; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:52.926
 Nicolas Aubin heading the pack after the first moto started |
MX2 RACE 2
Cairoli took a fantastic start to display all his speed and win a flawless second moto. Rattray settled into second and cruised to the flag ahead of KTM fellow riders Searle and Simpson. The two actually battled it out again as they did in Bulgaria the previous week, with Simpson crashing once Searle got by. The former had to fight again to defend the fourth place as Frossard pushed him in the second half of the heat. After moving past Simpson, Frossard dropped back to an eventual fifth ahead of Aubin.
Top five: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 40:31.009; ; 2. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), +0:18.667; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +0:23.490; 4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +1:08.418; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:10.863
 Winning race two, Tony Cairoli took the overall result |
IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS
Philippaerts still leads the MX1 points standings and increased his advantage over runner up Ramon. Coppins is still a solid third ahead of De Dycker and Mackenzie, who swapped places after Mantova. Pourcel is now sixth ahead of De Reuver and Nagl. Barragan dropped down to ninth as he crashed out of moto two.
Top ten: 1. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 187 points; 2. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 159 p.; 3. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 149 p.; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 135 p.; 5. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), 130 p.; 6. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 129 p.; 7. Marc de Reuver (NED, Honda), 116 p.; 8. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 114 p.; 9. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 105 p.; 10. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), 98 p.
 Tyla Rattray still heads the MX2 points standings |
Rattray still leads from a close Cairoli and Searle; the trio seems to be breaking away from the rest of the field as fourth placed Aubin is already 45 points away from Searle. Goncalves is fifth ahead of Simpson, who moved past both Guarneri and Sword. Now the latter follows from seventh and Guarneri dropped down to tenth. The Italian damaged a ligament in his right knee and could not ride today.
Top ten: 1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 199 points; 2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 196 p.; 3. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 191 p.; 4. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 146 p.; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 132 p.; 6. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 124 p.; 7. Stephen Sword (GBR, Kawasaki), 113 p.; 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 109 p.; 9. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 99 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 97 p.
NEWS OF THE DAY: WINGS FOR LIFE GETS SUPPORT FROM KTM ITALY AND SPECIAL AUCTION
Wings for Life received other funds today in occasion of the Lovemytime Grand Prix of Italy. KTM Italy handed the Heinz Kinigadner related foundation a cheque coming from the 38 participants to the manufacturer’s National Motocross Trophy, as the fourth round of the series got underway alongside the Grand Prix. Moreover a special auction with Tony Cairoli’s gear from today’s first moto was held in cooperation in between Youthstream and Red Bull in order to receive further support from the fans attending the event.
 KTM Italy’s Angelo Crippa handing the cheque to Heinz Kinigadner |
WHAT’S NEXT
The sixth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship will take place at the brand new venue of Mallory Park, in Great Britain, on June 1. In this occasion the Veterans’ World Cup riders will be back to action with series leader Toine van Dijk heading the rest of the field into the second of three rounds. After today’s second round in a row, the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship will take a break to come back at St. Jean d’Angely, France, on June 15.
THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE
The Grand Prix was broadcast live on:
EUROSPORT 2 (Pan Europe) : MX1 Race 1 at 13:00 and Race 2 at 16:00 CET
MOTORS TV (Pan Europe): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 CET
SPORT ITALIA (Italy): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 CET
SPORT ITALIA 24 (Italy, Digital Terrestrial): MX2 Race 2 at 15:00 CET
SPORT TV (Portugal): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 CET
VRT (Belgium): MX1 Race 1 at 13:00 CET
GALAXIE SPORT (Czech Republic): MX2 Race 2 at 15:00 CET
ART (Pan Middle East): MX1 Race 2 at 16:00 CET
SPORT TV (Slovenia): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00 CET
EUROSPORT WORLD (Pan Asia): MX1 Race 1 at 11:00 GMT
MEDIAZONE (Worldwide): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00; MX1 Race 1 at 13:00 and Race 2 at 16:00 CET
TRANS 7 (Indonesia): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00; MX1 Race 1 at 13:00 and Race 2 at 16:00 CET
RADIO DEEJAY (Italy, www.deejay.it): Youthstream’s Women World Championship Manager Stefy Bau on air at 15:00 CET
The Grand Prix will be broadcast delayed on:
EUROSPORT 2 (Pan Europe) : Monday May 19; MX2 Class at 17:00 CET
MOTORS TV (Pan Europe): Sunday May 18; MX2 Race 2 at 15:30 CET
SPORT ITALIA (Italy): Sunday May 18; MX2 Race 2 at 16:30, MX1 Race 1 at 00:00 and Race 2 at 01:00 CET
SPORT TV (Portugal): Sunday May 18; MX2 Race 2 at 17:00 CET
VRT (Belgium): Sunday May 18; MX1 Race 2 Summary at 18:30 CET
EUROSPORT WORLD (Pan Asia): Sunday May 18; MX1 Race 2 at 18:00 and 00:00. Monday May 19; MX2 Class at 18:15. Tuesday May 20; MX2 Class at 06:00 GMT.
AMERICA ONE SPORTS (USA): Second Tuesday after the GP; MX2 Race 2 at 21:00; MX1 Race 2 at 22:00 USA Eastern Time
GAORA: MX2 Race 1 and Race 2; MX1 Race 1 and Race 2; N/A CET
LINKS
Youthstream
FIM
FMI-Federazione Motociclistica Italiana
DBO
Lovemytime
Information, photos and results are online at www.motocrossMX1.com, the official website of the FIM Motocross World Championships.
MediaZone Moto is the leading global online broadcaster of Motocross and SuperMoto events. Fans worldwide can watch the thrills from this and every race of the 2008 FIM Motocross & SuperMoto World Championships LIVE and On Demand exclusively at www.MediaZoneMoto.com.
Youthstream is the company that manages the exclusive television, marketing and promotional world wide rights of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the FIM Motocross of Nations, the FIM SuperMoto World Championship, the FIM SuperMoto of Nations, the FIM Snowcross World Championship, the UEM Motocross European Championship and the UEM SuperMoto European Championship.
5/18/2008 4:15pm
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