VALKENSWAARD, 31 March 2007- The reversed Eurocircuit at Valkenswaard was dry today, during the first day of action of the 2007 FIM Motocross World Championship. Weather conditions were sunny, and tomorrow it will be exactly the same. MX1 poleman Ken De Dycker grasped his first pole position today, and will go for his first career win tomorrow. The MX2 qualifying races were won by 2006 MX2 World Champion Christophe Pourcel, and 2006 runner up Antonio Cairoli.
MX1
With a 2.00.575 laptime, CAS Honda Belgian Ken De Dycker earned his first pole position of the career. The final minutes of the session were very hot, as Aprilia Off Road Alessio Chiodi crashed, while Steve Ramon and Josh Coppins were trying to clock their fastest lap. Suzuki factory rider Ramon was the fastest of the two, and got the second fastest laptime; Coppins of Yamaha Motocross team was third.
Last year’s runner up Kevin Strijbos looked very solid on his factory Suzuki RM-Z 450; he was fourth fastest today, ahead of MX1 debutant Marc De Reuver of the Yamaha Motocross team.
Tanel Leok just missed the top five, and finished sixth, as his team mate Billy Mackenzie was twelfth.
Jonathan Barragan of KTM Red Bull team was seventh fastest, and was the fastest KTM mounted rider. Hungarian Kornel Nemeth will enter the gate right after him, in eight place, as MX1 debutants Sebastien Pourcel and Aigar Leok ended the top ten.
 | Poleman Ken De Dycker of CAS Honda Team. |
MX2
Two World Champions won the qualifying heats today. One was defending Champion Christophe Pourcel, and the other one was 2005 World Champion Antonio Cairoli. The Italian and the Frenchman at the press conference reminded of last year’s MX2 Championship, and it was a perfect preview for the 2007 season. On the other hand, Tyla Rattray crashed once he was chasing the lead in moto1, but topped the last chance Qualifying Practice.
MX2 RACE 1
KTM Red Bull’s Tommy Searle had a storming start, and was followed by SRS Racing’s Matti Seistola. The Finn was passed by Christophe Pourcel before the end of the opening lap, as Tyla Rattray crashed. Pourcel closed in on Searle, and moved past the Briton in lap six. Once he was at the lead, Pourcel showed an impressive rhythm and won the race, with Searle finishing second. Matti Seistola, Marcus Schiffer, Pascal Leuret and Shaun Simpson battled hard for third place; Schiffer finally finished third, ahead of Matti Seistola, Pascal Leuret and Shaun Simpson.
 | MX2 World Champion Christophe Pourcel won the first Qualifying heat. |
MX2 RACE 2
Ricci Racing’s Kenneth Gundersen grabbed the holeshot, but Antonio Cairoli chased him until lap six. Then the Italian moved up to the lead, and won the race. Gundersen was second behind him, and his team mate Nicolas Aubin was third, after he moved past Belgian Tom De Belder before the end of the opening lap. Gareth Swanepoel was the first Kawasaki rider, in fourth place, and he left American Sean Hamblin behind in fifth place. Last year’s European Champion Dennis Verbruggen was twentieth, but will enter tomorrow’s race as he qualified third in the last chance.
 | Antonio Cairoli won the second Qualifying heat and tomorrow will race for victory. |
THE EUROCIRCUIT AND VALKENSWAARD
The Eurocircuit is one of the best circuits in the Netherlands, and it is just South of Eindhoven; it has hosted Motocross races since 1980, but its layout was slightly modified this year, to guarantee an overall improvement. It is a demanding sandy track, offering a perfect view of the start line from any spot.
Valkenswaard is a beautiful Dutch municipality with a population of 30,943 inhabitants. It is 130 kms South of the capital city Amsterdam, and very close to Eindhoven. The name Valkenswaard comes from a huge history of falconers, and “valk” actually means falcon in Dutch.
Tomorrow the first MX2 race will be at 12.05 am, and the MX1 class will start at 1.05 pm.
The races will be broadcast live on:
- Eurosport World : LIVE MX1 at 13:00 and 16:00 o’ clock
- Eurosport 2 : LIVE MX1 at 13:00 and 16:00 o’clock
- Sport Italia :LIVE MX2, delayed MX1 at 19:45 until 20:30
- AB Moteurs : LIVE MX1 and MX2
- VRT : LIVE MX1 in Sporza TV
- ART : LIVE MX1 Race 2
Information and results on http://www.motocrossMX1.com, the official website of the FIM Motocross World Championships.
Fans worldwide can watch this and every race of the 2007 FIM Motocross & Supermoto World Championships live and on-demand exclusively on The Moto Channel on MediaZone (moto.MediaZone.com). MediaZone is a leading global online broadcaster specialized in sports, entertainment and international programming.
LINKS
FIM
Eurocircuit Valkenswaard
