June 28, 2009

Cairoli extends lead with first Latvian win

Yamaha Racing
2009 GP of Latvia 28/06/2009

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Tony Cairoli claimed his second MX1-GP event in the space of a week to extend his lead in the FIM World Championship to 57 points - more than one Grand Prix - with just five meetings left to run in the 2009 contest. The first ever trip to Latvia took place at the Kegums circuit and saw the stylish Sicilian race to 2nd and 1st positions in two sweaty but cloudy motos and watched by 32,000 spectators.

The tenth round of fifteen in the '09 schedule and the second of three GPs inside three weeks occurred within a presentable and well-structured circuit, 50km south-east of the capital city of Riga. A long, loose-soiled and technically difficult track awaited the protagonists of the MX1-GP category. The soft surface quickly became rough with many deep ruts and bumps littering the jumps, waves and rollers.

Cairoli opted for a different tyre profile choice to his peers which hindered his launch from the start gate slightly but the 23 year old claimed worked better for him across the course. With inventive and effective lines through the whoops section and ripping through the long uphill waves, Cairoli made time and positions from inside the top ten in both races. He pushed leader Clement Desalle all the way to the line in the first moto in what was yet another exciting finale. The De Carli representative just missed the chequered flag by two tenths of a second and incredibly set his quickest lap on that circulation after almost forty minutes of racing. In the second outing he again built up his speed to pass riders such as Leok, Coppins, De Dycker, Philippaerts and Nagl to reach Desalle and sprint ahead with three laps remaining.

Cairoli has now won 8 motos from 20 and 4 grand prix from 10 in his first season in MX1-GP. He has 29 career victories and enjoys a gap of 57 points over Nagl in the standings with just 250 left to win.

Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's Josh Coppins returned to the podium for the first time since his win in Bulgaria at round two. The New Zealander picked up his second piece of silverware this term thanks to his strength and resilience around the course; traits that he has not been able to call on in recent GPs. He took 4th place in the first race but it was his late charge to 2nd, equalling his best finish of the year, that really caught the eye and confirmed the 32 year old's presence on the podium, continuing his recent spurt of good form.

Team-mate David Philippaerts, who had made some suspension tests during the week, was 6th overall but was suffering in the wake of two days of illness in the lead-up to Latvia. The world champion started well in both motos but faded away from the battle for the top three in the second half of the races. He was 5th and 7th for his ranking.

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's other rider Tanel Leok was competing at 'almost' a home Grand Prix and a decent section of the crowd certainly voiced their support for the determined Estonian. Sadly a reasonably-secure 4th position was lost two-thirds of the distance into Moto1 when the 24 year old crashed and lost three laps restarting his bike. A more assured performance in the second half of Moto2 dragged him up to 4th for 11th overall.

After Cairoli increased his margin in the table by 16 points in Latvia, Philippaerts needs to reduce a deficit of 58 points to catch his countryman and fellow 2009 Motocross of Nations team member. Coppins is 4th and 13 points behind the reigning number one. Leok is 7th. Yamaha can count on a 58 point lead in the Manufacturers standings with the YZ450F.

Round eleven, and the third race in succession, will take place next week at Uddevalla for the Grand Prix of Sweden and precedes a summer break for the rest of July.

Tony Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 1st:
"I am really happy with this GP, for sure. When I first saw the track I thought it would be hard to win because I still need to learn how to ride forty minutes in the sand with the 450 but my technical ability was good here and my lines also so I did not get as tired as I thought I would. I did not start so well but I took it easy in the first few laps and slowly pushed more and more. I worked really hard this winter so I know I am in good shape and that helped me make that fastest lap at the end of the first moto and also win a lot of time in the second. I am making good results at an important part of the season."

Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 3rd:
"I was close to the podium last week in Germany so I knew it was possible here. For the six or so GPs before Teutschenthal I was struggling but I think I have fixed the problem and now I expect to be fighting up here for the rest of the season. I enjoyed the Grand Prix here and thought the track was pretty good."

DP

David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team, 6th:
"My body is not 100% and today was difficult because it was hot and the track was very hard. I had good starts, good first laps and tried to push on from those but after the first half there was nothing left in the arms. I am not happy with the result but it is acceptable considering the week I have had. I should be better for Sweden."

Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 11th:
"In the first heat I was not pushing hard and was just trying to stay consistent but I came to that corner and the rut was broken and I had lost a bit of concentration under braking. I turned into the corner and the front wheel went over the berm and I crashed. I couldn't restart the bike. I tried many times and it made me so tired. At the start of the second race the air felt different, harder to breathe. I could not find my rhythm easily but things were going better towards the end of the race. It was nice to race here with many fans from Estonia coming to watch; I just wish that first moto could have been different."

Circuit Length: NA
Crowd: 32,000
Weather: Cloudy

2009 GP of Latvia 28/06/2009
Race 1 - 20 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Clement Desalle Honda BEL 40'05.568
2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'00.258
3 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'23.770
4 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'44.151
5 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 1'17.536
6 Aigar Leok TM EST 1'27.503
7 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 1'38.978
8 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 1'41.537
9 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 1'46.161
10 Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 1'49.773
11 Manuel Priem Aprilia BEL 1'54.333
12 Tom Church CCM GBR -1Laps
13 Johan Carlsson Suzuki SWE -1Laps
14 Ivo Steinbergs Honda LVA -1Laps
15 Shannon Terreblanche Kawasaki RSA -1Laps
16 Lauris Freibergs Yamaha LVA -1Laps
18 Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED -1Laps
19 Davis Livs Yamaha LVA -1Laps

Race 2 - 20 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'10.586
2 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'05.777
3 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 0'14.985
4 Tanel Leok Yamaha EST 0'17.525
5 Clement Desalle Honda BEL 0'32.897
6 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'51.444
7 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 1'00.833
8 Aigar Leok TM EST 1'05.582
9 Manuel Priem Aprilia BEL 1'15.691
10 Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 1'29.377
11 Jason Dougan CCM GBR 1'35.663
12 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 1'38.606
13 Bryan Mackenzie Honda GBR 1'39.695
14 Lauris Freibergs Yamaha LVA 1'40.417
15 Loic Leonce Aprilia FRA -1Laps
16 Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED -1Laps
19 Davis Livs Yamaha LVA -1Laps

Rider Standings 28/06/2009

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 385
2. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 328
3. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 327
4. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 314
5. Clement Desalle Honda BEL 309
6. Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 298
7. Tanel Leok Yamaha EST 270
8. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 215
9. Aigar Leok TM EST 167
10. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 151
11. David Vuillemin Kawasaki FRA 137
12. Manuel Priem Aprilia BEL 117
13. Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 104
14. Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 103
15. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 100
19. Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 63
27. Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED 27
37. Lauris Freibergs Yamaha LVA 12
42. Davis Livs Yamaha LVA 4