MANTOVA (ITALY), 16 May 2008 – This might be the first real wet weekend of racing for the FIM Women’s Motocross World Championship riders who are at Mantova for the series’ first time on the Italian soil, hosting the second of five rounds of this first World Championship’s edition.
 Livia Lancelot with team manager Roger Pourcel |
Series leader Livia Lancelot of GPKR enters Italy with the goal of collecting her second career overall win, as she took her very first success in Bulgaria last weekend, four years after her debut in the 2005 World Cup.
Having seen a preview of her rivals’ speed at Sevlievo, Lancelot knows this Championship will be an extremely hard fought campaign.
First moto winner Larissa Papenmeier of Suzuki Inotec will be back despite last weekend’s foot injury, with German compatriot Steffi Laier of KTM Germany making her first season’s appearance. The 2005 World Cup Winner missed Bulgaria due to an injury.
As the Championship goes on, another German is coming up as a possible Title challenger. Kawasaki Elf Pfeil’s Maria Franke rode to a solid second in Bulgaria after finishing the 2007 season in third place.
Last two years’ World Cup Winner Katherine Prumm had a tough time at round one, as she broke her right ACL a few days before the season got started. The Kiwi will try to ride again after the brave fourth place from Sevlievo.
Rounding off the Bulgarian rostrum, Ashley Fiolek starred in a superb maiden appearance in the series and will try to keep up the good work in the Italian weekend.
 Ashley Fiolek definitely was the surprise of the opening round |
Home rider and National series leader Gloria Decarli enters the Championship this weekend with high ambitions.
CIRCUITO INTERNAZIONALE CITTÀ DI MANTOVA-TAZIO NUVOLARI AND MANTOVA
The track is named after car racing legend Tazio Nuvolari, as the driver was born and lived in Mantova. It was inaugurated in 1982 after a lot of work had been put in to build it in cooperation with former Motocross World Champion Michele Rinaldi, now the head of the Yamaha Monster Motocross’ team. The ground is a mix between the natural soil (30%) and the sand (70%), which makes it one of the few sandy circuits in the Italian peninsula. The weather forecast predicts rain for the entire weekend.
 Mantova is one of the very few sandy courses in Italy |
The city of Mantova is named after the Latin word “Mantua”, which refers to an Etruscan god. The city itself has 46.372 inhabitants spread on an area of 63,9 square metres. Mantova is in the centre of the Pianura Padana, the widest flatland in Italy; it is famous for having been the base of the very important Italian dynasty Gonzaga, who ruled the city for four centuries since 1328. Palazzo Ducale was actually built by the Gonzaga and it is still one of the most famous spots to watch once in Mantova, together with the Palazzo Te, the Torre dell’Orologio and the Basilica di Sant’Andrea. Mantova is one of the key cities for the Italian culture, as the poet Virgil and Renaissance painter Andrea Mantegna lived there.
THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE
Saturday May 17: 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 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 May 18: 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 (local time).
The Grand Prix will be 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 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
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.
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