Dublin Starts Three Race Run for MX World Titles

FUNCHAL (PORTUGAL), 27 August 2008 – The 13th meeting in the World Championship calendar sees the series’ collective head up north to Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland.

David Philippaerts took back the MX1 Championship lead with Steve Ramon slipping down to second after Loket.

In the MX2 class the exciting challenge in between team mates Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle continues with the South African still leading by 20 points.


MX1

Losing the red plate in Lommel had set Yamaha Monster Motocross’ David Philippaerts on fire for the following round in Loket; the Italian went on to take his second season’s win in the Czech Republic, taking back the red plate as previous leader Steve Ramon managed to take fifth overall.

Finding Italian venue Faenza at the end of a close MX1 Championship will be a burst for local rider and current Championship leader David Philippaerts.

Though the Teka Suzuki WMX1 defending Champion is just seven points adrift as Philippaerts’ team mate Joshua Coppins sits in third with a 35 point gap.

The Kiwi is now chased by youngsters Jonathan Barragan of AXO KTM Silver Action and Ken de Dycker of Teka Suzuki WMX1, with the latter having been his team mate in the CAS Honda years.

Barragan is currently on a roll as he took his fourth consecutive podium in Loket after three back to back GP wins while De Dycker reinforced his Championship position with his latest podium in Lommel.

GPKR’s Sebastien Pourcel and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Max Nagl are both looking up in the standings.

The Frenchman was back on the podium in Loket, taking second overall as his latest rostrum finish of an overall win in France dated back to June 15.

On the other hand Nagl, who has been reconfirmed in next year’s works KTM squad, has been performing well especially since his second overall result in South Africa.

Alessio Chiodi is due to miss this GP and Lierop due to an arm problem as Gordon Crockard will return to action this weekend in Ireland.

Kevin Strijbos, who returned to action in Loket, aims at making up for a difficult Czech GP and so does Billy Mackenzie, crashing out of the opening heat after a promising start.

Another rider will miss this meeting: Cedric Melotte, who injured his right ankle in Lommel and is not yet fit enough to race.

Click for a larger image.

Steve Ramon had a little taste of the red plate when he took it in Lommel; he lost it one week later in Loket though


MX2

Loket showed how tough is the battle in between Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team mates Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle, who fought tooth and nail for victory in the Czech GP especially in the final moto.

Searle was the eventual winner though Rattray still holds the red plate with a 20 point cushion as he ended second overall and collected as many points as the Brit.

Tyla Rattray still leads from team mate Tommy Searle in a close MX2 standings.

None of the two will give up their title chance as they are the only ones left with a solid possibility of taking their first ever World Championship.

Former rival and two time MX2 World Champion Tony Cairoli never raced again since Nelspruit’s knee injury but still holds the third place in the standings.

His position is Shaun Simpson, Nicolas Aubin and Rui Goncalves’ next target with the trio aiming at gaining one spot in the points standings.

Despite missing the Czech GP with a shoulder injury from practice, Simpson is still fourth and will fight back in Dublin, where the Scottish rider is extremely popular as he rides for the Northern Ireland based team KTM UK. Aubin and Goncalves follow in fifth and sixth.

Stephen Sword and Anthony Boissiere, with the latter completing the podium in Loket, can be other strong competitors in Dublin where Gareth Swanepoel will ride his first GP of the season after a wrist injury kept him out of the first 12 rounds.

Matteo Bonini and Pascal Leuret will also comeback after injuries.

South African Gareth Swanepoel is due to comeback this weekend in Dublin.

FAIRYHOUSE RACE COURSE AND DUBLIN

The motocross course in Dublin is realized on the already existing horse racing facility and actually the circuit itself crosses the horse racing course. The very challenging layout covers any racing situation on a soft terrain; there is a lay of woodchips on top of the current ground to make it resistant to the rainy conditions affecting the area very often.


Ireland’s capital city Dublin is the most populated city in the country and hosts 1.1 million inhabitants in the entire area of its county. Lots of attractions such as castles, museums and art galleries make Dublin an extremely interesting and lively city which can be easily navigated on foot. The Temple Bar area is a nice one to stop by in between one tour and the next one. Dublin is not just land, it is also sea with the spectacular Dublin Bay standing in front of the city. Other than English the Dubliners speak also the Irish (or Gaelic) language which is the is the original native language of the country. Place names and signage are usually in both languages. The city is also famous for having inspired local writer James Joyce in writing the book Dubliners; this 15 story collection is all about life in the surroundings of this beautiful city in the early 19th century.


THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE

Saturday August 30: MX2 Free Practice at 10:00 am; MX1 Free Practice 1 at 11:00 am; MX2 Pre-Qualifying Practice at 12:00 am; MX1 Free Practice 2 at 2:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 1 at 3:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 2 at 3:45 pm; MX1 Time Practice at 4:30 pm; MX2 Last Chance Qualifying Practice at 5:15 pm (local time).


Sunday August 31: MX2 Warm-up at 9:00 am; MX1 Warm-up at 9:30 am; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 at 12:10 am; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 at 1:10 pm; MX2 Grand Prix Race 2 at 3:03 pm; MX1 Grand Prix Race 2 at 4:03 pm (local time).



LINKS
Youthstream
FIM
Motorcycling Ireland
Discover Ireland

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