FUNCHAL, 11 April 2007- After a wonderful start at the Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard, the FIM Motocross World Championship is now heading to Spain for the second round of the series. The track of Bellpuig will host the Grand Prix of Spain this weekend; in the area around Barcelona, the weather has been quite wet last week, but this weekend’s forecast is better with showers predicted near the city of Lleida. In the MX1 class, Joshua Coppins is leading the points standings and wants to increase his actual six point advantage over Spaniard Jonathan Barragan. In the MX2 class, defending Champion Christophe Pourcel is looking for the win, as Antonio Cairoli holds the red plate with a six point advantage over Tyla Rattray.
MX1
Spaniard Jonathan Barragan of the KTM Red Bull squad clinched his maiden moto victory in Valkenswaard; Bellpuig is his home GP, and he will surely find an extra motivation in his home crowd, but Yamaha Motocross’ Josh Coppins is a tough and experienced rider. The Kiwi fights hard in every occasion, and he wants to perform well on the Circuit de Motocròs de Catalunya.
The Suzuki WMX GP riders were third and fourth in Valkenswaard, which was a good warm up both for Steve Ramon and Kevin Strijbos. The latter had a great Easter weekend, winning both the second round of the Belgian Championship and the International race at Wuustwezel, and aims at the podium for this Spanish GP. Ramon can go for it too, but Bellpuig is not one of his favourite tracks.
Marc de Reuver made a stunning debut at his first MX1 Grand Prix. The Yamaha Motocross’ youngster is so far the best debutant, but his GP of Benelux was compromised by a crash in moto one. De Reuver is a sand specialist, whereas the Spanish track’s ground is quite hard. We will see how will adapt to it.
“Gentle giant” Ken de Dycker impressed many people at the Eurocircuit two weeks ago, by clocking his first pole position and leading the first part of moto one. His endurance on the sand has been a little worry, but he will try to make up for it this weekend.
Kawasaki Europe Racing team believes in Tanel Leok’s revenge. The Estonian Express is now eleventh in the standings, but he was second in Bellpuig last year.
KTM Red Bull’s Jonathan Barragan from Madrid is 21 years old.
MX2
Antonio Cairoli and his Yamaha YZ 250 F dominated the season opener with two impressive moto victories. Frenchman Christophe Pourcel had a harder start to the season, and is now fourth in the standings, but he and GPKR team have been working hard to clinch a better result in Bellpuig.
KTM Red Bull’s Tyla Rattray raced two stoic motos in Benelux, after he injured on Saturday’s qualifying race. The South African is one of the favourites for the 2007 World Title, and he can underline this status in the forthcoming Spanish Grand Prix.
Also his team mate Tommy Searle had a crash in Valkenswaard, but he showed a great speed. He can race for the podium in Bellpuig, but more experienced riders such as 29 year old Erik Eggens will not make his life easy. The Dutchman of Suzuki Beuersfoon team is now fifth in the standings, after a great home GP in Valkenswaard.
South African Gareth Swanepoel is all set on a great 2007 season. After clinching his maiden podium at the GP of Benelux, he won the third round of the British Motocross Championship last weekend, and is expected to close in on the leaders this weekend.
Watch out from these front runners in Bellpuig: (from left to right) Tommy Searle, Christophe Pourcel, Antonio Cairoli and Gareth Swanepoel.
THE CIRCUIT DE MOTOCROS DE CATALUNYA AND BELLPUIG
The Circuit de Motocròs de Catalunya is a 1.546 metre long track, with a minimum width of 8 metres. It is well known for its amazing jumps, that all the riders look forward to, and for a huge Spanish crowd, that every year since the beginning of the millennium attends the FIM Motocross Grand Prix of Spain. At last year’s FIM Off Road Awards, local organizer Ramon Marquez received the award for the “Best Developed Circuit and Infrastructure” for the hard-pack Circuit de Motocròs de Catalunya and its facilities.
The Circuit de Motocròs de Catalunya is ready to host great racing this weekend.
Bellpuig is a typical Spanish town, with a very friendly atmosphere and a very warm weather. It is 308 metres above the sea level, and has 4755 inhabitants. Bellpuig is 130 kilometres away from Barcelona, and it is rich in historical buildings, such as the church of Sant Nicolau, that was built in the second half of the 16th century. The church hosts the mausoleum of Ramon Folch de Cardona-Anglesola, one of the most important personalities in Bellpuig.
THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE
The action of the Spanish GP will start on Saturday at 10.00 am with the MX2 free practice, as the first race will be on Sunday at 12.05 am.
The second Grand Prix of the FIM Motocross World Championship 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, for MX1 see programming www.sportitalia.com
AB Moteurs: LIVE MX1 and MX2
VRT: LIVE MX1 in Sporza TV
GALAXIE SPORT, CZ: LIVE MX2 Race 1 and 2
ART: LIVE MX1 Race 2
TV 3: MX1/MX2 race 2 ‘LIVE’ from 15:00 to 17:00 o’clock
Information and results on 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.
4/11/2007 6:07am
0 comments
To post, please join, log in or connect to Vital using your Facebook profile Login with Facebook.