Cairoli's Chance to Secure Second World Title Lies in Moneyglass

FUNCHAL, 14 August 2007- The brand new track Moneyglass Demesne will begin the explosive finale of this FIM Motocross World Championship, featuring three GP’s in a row –Moneyglass, Donington and Lierop.

MX1 series leader Joshua Coppins will come back to racing after his left shoulder, but he has scored no points in Loket and Namur; his current advantage over runner up Steve Ramon has reduced to 43 points.

The longest winless streak of MX2 Championship leader Antonio Cairoli continued in Namur, where Davide Guarneri won his maiden GP. But Cairoli has a big chance to secure the Title in Northern Ireland: runner up Christophe Pourcel has a gap of 124 points, with only 150 points to be taken.

MX1
A gutsy Joshua Coppins of Yamaha Motocross will give his best to keep runner up Steve Ramon behind and secure his maiden World Title. There are only 43 points separating the duo, and with three GP’s to go, it means Ramon is still in the chase for the Title.
Suzuki’s Ramon is actually sandwiched between an unfit Coppins and a strong Sebastien Pourcel, third in the standings, with the latter having won his second GP at a demanding Namur. The GPKR Frenchman, who also clinched his fifth National title last weekend, is on a season high and will try to close the gap from Ramon at Moneyglass.

Sebastien Pourcel clinched his third consecutive podium finish at Namur

Kevin Strijbos of Suzuki and David Philippaerts of KTM Red Bull currently round off the top five in the points standings, and both will be on a mission this weekend.
Philippaerts, racing his last season with KTM as he will head to Yamaha Rinaldi for 2008 and 2009, aims at taking third place back. Pourcel moved past him on the Italian’s home ground at Faenza, and since then the two have a score to settle.
Strijbos, who won two Grand Prix’s this year, is improving on his Championship position after a knee injury  has compromised his season. Being currently fifth, Kevin is 17 points behind Philippaerts.
Ken De Dycker and Tanel Leok, with the latter having been on the podium at Namur, are battling for sixth place, while Julien Bill, who rode to a brilliant third in moto two at Namur, will chase his maiden podium at Moneyglass.

Julien Bill and David Philippaerts are two of the fittest youngsters

TM will provide their only factory rider Manuel Priem with a new machine, the TM MX1-GP 08, featuring significant technical improvements that will be unveiled at Moneyglass.

MX2
Ricci Racing’s Davide Guarneri will head into Moneyglass with renewed confidence, as the Italian won his first Grand Prix at Namur, showing great speed and determination after a difficult beginning of the season.
Countryman Antonio Cairoli has a big chance to secure his second World Title; the 21 year old of Yamaha De Carli has a 124 point advantage over runner up Christophe Pourcel, which is the fruit of eight Grand Prix victories and three second places.

If Antonio Cairoli scores one more point than Christophe Pourcel in heat one, he will be World Champion

Cairoli actually missed the podium at Namur –round 12- for the first time this season, but aims at ending his longest winless streak of 2007 at Moneyglass, clinching the title with gallantry.
Runner up Christophe Pourcel of GPKR may have found a new and more dangerous rival, in the shape of KTM Red Bull’s Tommy Searle, third in the Championship. The Brit, who will enjoy the support from his home fans travelling to Northern Ireland, is looking forward to chipping away at the 49 point gap.

Tommy Searle can still close the gap from Christophe Pourcel

Tyla Rattray and Pascal Leuret are currently rounding off the top five behind Searle, but none of them will comeback for this unpredictable finale. Both are injured, and are leaving an open door for Gareth Swanepoel and Czech GP winner Nicolas Aubin, who are respectively sixth and seventh in the standings.
Also Rui Goncalves is giving his best for this conclusive part of the season; with his maiden podium at Namur, the Portuguese has gained confidence that he will use in these final three rounds.
Shaun Simpson will make his comeback to the GP scene after a wrist injury from Faenza, while European MX2 Title challengers Gautier Paulin –who was cruising in third before he broke the chain in moto one at Namur- and Khounsith Vongsana will race this thirteenth GP to warm up for the penultimate round of the continental series, to be held at Randers, Denmark, on August 26.

MONEYGLASS DEMESNE AND MONEYGLASS
Desertmartin, the venue of the 2005 and 2006 Grand Prix of Northern Ireland, has been replaced by the brand new course which was built at Moneyglass. Moneyglass Demesne totals over 350 acres of prime land perfectly suited to staging a World Championship event; the challenging course is 1690 metre long, featuring a sand section, breathtaking jumps and having a soft soil. It is surrounded by a natural amphitheatre offering a wide range of comfortable viewing points for spectators.

A view of Moneyglass Demesne

Moneyglass is a small Northern Irish town, which is part of County Antrim. Moneyglass is about 50 kilometres West of Belfast, and it is the birthplace of the great jump jockey Tony ‘AP’ McCoy, winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champions Chase and the King George VI Chase.

THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE
Saturday August 18: MX2 Free Practice at 10:00 am; MX1 Free Practice 1 at 11:00 am; MX2 Pre-Qualifying Practice at 12:00 am; MX1 Free Practice 2 at 2:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 1 at 3:00 pm; MX2 Qualifying Race 2 at 3:45 pm; MX1 Time Practice at 4:30 pm; MX2 Last Chance Qualifying Practice at 5:15 pm (local time).

Sunday August 19: MX2 Warm-up at 9:00 am; MX1 Warm-up at 9:30 am; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 at 12:08 am; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 at 1:08 pm; MX2 Grand Prix Race 2 at 3:03 pm; MX1 Grand Prix Race 2 at 4:03 pm (local time).

Info on the event can be found in the Official Guide of the FIM Motocross World Championship. To download it directly click here.

LINKS
FIM
Motorcycle Racing Association
Northern Ireland Events
Discover Northern Ireland

Information and results on http://www.motocrossMX1.com, the official website of the FIM Motocross World Championships.

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