Second Victory in a Row For Cairoli

MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli entertained the vast crowd of 41,000 people at Mallory Park and the British Grand Prix by guiding his nimble Yamaha Red Bull De Carli YZ250F to a second victory in a row and his third of the season. The sixth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX2-GP series took place under grey skies and among the rough and tricky terrain of the brand new venue but the Sicilian was able to shine brightly to regain the red number plate as world championship leader.

Mallory Park is steeped in road racing and motorsport history and can now add GP motocross among its chronicles. The course boasted some of the biggest jumps seen so far this year, although the new dirt cut up quickly the resulting deep ruts and single line in many places meant that overtaking was not easy.

Cairoli began the weekend in fine fashion with his fourth consecutive pole position and a comprehensive triumph in his qualification sprint. An average start, caused when he mistimed the gate, meant that he circulated in fourth and then third position for long periods of Moto1. Eventually he was able to increase his pace to catch Tommy Searle and a block-pass saw him rise into second even though Searle did not read the move and fell to the floor. Cairoli raised the temperature of the race in the closing stages as he drew to the back of Rattray and looked poised to strike for the lead until he was baulked by a back-marker on the last lap.

Building on his second position and judging the gatedrop better for Moto2 the defending number one went to lead through the first few corners and then never looked back. Searle attempted to follow the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli representative but Cairoli remained mostly undisturbed to collect his fifth win from twelve motos. He also took possession of the red plate and helped give Yamaha an 8 point lead in the manufacturer's standings.

Second highest YZ250F rider on the day was 3C's Manuel Monni, who scored 8th place overall for his second best finish of 2008 thus far. The Italian rode to 7th position in Moto1 which was his finest effort since the rain-hit Spanish GP, where he made the podium for the first time. In the second race he was involved in a multi-rider crash at the start and also fell again in the formative stages. He nevertheless came back to a respectable 13th.

Nico Aubin had a hard weekend and never really found an effective speed or rhythm around the circuit. The Frenchman tried to push and gave maximum effort but his pace was not enough for the top five. A crash saw him lose a mid-top ten position but he recovered for 8th. A mechanical problem curtailed his involvement in Moto2.

Cairoli's team-mate, Matteo Bonini, had a decent first race with 8th place; his best finish of the season to-date. Sadly he was caught in the same incident as Monni at the commencement of Moto2 and a damaged front brake meant that he tried but ultimately could not make the points. The Italian was 15th overall.

Utag Yamaha.com's Martin Barr was back in action after recovering from a broken collarbone but lacked race fitness and was not inside the points.

Yamaha Ricci Racing's Davide Guarneri received some positive news last week. The Italian was initially feared to be out for a sizeable part of the season with broken ligaments in his right knee. Further examinations revealed that he has actually strained two ligaments and could even be on the entry list for the Grand Prix of France in two weeks time.

Cairoli is leading the championship by one point from Rattray. Aubin is fourth but 75 points from the top three.

St Jean d'Angely, near the west coast of France, is the venue for round six in a fortnight.

Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st:

"It was a good weekend for me, I just had a bit of trouble at the start and this is something I will work on. I was lucky in the first moto because I found a hole in the pack in the first corner and then could get back to fourth from seventh place. When Shaun crashed I pushed hard to pass Tommy and then again to catch Tyla, but he rode really well and I had a problem with a lapped rider. I saw the door was open when I overtook Tommy. He did not slow when I went through, we touched and he went down. For sure it was not my intention to hit him. The second race was really good and I take confidence from a good start like that. We are very close together in the championship now and it will be a hard season ahead but I am enjoying it."

Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 16th:

"I felt better than I did yesterday and my bike worked really well but for some reason I could not get going in the motos. I had two good starts but I was too slow at the beginning of the first heat and I crashed down to 12th before finding a way back to 8th. It was not good but the best I could do. In the second race I felt I had better speed and better lines but when I started to push I had a little problem with the bike and the exhaust. It was a mistake and I am disappointed but these things happen. I have pushed a lot with the training and now I feel tired so I think I will make a blood test in Belgium this week because the team is working hard but I can't give them the result."

Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 15th:

"I made a bad start in the first moto but afterwards my rhythm was very good and to finish eighth was a decent result. In the second race I crashed at the start and lost a lot of time to recover and restart the bike. The front brake was broken so it was difficult to ride fast, so I just aimed for some points and could not make it. I am disappointed because I was quick on this track but I feel my level is improving each GP."

Manuel Monni, 3CRacing, 8th:

"I'm quite satisfied with the result and I liked the track today. In the second moto I had my line cut at the start by Rattray and crashed and also stopped when there were many riders in a group stationary in front of me. I pushed back to 13th. The first moto was pretty good, I made some decent points."

Race 1 - 19 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 39'19.887

2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'0.558

3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'41.901

4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'53.881

5, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 0'58.662

6, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'4.178

7, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'12.700

8, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 1'16.956

9, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'23.438

10, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'25.627

11, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, 1'26.937

12, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'27.688

13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'30.534

14, Shannon Terreblanche, Suzuki, RSA, 1'32.180

15, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'32.354

16, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'33.738

17, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'36.546

18, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 1'37.561

19, Elliott Banks-Browne, Suzuki, GBR, 2'59.301

20, Dennis Verbruggen, Yamaha, BEL, -1 Laps

Race 2 - 19 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 40'4.833

2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'5.609

3, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'37.874

4, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'50.806

5, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 0'52.032

6, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'0.405

7, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 1'2.484

8, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'3.046

9, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 1'12.706

10, Mickael Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'13.814

11, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'15.004

12, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'31.857

13, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 1'34.266

14, Julien Vanni, KTM, FRA, 1'39.689

15, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'41.157

16, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'42.272

17, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 1'47.964

18, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 1'49.847

19, Neville Bradshaw, Honda, RSA, 1'55.799

20, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, -1 Laps

Rider Standings 01/06/2008

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points

1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 243

2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 242

3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 233

4, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 158

5, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 156

6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 148

7, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 144

8, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 119

9, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 119

10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 109

11, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 97

12, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95

13, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 91

14, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 76

15, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 68

16, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 63

17, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 59

18, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 56

19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 54

20, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51

23, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 25

25, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 20

29, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 13

Manufacturer Standings 01/06/2008

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, Yamaha, 283

2, KTM, 275

3, Kawasaki, 182

4, Suzuki, 160

5, Honda, 88