Monster Energy Yamaha began their 2012 motocross
campaign today (Sunday) with victories and podium results at the Valence
International near Lyon in France and the Mantova Starcross in Italy.
The meetings represented the first events in what will be a seven-week
pre-season build-up to the FIM Motocross World Championship on Easter
Monday in Holland. Arnaud Tonus (pictured) captured two moto victories
to win the MX2 class on his YZ250F for the second year in a row at
Valence. Steven Frossard was third in the MX1 category while David
Philippaerts also rode to third position overall on the works YZ450FM in
the sand of Mantova.
Four of the six riders representing Monster Energy
Yamaha in 2012 were in action at a bright but cold Valence circuit.
Tonus shone from the crop but MX2-GP team-mate Christophe Charlier,
steering the prototype YZ250FM, also made a mark with the fastest
qualification slot on Saturday and then a fine second place to give
Yamaha a pleasing 1-2 in the second of the two races on Sunday. Former
European Champion Charlier was unlucky to DNF the first sprint after an
engine stall in the start gate and then couldn’t join the fray. He was
8th overall.
“I’m happy with today and we played with the setting
on the bike as it was the first time I had used this season’s YZ250F,
but I had a great feeling,” said Tonus. “I had a bit of arm-pump, like
most guys, but I rode well in the first moto and the races worked out
pretty good.”
In the MX1 category Steven Frossard finished 3rd
with results of 3rd, 5th and then 2nd in the Superfinal. The Frenchman,
and 2011 MX1-GP runner-up, was dicing with Clement Desalle for the lead
in the second moto but hit a stone with his front wheel on the approach
to a jump on the last lap and ran off the track. New team-mate Shaun
Simpson rode to a conservative set of 12th and 10th positions on his
Yamaha debut in what was a field busy with Grand Prix riders.
“It was a hard meeting because I suffered with some
arm-pump but the results were not too bad and it was nice to finally get
to a race and get the year started,” commented Frossard. “We didn’t
really change anything on the bike and I was happy with set-up. I just
needed to get the race mileage and now we have quite a busy programme
from here.”
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Further south in Europe David Philippaerts returned
to competitive action for the first time in seven months after injury
curtailed his 2011 world championship last summer. At a chilly and misty
Mantova – that enjoyed a very healthy attendance, Monster Energy Tech3
Yamaha’s Andrea Dovizioso one of the spectators – the Italian was
runner-up to Jeffrey Herlings in the popular ‘1-1’ duel over one lap and
then recorded three top four finishes on the YZ450FM. Philippaerts was
pleased to be behind a gate once again and the potential of his 2012
race-bike was clear with two holeshots from the three twenty minute and 2
lap motos. Although struggling a little with arm-pump, ‘DP19’ was able
to tussle with Tony Cairoli, Anthony Boissiere, Herlings and Evgeny
Bobryshev to go 4th, 3rd and 4th in the races.
“Yeah I’m happy,” he said. “It feels like a long
time since I was at a race so it was good to be in the paddock again and
seeing all the fans. I took it easy today and felt a bit tight with my
arms but this is normal at the first event of the season. It was good to
see many people here and I’m very happy with my starts.”
The sixth member of Monster Energy Yamaha, Zach
Osborne, returns to Europe next week from his recent AMA West Coast
Lites Supercross exploits. The Rinaldi-entered trio of the team –
Frossard, Philippaerts and Charlier – will compete at Montevarchi in the
opening round of four in the Italian Championship next weekend where
Frossard will be aiming to defend his MX1 title. Testing and preparation
in the countdown to Valkenswaard will then take place in the dwindling
time remaining until the season and sixteen planned Grands Prix gets
underway.
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