Desalle so close to maiden MX1 GP victory |
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| Monday, 29 June 2009 16:41 | |||
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Round ten of fifteen in the FIM Motocross World Championship took place at the impressive Kegums circuit for the first ever Grand Prix of Latvia, where the premier class fell to the current championship leader Antonio Cairoli. Once more it was LS Honda’s Clement Desalle who emerged as the best of the Honda CRF450R riders, albeit in a depleted and injury-hit Honda off-road line-up. The Belgian almost clinched a first GP victory for himself, his team and for the manufacturer by going 1-5 in the two motos. The long and wide layout of the Kegums track, situated to the south of Riga, presented the riders with a sandy, rough and technical test for the second grand prix of three in a three week sequence of tough MX world championship racing. Desalle quickly got to grips with the track lay-out and conditions in Saturday’s qualification heat to take third position on the gate for the races on but the general consensus among the riders was that the track was a demanding prospect on the Sunday. In the first moto the 20 year old Desalle sprinted away from the field after surviving a collision with Ken De Dycker. He then weathered a strong attack from Cairoli on the last lap to win his first moto by just two tenths of a second. For the second outing Desalle was again setting the pace and led for two thirds of the race before developing a clutch problem which disrupted his rhythm and he slipped back to fifth at the flag. The combined score was still good enough for Desalle to claim the second step of the podium as runner-up overall and deliver his fourth trophy of the 2009 season. CAS Honda relied solely on Bryan Mackenzie and the Scot finished outside of the points in the first moto after struggling with a twisted right ankle picked up during warm-up but gritted his teeth to post his best GP race result yet in four appearances with 13th place. His cousin and British Champion, Billy, underwent successful surgery on Saturday, a reconstruction of his right thumb ligament which has prevented MacKenzie from exploiting his burgeoning talent to maximum potential. The Scot is expected to sidelined and out of competitive action for between six to eight weeks, possibly missing the rest of the season MX1 GP season. Martin Honda was not present in Latvia after Mickael Pichon, substitute rider for Kevin Strijbos, completed a three race stint for his former team last week in Germany. Martin teamster Strijbos is still nursing his broken wrist and is not expected to race again until round twelve of the series, at Limburg on August 2. The Italian team will travel to Sweden next week with national rider Jonatan Dahlgren set to race one of their machines. Strijbos will be attending the Swedish Honda Academy for between 20-30 CRF150 riders on the Friday before the Grand Prix. Desalle is now fifth in the world championship standings and just 18 points from David Philippaerts, who holds third position. The eleventh round of the series, the Grand Prix of Sweden, will take place in Uddevalla next weekend, the last meeting before a three week summer break. Clement Desalle, LS Honda: “I was really happy to win that first moto, especially because the pressure was really on and it felt quite special. In the second moto my start was good and I was second behind Nagl. I went into the lead but after twenty minutes my clutch stopped working properly and the rest of the race was really hard. I lost a lot of time and was really disappointed; but what can you do? The track was good to ride and was fun but the hot conditions made it difficult.” Bryan Mackenzie, CAS Honda: “I had a great start in that second moto and came out of the first corner in the top ten and then just tried really hard. I was battling every lap right until the end. I was kept motivated by my mechanic calling me bad things on the pit-board! I was trying to make amends for the first race because I was really disappointed with that moto, so I just dug-deep.” Roger Harvey, Off-road Co-ordinator, Honda Motor Europe: “Obviously we were down to minimal representation this weekend but we have to accept that this is one of the harsh realities that can strike in motocross; injuries are just part of the scene. However full credit and congratulations to Clement Desalle who is having a great season so far and keeping the CRF where it should be. We hope to have some new faces in place for Sweden and then after the summer break be a little more of a presence in time for Lommel.” Results MotocrossMX1 Race 1 (20 laps = 30.8km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time 1 / DESALLE, Clement / BEL / LS Motors Honda / Honda / 40:05.568 2 / CAIROLI, Antonio / ITA / Yamaha Red Bull De Carli Team / Yamaha / 40:05.826 3 / NAGL, Maximilian / GER / Red Bull KTM Factory Racing / KTM / 40:29.338 4 / COPPINS, Joshua / NZL / Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team / Yamaha / 40:49.719 5 / PHILIPPAERTS, David / ITA / Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team / Yamaha / 41:23.104 6 / LEOK, Aigar / EST / TM Racing Factory Team / TM / 41:33.071 7 / DE DYCKER, Ken / BEL / Team Teka Suzuki World MX1 / Suzuki / 41:44.546 8 / ARANDA, Gregory / FRA / CLS / Kawasaki / 41:47.105 9 / SWANEPOEL, Gareth / RSA / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki / 41:51.729 10 / CAMPANO, Carlos / ESP / Yamaha Van Beers Racing / Yamaha / 41:55.341 11 / PRIEM, Manuel / BEL / Aprilia Racing / Aprilia / 41:59.901 12 / CHURCH, Tom / GBR / BUILDBASE CCM RACING / CCM / 40:07.420 13 / CARLSSON, Johan / SWE / Delta Rentor Racing Team / Suzuki / 40:11.644 14 / STEINBERGS, Ivo / LAT / Honda Latvia Elksni / Honda / 40:12.932 15 / TERREBLANCHE, Shannon / RSA / Sturm Racing Team / Kawasaki / 40:15.505 Fastest Lap: CAIROLI, Antonio in 1:53.303 on lap 20 MX1 Race 2 (20 laps = 30.8km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time 1 / CAIROLI, Antonio / ITA / Yamaha Red Bull De Carli Team / Yamaha / 39:10.586 2 / COPPINS, Joshua / NZL / Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team / Yamaha / 39:16.363 3 / DE DYCKER, Ken / BEL / Team Teka Suzuki World MX1 / Suzuki / 39:25.571 4 / LEOK, Tanel / EST / Yamaha Red Bull De Carli Team / Yamaha / 39:28.111 5 / DESALLE, Clement / BEL / LS Motors Honda / Honda / 39:43.483 6 / NAGL, Maximilian / GER / Red Bull KTM Factory Racing / KTM / 40:02.030 7 / PHILIPPAERTS, David / ITA / Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team / Yamaha / 40:11.419 8 / LEOK, Aigar / EST / TM Racing Factory Team / TM / 40:16.168 9 / PRIEM, Manuel / BEL / Aprilia Racing / Aprilia / 40:26.277 10 / CAMPANO, Carlos / ESP / Yamaha Van Beers Racing / Yamaha / 40:39.963 11 / DOUGAN, Jason / GBR / Phoenix Tools CCM Racing / CCM / 40:46.249 12 / SWANEPOEL, Gareth / RSA / Kawasaki Racing Team / Kawasaki / 40:49.192 13 / MACKENZIE, Bryan / GBR / CAS Honda / Honda / 40:50.281 14 / FREIBERGS, Lauris / LAT / / Yamaha / 40:51.003 15 / LEONCE, Loic / FRA / JK Datch / Aprilia / 39:11.281 Fastest Lap: DESALLE, Clement in 1:55.131 on lap 2 MX1 World Motocross Championship StandingsPos Rider Total1 CAIROLI, Antonio 385, 2 NAGL, Maximilian 328, 3 PHILIPPAERTS, David 327, 4 COPPINS, Joshua 314, 5 DESALLE, Clement 309, 6 DE DYCKER, Ken 298, 7 LEOK, Tanel 270, 8 BARRAGAN, Jonathan 215, 9 LEOK, Aigar 167, 10 SWANEPOEL, Gareth 151, 11 VUILLEMIN, David 137, 12 PRIEM, Manuel 117, 13 ARANDA, Gregory 104, 14 MACKENZIE, Billy 103, 15 RAMON, Steve 100 MX2 Race 1 (20 laps = 30.8km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time 1 / MUSQUIN, Marvin / FRA / / KTM / 39:56.178 2 / GONCALVES, Rui / POR / Red Bull KTM Factory Racing / KTM / 40:01.682 3 / ROCZEN, Ken / GER / Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 / Suzuki / 40:01.943 4 / FROSSARD, Steven / FRA / CLS / Kawasaki / 40:09.096 5 / PAULIN, Gautier / FRA / Bud Racing / Kawasaki / PSM / Kawasaki / 40:12.578 6 / ROELANTS, Joel / BEL / KTM Factory Junior Team MX2 / KTM / 40:13.255 7 / GUARNERI, Davide / ITA / Monster Energy Ricci MX Team / Yamaha / 40:31.584 8 / VERBRUGGEN, Dennis / BEL / LS Motors Honda / Honda / 40:32.048 9 / MONNI, Manuel / ITA / 3C Racing - Yamaha / Yamaha / 40:32.236 10 / BOBRYSHEV, Evgeny / RUS / Yamaha Van Beers Racing / Yamaha / 40:55.190 11 / AUBIN, Nicolas / FRA / Monster Energy Ricci MX Team / Yamaha / 40:58.816 12 / SCHIFFER, Marcus / GER / KTM Sarholz Racing Team / KTM / 41:05.217 13 / KARRO, Matiss / LAT / MVR-D Suzuki / Suzuki / 41:07.664 14 / BOISSIERE, Anthony / FRA / KTM HDI Mx Team / KTM / 41:18.464 15 / BUTRON OLIVA, Jose Antonio / ESP / Beursfoon Suzuki MX Team / Suzuki / 41:22.716 Fastest Lap: MUSQUIN, Marvin in 1:52.330 on lap 1 MX2 Race 2 (20 laps = 30.8km) Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time 1 / GONCALVES, Rui / POR / Red Bull KTM Factory Racing / KTM / 40:32.203 2 / MUSQUIN, Marvin / FRA / / KTM / 40:46.336 3 / PAULIN, Gautier / FRA / Bud Racing / Kawasaki / PSM / Kawasaki / 40:55.992 4 / GUARNERI, Davide / ITA / Monster Energy Ricci MX Team / Yamaha / 41:18.604 5 / ROCZEN, Ken / GER / Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 / Suzuki / 41:22.414 6 / ROELANTS, Joel / BEL / KTM Factory Junior Team MX2 / KTM / 41:23.353 7 / VERBRUGGEN, Dennis / BEL / LS Motors Honda / Honda / 41:59.644 8 / SCHIFFER, Marcus / GER / KTM Sarholz Racing Team / KTM / 42:05.867 9 / BOBRYSHEV, Evgeny / RUS / Yamaha Van Beers Racing / Yamaha / 42:09.127 10 / BUTRON OLIVA, Jose Antonio / ESP / Beursfoon Suzuki MX Team / Suzuki / 42:10.074 11 / VAN HOREBEEK, Jeremy / BEL / KTM Factory Junior Team MX2 / KTM / 42:20.927 12 / KARRO, Matiss / LAT / MVR-D Suzuki / Suzuki / 42:22.868 13 / TONUS, Arnaud / SUI / KTM HDI Mx Team / KTM / 42:29.864 14 / TEILLET, Valentin / FRA / KTM Factory Junior Team MX2 / KTM / 42:31.598 15 / LARRIEU, Loic / FRA / Monster Energy Ricci MX Team / Yamaha / 42:33.375 Fastest Lap: MUSQUIN, Marvin in 1:54.239 on lap 2 MX2 World Motocross Championship StandingsPos Rider Total1 MUSQUIN, Marvin 371, 2 PAULIN, Gautier 322, 3 GONCALVES, Rui 301, 4 GUARNERI, Davide 296, 5 FROSSARD, Steven 264, 6 ROCZEN, Ken 200, 7 AUBIN, Nicolas 197, 8 BOOG, Xavier 197, 9 MONNI, Manuel 165, 10 VAN HOREBEEK, Jeremy 157, 11 ROELANTS, Joel 146, 12 SCHIFFER, Marcus 135, 13 LARRIEU, Loic 124, 14 BOISSIERE, Anthony 122, 15 TONUS, Arnaud 120. Article Source: Honda Pro Images
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