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Searle had a massive spill over the Si Racha track’s infamous double jump. On landing, he was pitched over the bars and his factory WP forks snapped in half, with the springs and internals coming out and spilling onto the track.
Kawasaki rider Searle was spitting blood but his worst injury was a double fracture in his wrist which he is due to have plated the day after the race in Thailand.
Paddock rumours suggest Searle may have failed to clear the jump as his bike may not have been running right due to the locally-sourced fuel. His team boss Harry Nolte fumed: “This fuel has affected so many teams – us, the factory Kawasaki team and factory Suzuki teams at least.” The factory Honda team also confirmed their bike were slowed, too.
With the teams forced to use locally-sourced, high-octane race fuel due to import restrictions on fuel after the recent civil unrest in Thailand, many of the riders had machine problems, especially in the 450 class.
Clement Desalle was furious after his bike slowed and started to misfire in the final MX1 race which he had led until he was passed by runaway double winner Tony Cairoli. Instead of riding to the podium after the race, livid Desalle rode his bike back to the Suzuki pits and sat on it revving it wide open so everyone could hear it was misfiring.
His team-mate Kevin Strijbos also visibly slowed at the end of the race, losing a handful of places due to his ailing bike. The Kawasakis of Gautier Paulin and Steven Frossard were also badly affected. Frossard failed to finish, but Paulin coaxed his slowing KXF to the finish line but lost his red plate as championship leader. Every lap Paulin made the huge double jump but came precariously close to not making it as his bike was under-powered.
Desalle (Suzuki), 2nd
Van Horebeek (Yamaha), 3rd
Nagl (Honda), 4th
Paulin (Kawasaki), 5th
Waters (Husqvarna), 7th
Guarneri (TM), 8th
7 brands in top 8, nothing wrong with that.
The fuel problems brought our mx riders in danger at the GP in Thailand! In a risky sport like MX we can not allow that...
So KTM clearly had issues with it as well
and drive by shootings killing 6 yrs old girls
and they ban fuel !? wtf.........begs belief how this country operates sometimes.
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I'm sure they brought water,I'd hide it in blue Gatorade bottles.
Come on,
But,for a series to let the most precious liquid besides water be supplied by thugs must meas the series is run by thugs
" it brought a lot more than danger to mee!"
strange ....
Just a shame he cant report everything that happens or everything a rider has to say , good or bad!
Assuming that Jiff's list counts down in reverse order, the fourth best thing about the Thai GP, according to Jiff, was the fact that Desalle and Suzuki lost the win because of fuel problems, and Desalle had a hissy fit afterwards (going straight to the pits rather than podium and revving the arse out of his spluttering bike for all to see and hear).
The last item (#1?) was the fact that they had McDonalds at the track and "The chance to have some crap food".
I regret not going now....
Oh, and also Youthstream's workers work harder than the riders apparently.
Serious conversation and that's what you come up with.
Pit Row
Max Anstie. You gotta love this kid. He is so full of life it is sometimes just over flowing with crazy comments. His big smile is a pleasure to see and his passion for the sport just as enjoyable. When Anstie made the now famous Dave Bulmer/Vurbmoto interview, mentioning that he was better than two time World MX2 Champion many people laughed, some were angry and others just didn’t care. It made the excitement for the battle between the two really thrilling and when Anstie led the second MX2 moto, then block-passed Herlings when the Dutchman tried to pass for the lead was in my opinion the highlight of the weekend.
Thai people. You wouldn’t meet a sweeter, friendly race of people. Like Anstie the Thai love to smile and there isn’t too much better in this World than smiling faces. Be it in Bangkok, Pattaya or at the track these friendly people made everyones trip enjoyable. Was it the people serving McDonalds (yep they had McDonalds stands all around the circuit again), or the people at the hotel in Pattaya, or track officials, or even the local racers who got to ride the GP circuit, all were smiling and offering help.
MX2 class. All you can say about this class is WOW. Not only a bunch of great riders, but the top six or seven are all well respected, friendly kids. Be it the leader of the pack Herlings, or names like Coldenhoff, Ferrandis, Tonus, Febvre, Tonkov or Anstie, they are all brilliant for the sport. Friendly kids learning their trade. If anyone wants to doubt this class as being not strong enough, then wait until the MXoN comes around. Heaven help Blake Baggott if he comes again.
Antonio Cairoli. The King of World Motocross returned to the top of the throne. Cairoli looked average in Qatar, and of course he was carrying an injured foot, but in Thailand the relaxed and cool Italian dazzled with his speed and concentration. He makes his job look easy, and that in itself is a craft not too many riders have.
Pattaya. Love it or hate it, it is one wild place. Inhuman in many ways, but if you like to party, then this is the place to be. At night its lights, camera, action, during the day maybe a little less for the eye, and way too hot, but still, it brought a lot of the paddock people, a lot of fun.
Dylan Ferrandis. How cool is this French kid. He beats Herlings on Saturday, passes him after the Dutchman had taken the lead in the qualification race and sits in the press conference as if it was no big deal. On Sunday he was less effective, but trying to stick his front wheel under the moto leader (Herlings again) showed he wants it bad. One well known French journalist mentioned to me Ferrandis was expected to be the next Marvin Musquin or Christophe Pourcel, and after the first two rounds of the MXGP season I understand why.
Rockstar Energy Suzuki. Sylvain Geboers and his team put in a great effort, and have done for many, many years. Their rider Clement Desalle nearly won the Grand Prix for them and fuel problems probably cost him any chance of really racing with Cairoli. In saying that, his performance after the race was very disappointing and nobody deserves that type of treatment, and for sure not one of our legends Sylvain Geboers and his family.
Max Nagl. The German veteran is second in the World and his performance in Thailand went nearly unnoticed by many of the media. In Qatar he rode as well as I have seen him ride and Thailand he came from way back in one moto to produce a fourth place. Nagl looks confident and talking to team manager Roger Harvey he has finally come to terms with just how good he is.
Youthstream. Bringing the sport to countries like Thailand deserves credit. It wasn’t the easiest race for the teams, riders and rest of the paddock people, but Youthstream once again did their best to make it a nice trip for everyone and their team of workers probably work harder than anyone at the event, and that includes the riders.
McDonalds. I am sure not we all ate too much McDonalds and it seems like this was the daily diet for all of the paddock people. I know I put away something like 30 hamburgers over the weekend and sure hope I never have to eat McDonalds again in the coming weeks. However, the service was brilliant and most people enjoyed the chance to have some crap food while enjoying our great sport.
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In a perfect world they allow a spec fuel or the teams regular race fuel to be used, but you're dealing with more than the motorcycle industry here, you're talking customs and government regulations. You cant tell me this was sprung on the teams the day of the race, if they didnt do the research then its on them.
Ps. Its a massive shame that Searle is injured due to something out of his control, i just dont see how the teams are completely blameless in this and its all Luongo's fault again.
I know I put away something like 30 hamburgers over the weekend
And THAT is number one. Never mind the riders and their pesky fuel problems and broken bones.
and it's Baggett.
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