2006 FIM Motocross World Championship
By TMX Archives on 2nd Jul 06
Red Bull KTM rider David Philippaerts steered his 250 SX-F to a third consecutive victory today at a sunny, hot and crowded Uddevalla circuit for the Grand Prix of Sweden and the ninth round of fifteen in the 2006 FIM Motocross World Championships.
19,000 people scaled the rocky hillside and circulated the popular venue less than 100km north of Gothenburg to witness the four motos of the MX1 and MX2 classes. The track had undergone numerous alterations including several new jumps and an altogether more technical layout compared to years past. The terrain was still hard and dry with the rocky, loose soil forming shallow berms and ruts, but this did not impose on some interesting action.
The first MX2 sprint must rank as one of the best races of the season. Three riders led proceedings with Christophe Pourcel, Antonio Cairoli and Philippaerts all taking their turn in the spotlight. A furious last lap dash between Cairoli and Philippaerts was decided on the final corner and by a tenth of a second when the winner of the Italian and British GP – who was using some new engine modifications and suspension alterations - ran fast and wide to beat his Yamaha rival. The closest finish in the sport this century thus far led to some confusion with Philippaerts not even knowing he had won his fourth moto from the last six until he had pulled into the podium area.
In the second outing on a bumpier and rougher surface the Italian had to concede spoils to Pourcel but second place was good enough for the overall.
Marc de Reuver bounced back to form with 4th and 5th to tie on points for the lower step of the podium but took fourth due to Tommy Searle's better moto finish. The Dutchman looked more like his aggressive self and was only shackled by two average starts.
Tyla Rattray is still not 100% fit with his ankle injury and weathered some first moto fatigue to score fifth position. The South African was on course for a top three slot after lunch but an engine problem dropped him back to 21st.
The track conditions suited Carl Nunn better than the last few weeks but a dodgy start in Moto1 meant he struggled to break into the top ten and was frustrated with 11th. A modification to his bike with a clutch change for race two delivered a steady 7th for another top ten overall position.
Philippaerts has now risen to second in the MX2 series thanks to his excellent recent run. He stares at a 46 point deficit to Christophe Pourcel and is just 2 points in front of Cairoli. De Reuver is 4th, Rattray 5th (89 points adrift) and Nunn in 7th and gaining ground on Billy Mackenzie in 6th.
In MX1 Jonathan Barragan harried World Champion Stefan Everts after taking his first hole-shot of the season in the opening foray. The young Spaniard pressurised the reigning number one throughout the duration of the 35 minute and 2 laps race but could not get close enough to attempt to pass. His good work was undone later though when a crash and damaged clutch forced his fifth retirement of the campaign. The Portuguese ‘podiumee' is sixth in the Championship standings but faces a large 80 point gap to fifth.
The Grand Prix series will now pause for another weekend so that the teams can get their machinery crated and sent to South Africa where the Sun City complex will entertain the tenth meeting of the season.
David Philippaerts:
"Today was really good. In the first heat I picked up a decent speed after starting around tenth and beat Cairoli by less than a second at the flag so I was really pleased by that. I don't know I had won but Alice came up to me and gave me the good news. In the second heat I saw that Pourcel was really fast and that Cairoli had gone and the others like Tyla and Marc were also behind. To win the GP and take some extra points was perfect. The second moto was very tiring because the track was so bumpy and there were a lot of lines so it was difficult.”
Tyla Rattray:
"Things were going good in that second moto until we had a problem. It was a hard weekend because my ankle is still not 100% but I did have a good feeling on the bike and it was better to get something close to the speed I was showing in Italy before the crash. I hope my run of bad luck will sort itself out very soon.”
Marc de Reuver:
"If you look at my last race then I feel that this GP was a step forward again. I just missed the podium and I was happy with my riding. The bike was running good this weekend and I only really made a mistake with my start in the second moto. I was still able to come back to the top five and it was a shame that the gaps between the others were too big to do something about. Overall I am very happy.”
Carl Nunn:
"Today I have just tried to be consistent with my races. I wished I could have been in the top ten in that first moto but I was content with seventh later on. I changed the clutch for the second race because the bike wasn't driving out of the gate like I wanted and that seemed to make a little bit of difference. It was a hard day and certainly one of the hottest we have had so far. It will be nice to have a free weekend now because with the British Championship it has been a hectic time.
Jonathan Barragan:
"Today went from the best to the worst. I started well in that second moto but a few people passed me and I had trouble finding a good rhythm. I crashed in one of the turns and my wrist just wasn't strong enough to save the bike. I broke the clutch cover and couldn't continue. I was really happy after the first race and it was a shame things turned out like they did.”
MX1 Moto1
1. EVERTS Stefan BEL YAMAHA
2. BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA KTM
3. COPPINS Joshua NZL HONDA
4. RAMON Steve BEL SUZUKI
5. LEOK Tanel EST KAWASAKI
6. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL SUZUKI
7. CROCKARD Gordon GBR HONDA
8. DE DYCKER Ken BEL HONDA
9. GARCIA VICO Javier SPA HONDA
10. NOBLE James GBR HONDA
MX1 Moto2
1. EVERTS Stefan BEL YAMAHA
2. RAMON Steve BEL SUZUKI
3. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL SUZUKI
4. CROCKARD Gordon GBR HONDA
5. COPPINS Joshua NZL HONDA
6. NEMETH Kornel HUN SUZUKI
7. GARCIA VICO Javier SPA HONDA
8. NOBLE James GBR HONDA
9. DE DYCKER Ken BEL HONDA
10. BILL Julien SUI YAMAHA
26. BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA KTM
MX1 Overall result
1. EVERTS Stefan BEL YAMAHA 50
2. RAMON Steve BEL SUZUKI 40
3. COPPINS Joshua NZL HONDA 36
4. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL SUZUKI 35
5. CROCKARD Gordon GBR HONDA 32
6. GARCIA VICO Javier SPA HONDA 26
7. DE DYCKER Ken BEL HONDA 25
8. NOBLE James GBR HONDA 24
9. BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA KTM 22
10. NEMETH Kornel HUN SUZUKI 19
MX1 World Championship standings after 9 of 15 rounds
1. EVERTS Stefan BEL 442
2. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL 328
3. LEOK Tanel EST 294
4. RAMON Steve BEL 294
5. DE DYCKER Ken BEL 292
6. BARRAGAN J. SPA 212
7. GARCIA VICO J. SPA 165
8. LEURET Pascal FRA 159
9. MELOTTE Cedric BEL 157
10. PRIEM Manuel BEL 146
MX2 Moto1
1. PHILIPPAERTS David ITA KTM
2. CAIROLI Antonio ITA YAMAHA
3. POURCEL Christophe FRA KAWASAKI
4. DE REUVER Marc NED KTM
5. RATTRAY Tyla RSA KTM
6. SWANEPOEL Gareth RSA KAWASAKI
7. SEARLE Tommy GBR KAWASAKI
8. CHIODI Alessio ITA YAMAHA
9. GONCALVES Rui POR KTM
10. GUNDERSEN Kenneth NOR YAMAHA
11. NUNN Carl GBR KTM
MX2 Moto2
1. POURCEL Christophe FRA KAWASAKI
2. PHILIPPAERTS David ITA KTM
3. SEARLE Tommy GBR KAWASAKI
4. SWANEPOEL Gareth RSA KAWASAKI
5. DE REUVER Marc NED KTM
6. GUARNERI Davide ITA YAMAHA
7. NUNN Carl GBR KTM
8. GUNDERSEN Kenneth NOR YAMAHA
9. MACKENZIE Billy GBR YAMAHA
10. POURCEL Sébastien FRA KAWASAKI
21. RATTRAY Tyla RSA KTM
MX2 Overall result
1. PHILIPPAERTS David ITA KTM 47
2. POURCEL Christophe FRA KAWASAKI 45
3. SEARLE Tommy GBR KAWASAKI 34
4. DE REUVER Marc NED KTM 34
5. SWANEPOEL Gareth RSA KAWASAKI 33
6. CAIROLI Antonio ITA YAMAHA 31
7. NUNN Carl GBR KTM 24
8. GUNDERSEN Kenneth NOR YAMAHA 24
9. CHIODI Alessio ITA YAMAHA 21
10. RATTRAY Tyla RSA KTM 16
MX2 World Championship standings after 9 of 15 rounds
1. POURCEL C. FRA 350
2. PHILIPPAERTS D. ITA 304
3. CAIROLI Antonio ITA 302
4. DE REUVER Marc NED 284
5. RATTRAY Tyla RSA 261
6. MACKENZIE Billy GBR 213
7. NUNN Carl GBR 205
8. SEARLE Tommy GBR 196
9. GUNDERSEN K. NOR 194
10. SWANEPOEL Gareth RSA 181