ST. JEAN D’ANGELY (FRANCE), 13 June 2008 – The paddock of the French Motocross Grand Prix is all set up in St. Jean d’Angely and the riders are raring to enter this seventh round of the series.
Yamaha Monster Motocross’ David Philippaerts heads the MX1 points standings since Portugal and is looking stronger and stronger; in St. Jean -the venue where he took his maiden GP win in 2005 (MX2 class)- the Italian will seek his second win of 2008.
Teka Suzuki WMX1’s Steve Ramon follows Philippaerts from second while his team mate Ken de Dycker is now back to third and looks forward to moving back to the top of the standings in St. Jean, where he picked up a minor injury in the qualifying session of last year.
GPKR’s Sebastien Pourcel, who rides at home, and AXO KTM Silver Action’s Jonathan Barragan, who won the latest GP in Great Britain to collect also his maiden overall win, are other two riders with a victory chance on this hard pack course.
More interest for the French fans comes from the comeback of home rider Steve Boniface, to ride this Grand Prix onboard three time World Champion Yves Demaria’s Yamaha.
 Sebastien Pourcel showing the new UFO gear for Sunday’s home Grand Prix |
Yamaha Red Bull De Carli’s Tony Cairoli leads the points standings with the MX2 collective entering the French Grand Prix for round seven of fifteen. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray is a close runner up now; he lost the red plate at Mallory Park and is just two points adrift.
Rattray’s team mate Tommy Searle rounds off the top three and he is battling it out for the Championship lead while the rest of the field is led by Frenchman Nicolas Aubin of Ricci Racing Yamaha.
Missing the British GP due to a warm up injury, Jeremy van Horebeek will be back this weekend despite a broken thumb and an injured wrist –he will ride with a special brace.
On the other hand regular GP rider Davide Guarneri will sit out of this round due to two broken ligaments in his right knee after Mantova’s injury.
Veteran Luigi Seguy will ride again this weekend after he left the scene at the end of 2006, while top European Championship riders French Loic Larrieu and Swiss Arnaud Tonus will actually check out the Grand Prix’s this weekend.
 Winner of one heat in Mantova, Nicolas Aubin is the highest placed Frenchman in the MX2 class |
FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP COLLECTIVE REMEMBERS JAN DE GROOT
Former Kawasaki Team Manager Jan de Groot passed away on the 4th of June 2007 because of a serious illness and the whole Motocross World Championship collective honoured his presence at St. Jean d’Angely (10th of June 2007) by taking one minute of silence ahead of the start to the GP. One year later the paddock people still remember Jan, a man who gave a great contribution to the sport.
CIRCUIT DU PUY DE POURSAY AND SAINT JEAN D’ANGELY
The French hard pack course played host to the Motocross of Nations in 2000 and was back in the GP calendar last year after Ernée hosted to the 2006 French GP. Last year some sand has been added to the race track, where some obstacles were reshaped to offer new riding lines. In 2007 Yamaha completed a clean sweep at a sweltering St. Jean, with Coppins winning the MX1 class and Cairoli topping the MX2 podium.
 The Circuit du Puy de Poursay |
Saint Jean D’Angely is a French town surrounded by a beautiful natural landscape, characterized by the river Boutonne that flows through the town. St. Jean is 150 kilometres North of Bordeaux and the border to Spain and it has got a population of about 7500 inhabitants (data from 2006). Among the town’s most interesting and historical buildings are the Abbaye Royale (Royal Abbey) and the Fontaine du Pilori (Fountain of Pilori) which can be watched while walking through the traditional St. Jean d’Angely’s market which is on every Wednesday and Saturday.
THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE
Saturday June 14: KTM Trophy Free Practice 1 at 8:10 am; Women’s World Championship Free Practice 1 at 9:00 am; MX2 Free Practice at 10:00 am; MX1 Free Practice 1 at 11:00 am; MX2 Pre-Qualifying Practice at 12:00 am; KTM Trophy Free Practice 2 at 12:55 am; Women’s World Championship Free Practice 2 at 1:20 pm; MX1 Free Practice 2 at 2:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 1 at 3:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 2 at 3:45 pm; KTM Trophy Time Practice at 4:15 pm; MX1 Time Practice at 4:40 pm; MX2 Last Chance Qualifying Practice at 5:25 pm; Women’s World Championship Time Practice at 6:05 pm; KTM Trophy Race 1 at 6:50 pm (local time).
Sunday June 15: KTM Trophy Warm Up at 8:30 am; Women’s World Championship Warm-up at 9:00 am; MX2 Warm-up at 9:30 am; MX1 Warm-up at 10:00 am; KTM Trophy Race 2 at 10:25 am; Women’s World Championship Race 1 at 11:10 am; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 at 12:10 am; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 at 1:10 pm; Women’s World Championship Race 2 at 2:10 pm; MX2 Grand Prix Race 2 at 3:03 pm; MX1 Grand Prix Race 2 at 4:03 pm; KTM Trophy Race 3 at 5:00 pm (local time).
The Grand Prix will be broadcast live on:
EUROSPORT 2 (Pan Europe) : MX1 Race 2 at 16:00 CET
MOTORS TV (Pan Europe): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00 CET
SPORT ITALIA (Italy): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00 CET
VRT (Belgium): MX1 Race 2 at 16:00 CET
GALAXIE SPORT (Czech Republic): MX2 Race 2 at 15:00 CET
ART (Pan Middle East): MX1 Race 2 at 14:00 GMT
SPORT TV (Slovenia): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00 CET
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
The Grand Prix will be broadcast delayed on:
EUROSPORT 2 (Pan Europe) : Sunday June 15; MX1 Race 1 at 15:00; Monday June 16, MX2 Class at 17:00 CET
VRT (Belgium): Sunday June 15; MX1 Race 1 N/A CET
EUROSPORT WORLD (Pan Asia): Sunday June 15; MX1 Race 1 at 19:30 and Race 2 at 20:15. Monday June 16; MX1 Race 1 at 02:00 and MX2 Class at 18:00. Tuesday June 17; MX2 Class at 00:00 and at 12:00 and at 22:00 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
FFM-Fédération Française de Motocyclisme
Motoclub Angerien
Saint Jean D’Angely
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.
6/13/2008 4:21pm
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