MONEYGLASS, 19 August 2007- What that was a brand new track until this Saturday became 2007 World Champion Antonio Cairoli’s ground, as the Italian came back to victory and clinched his second World Title all in one day.
On a sunny Sunday, a now dry Moneyglass Demesne course proved to be one of the most demanding tracks in the calendar, and a crowd of 18500 spectators watched this enthralling thirteenth GP of the season.
In the MX1 class Kevin Strijbos clinched his third victory of the season ahead of Frenchman Sebastien Pourcel.
 | The whole team Yamaha De Carli celebrated Antonio Cairoli’s second Title |
MX1
Kevin Strijbos of Suzuki won his third GP of the season as he exploited Sebastien Pourcel’s mistake in the final moto. The GPKR Frenchman finished second overall because he crashed in moto two, when he was at the lead. David Philippaerts of KTM Red Bull rode to a solid third overall, making it to his third consecutive podium. CAS Honda’s Ken De Dycker won moto one but was fourth overall after a poor second moto, while Steve Ramon, who crashed at both starts, rounded off the top five.
MX1 GRAND PRIX RACE 1
After Mike Brown had taken the holeshot, Ken De Dycker moved up to first ahead of a gutsy Kevin Strijbos. The latter succeeded in passing Ken and lead for three laps, then De Dycker moved back to first to win the heat. Kevin settled down for second, suffering from an arm pump, while Jonathan Barragan secured third place with an unexpected overtaking manoeuvre on team mate David Philippaerts. The latter was fourth ahead of Sebastien Pourcel, who recovered from a bad start. After a crash in lap one, Steve Ramon made up ground from the bottom of the group to a solid eighth.
 | Kevin Strijbos won his third GP of 2007 |
MX1 GRAND PRIX RACE 2
Pourcel got the holeshot and tried to pull away with the lead, but he slipped at lap four and handed the first place to Strijbos. Kevin just rode his own moto to finish first and secure the GP victory, while Pourcel worked his way up from fourth to an eventual second place. Mike Brown was cruising in second place when some technical problems put an end to his final heat. On the other hand, Philippaerts tried to close in on Pourcel in the final laps, but the gap was too big and the Italian finally finished third. Ramon, who crashed again at lap one, tried his best and moved up to fourth, ahead of Billy Mackenzie.
 | The podium after a hard fought MX1 Grand Prix |
Tanel Leok crashed and twisted his left knee in heat one, and crashed again in heat two, scoring no points at the end of the day. Jonathan Barragan had some technical problems in the final heat and did not finish, while Ken De Dycker crashed and ended the second heat in twelfth place.
MX2
The first Grand Prix hosted by the 1690 metre long track Moneyglass Demesne was a “Tony Cairoli day”, as the Italian rider of Yamaha De Carli clinched his second World Title and ended his winless streak all in one day. Cairoli secured the Title by winning the first heat, and clinched another victory with a breathtaking last lap pass on rival Tommy Searle of KTM Red Bull. Tommy finished second on the podium, while AXO KTM Silver Action’s Rui Goncalves went 3-3 for the second career podium after Namur two weeks ago. Marcus Schiffer and Jeremy Van Horebeek rounded off the top five.
 | Tommy Searle did not succeed in stopping Cairoli in moto two, but was second on the podium |
Christophe Pourcel crashed in the morning’s warm up, dislocating his shoulder and injuring his back; the latest news is that the Frenchman has broken his pelvis, which means he has finished his 2007 GP campaign.
MX2 GRAND PRIX RACE 1
Nicolas Aubin took the holeshot but a storming Tony Cairoli moved up to the lead before the end of the opening lap. Aubin was following the Italian when crashed and handed the second place to Rui Goncalves. The hard working Portuguese faced a determined Tommy Searle in a battle for the second place, but the Brit passed and left Goncalves behind in third. Gautier Paulin entered a Yamaha battle for fourth place between Davide Guarneri, Carl Nunn and Nicolas Aubin. Paulin got rid of the trio and finished fourth ahead of Aubin, who kept following Paulin in his recovery until the chequered flag.
MX2 GRAND PRIX RACE 2
Nicolas Aubin took another holeshot but a stone blocked his clutch and forced him off the race. Tommy Searle moved up to the lead and opened up a gap over the rivals. The Brit was on his way to the maiden GP win, but a gutsy Antonio Cairoli crashed his party. The Sicilian was on a mission after he had damaged his front wheel by tangling up with another rider. Cairoli kept pushing and wheeling the bike to avoid the front wheel problems, until he made it to Searle’s tale at the final lap. Cairoli found an open door and passed next to Searle, who closed the door very quick. But the battle continued a couple of corners later, with Cairoli trying another open door and passing in front of Searle, who slipped to second place. Goncalves brought the bike home in third place ahead of KTM fellow riders Marcus Schiffer and Jeremy Tarroux.
IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS
Steve Ramon continued to shorten the gap from leader Josh Coppins, and there are only 12 points between the two now. Seb Pourcel and David Philippaerts, who are respectively third and fourth, are also divided by 12 points only, while Kevin Strijbos has now reached Philippaerts’ tail. After today, Tanel Leok has dropped down to ninth. In the manufacturers’ classification Suzuki has moved past Yamaha and is now leading.
With Antonio Cairoli having secured the Title, the battle for second place sees Pourcel out because of his pelvis injury. Tommy Searle is currently third with a gap of five points, which he can easily close at his home GP at Donington Park. Tyla Rattray and Pascal Leuret, who are both out since Namur, are still rounding off the top five, but Gareth Swanepoel is closing in and can move up to fifth at Donington. In the manufacturers’ classification Yamaha can secure the Title at Donington next weekend.
WHAT’S NEXT
Next weekend Donington Park, which is the second brand new track of the season after Moneyglass, will host the penultimate round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, ending in Lierop on September 2 together with the FIM Women’s World Cup. The Veterans’ Cup instead will finish at Donington next weekend.
Info on the event can be found in the Official Guide of the FIM Motocross World Championship. To download it directly click here.
The FIM Motocross Grand Prix of Northern Ireland will be:
Broadcast delayed on:
EUROSPORT 2 : Monday August 20, MX2 Class at 16:00 CET
SPORT ITALIA : Sunday August 19, MX1 Race 1 at 18:00 and Race 2 at 19:00 CET
VRT : Sunday August 19, MX1 Race 1 N/A (check http://www.vrt.be)
EUROSPORT WORLD : Sunday August 19, MX1 Race 1 at 19:30 and Race 2 at 20:30 GMT; Monday August 20, MX1 Race 1 at 8:30 and Race 2 at 9:30, MX1 Race 2 at 17:30 and MX2 class at 18:30 GMT
AMERICA ONE SPORTS: second Tuesday after the GP, MX2 Race 2 and MX1 Race 2, N/A (check http://www.americaone.com)
GAORA: MX2 Race 1 and Race 2, MX1 Race 1 and Race 2, N/A (check http://www.gaora.co.jp)
LINKS
FIM
Motorcycle Racing Association
Northern Ireland Events
Discover Northern Ireland
Information, photos and results are online at http://www.motocrossMX1.com, the official website of the FIM Motocross World Championships.
8/19/2007 10:45am
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