Cairoli seventh after first corner incident

The Bulgarian dirt was hard and flat and together with the layout created a fast course that left little room for error. The start and initial corners were vital in determining the leading positions as lap-times generally remained fairly close and overtaking was difficult.

Cairoli enacted a fantastically close duel with Tommy Searle during the Saturday qualification Heat and got the better of the Briton to secure his second consecutive pole position. The pair briefly resumed their fracas in the first GP moto but the Yamaha De Carli rider unearthed a series of rapid circulations on his YZ250F to break free from his English rival and win his third moto in succession.

The second race could not have started more differently. The 22 year old slid off in front of the pack entering the first right turn and was hit by Tyla Rattray. Then, while pushing to regain positions, was struck from behind by another rider and again hit the ground, losing time to restart. He finished down in nineteenth.

Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin also had a contrasting set of results. The Frenchman could not recover well from a start that left him in the bottom half of the top twenty on the first lap of Moto1 and scored thirteenth. He did however reverse his fortunes in the second sprint when he chased Shaun Simpson and Tommy Searle and was less than three seconds from first position by the end of the race. His third place meant a ranking of fifth overall.

Team-mate Davide Guarneri was sixteenth in the final GP standing. The Italian had to qualify via the Last Chance session after a heavy crash during Saturday's Heat race. A fall in Moto1 meant that he was unable to restart, while he was one of the casualties of the first corner mayhem in Moto2. The 23 year old did manage to capture a hard-won tenth by the end of the 35 minutes and 2 laps.

Cairoli's team-mate, Matteo Bonini, made a welcome return to Grand Prix action only two weeks after he recovered sufficiently from a dislocated shoulder. The Italian is lacking race speed and fitness but registered a total of six points with nineteenth overall.

3C Racing's Manuel Monni was a consistent figure around the top ten and earned eleventh position thanks to finishes of twelfth and eleventh.

Cairoli lost a little ground in the world championship standings and rests 4 points behind new leader Tyla Rattray. Aubin is fourth and 43 away from the top three. Guarneri is seventh.

The MX2-GP elite will be in action in the space of seven days as the Italian Grand Prix at the jumpy Mantova circuit constitutes round five.

Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 7th:

"Of course, after the first moto, I expected more from this GP. I had a really good start in the second moto and when I cut tight for the corner my front wheel slipped away. Everyone was really close and Tyla hit me in the back, which caused a lot of pain. I lost time restarting but worked my way back to 12th, and that was OK because Tyla was in the same group and I felt like I was riding really well. Then when I came down one of the hills a rider had stopped in the line in front of me so I had to slow also and I was hit from behind. The handlebars were covered with mud, so I quickly had to clean them and try to go again. I wanted to keep positive and try for points so I kept pushing and reached 19th. I am now second and four points behind Tyla. This is manageable, and the next GP is in Italy so we will be strong. I want the red plate again in Mantova."

Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 5th:

"I was missing something today. I started badly in the first moto and could not get a rhythm. I tried to push hard but could not pass the other riders, thirteenth was a poor result. In the second race I felt better and faster and was in the fight for first position which was good. I like Mantova and I must get better because we have had four GPs now and I have not made the results that I want. I have a good bike and my physical condition is OK. I just need a little something extra and that second moto was good for my head."

Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 16th:

"A bad weekend; too many crashes. I like this track but I had a big crash in the heat on Saturday and hit my head so I had to go through the last chance. My gate was far to the outside. I started way back in the first moto and after a few laps I was up to 14th but I lost the front wheel on a jump and I could not restart the bike. Many riders fell at the start of the second moto and I got pushed outside and also crashed, again! It was very slippery there. I pushed and I rode pretty well to finish 10th which was OK. I lost points today but the championship still has a long way to go."

Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 19th:

"I did not feel too bad out there. My shoulder was OK, considering I only started training two weeks ago. I pushed so hard in those two weeks to make this GP that I think it left me very tired today. I gained some points at least and things can only get better. I wanted to make this GP to get some race time before Mantova. The track there is difficult but now I am a little bit more familiar with the speed the guys are making now."

Temp: 15 degrees
Crowd: 27,000
Weather: Changeable


2008 GP of Bulgaria, Sevlievo 11/05/2008
Race 1 - 19 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'3.953
2 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'2.943
3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'3.719
4 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 0'18.419
5 Gautier Paulin Kawasaki FRA 0'20.386
6 Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 0'24.837
7 Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 0'27.211
8 Anthony Boissiere KTM FRA 0'31.010
9 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'36.679
10 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'42.073
11 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'47.949
12 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 0'50.738
13 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'56.220
14 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'0.504
15 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 1'5.079
16 Kounsith Vongsana Kawasaki FRA 1'7.458
17 Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 1'9.300
18 Elliott Banks-Browne Suzuki GBR 1'12.926
19 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 1'15.677
20 Shannon Terreblanche Suzuki RSA 1'16.915

Race 2 - 19 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 39'48.824
2 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'0.430
3 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'2.811
4 Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 0'16.230
5 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'22.889
6 Anthony Boissiere KTM FRA 0'25.473
7 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'27.206
8 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'12.440
9 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 1'14.557
10 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'18.343
11 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'21.577
12 Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 1'35.750
13 Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 1'38.871
14 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'45.436
15 Shannon Terreblanche Suzuki RSA 1'46.912
16 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'48.078
17 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 1'54.455
18 Wyatt Avis Honda RSA 2'4.616
19 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA -1 Laps
20 Julien Vanni KTM FRA -1 Laps

Rider Standings 11/05/2008

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 157
2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 153
3. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 149
4. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 106
5. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 106
6. Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 98
7. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 97
8. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 92
9. Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 87
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 82
11. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 79
12. Gautier Paulin Kawasaki FRA 64
13. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 54
14. Anthony Boissiere KTM FRA 50
15. Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 47
16. Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 38
17. Erik Eggens Suzuki NED 38
18. Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 36
19. Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 35
20. Gert Krestinov KTM EST 23
22. Evgeny Bobryshev Yamaha RUS 20
30. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 8
31. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 6

Manufacturer Standings 11/05/2008

Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Yamaha 186
2. KTM 184
3. Kawasaki 116
4. Suzuki 113
5. Honda 52