Cairoli returns to MX2 happy hunting ground
By TMX Archives on 3rd Sep 07
MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli was back on his favoured De Carli tuned YZ250F for Lierop just seven days after his sensational maiden outing and victory on the 2008 YZ450F at Donington Park.
The Sicilian had already helped provide Yamaha with the manufacturer's titleonce again in the category and at the gray and overcast sandy circuit nearEindhoven for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands he took his eighth double motosuccess in a totally dominant season.
The 21 year old Sicilian who hadhis championship-winning party to look forward to in the town of Lommel onSunday evening raced to his 10th GP, 20th and 21st moto wins and 13th podiumfrom the 14 MX2 rounds in which he participated.
He gave himself a lotof work to do in the first sprint after starting badly but ploughed through thesand in front of 36,000 spectators to pass a series of riders and hound leaderGareth Swanepoel. Cairoli treated the fans to another one of his last lap chasesand overtook the South African with less than one circulation remaining for yetone more grandstand finish to add to his collection from Spain, Portugal andNorthern Ireland.
The second affair was a little more straightforward afterhe took the first part of the moto to pursue and then relegate Rui Goncalves andwon by five seconds from Erik Eggens.
Yamaha Team Ricci's Nico Aubin wasfifth overall and recovered well from a poor launch from the gate in Moto1 totake eighth position. He ran with the leaders in the second race and was part ofstruggle with Gareth Swanepoel for fourth which he eventually had to concede.The nineteen year old has enjoyed something of a breakthrough season in 2007 andemerged as one of the most impressive 'new' talents of the year. He was just sixpoints away from a top five championship position and closed the campaign insixth.
Kenneth Gundersen led parts of the opening moto and took a solidthird place by the end of the 35 minutes and two laps. Unfortunately he couldnot repeat the classification and go for the overall podium after a woeful startin the second race. He did not complete the distance after a crash forced a DNF.The Norwegian, who registered three top three results this year, was tenth inthe final standings and also the Grand Prix.
Davide Guarneri ended aturbulent year on a low note and nineteenth overall with just one finish in thefirst moto (thirteenth). The Italian had partially recovered from the groininjury that prevented his participation in the British round of the worldchampionship last week but a crash in the second race and a long time to restartplaced him out of contention for a top twenty berth. An ankle break early in theseason meant that the third rider of the Ricci squad was always chasing the topten in the championship (he finished twelfth) but can look to his maiden win atNamur as an obvious highlight.
A special mention must go to PSM Teamrider Xavier Boog who clocked his best world championship finish with sixthposition overall today.
Yamaha have three riders in the top ten of thefinal MX2 World Championship standings and six from the top fifteen. Cairoli,Guarneri and Aubin will represent their countries at Budds Creek for theMotocross of Nations in the USA in three weeks time.
Antonio Cairoli,De Carli Yamaha:
"I am really happy for today. We worked on the bikeyesterday but I was not really satisfied and things were much better for theraces. I felt strong and my condition was also good. The championship is overand this has been a great way to end it. I have never won before in Lierop andto win two motos was another achievement. I want to say thanks to everybody forthis season."
Nico Aubin, Yamaha Team Ricci:
"I am not veryhappy. In the first heat I had a horrible start and some arm-pump but came backto eighth. It wasn't a bad comeback but very difficult. In the second moto Istarted better and at last felt OK in the sand. Gareth got close to me and Ithought that if he overtook me then I would lose places in the championship butthis wasn't the case. To finish sixth this year wasn't too bad but I reallywanted top five. Anyway it is like this, and next year I will work really hardwith the team and my trainer to be better."
Kenneth Gundersen, YamahaTeam Ricci:
"It was another shame. The first race was so good but I againhad a bad start in the second race and I didn't finish. We now have six monthsuntil the next GP so I will go home, get some rest and start working again. Theteam have been great to me for the last two years and I am only sorry that I didnot make the results I should have. I had two nice seasons with the Ricci teamand I wish them success in the future. If I make the decision to ride MX1 nextyear I think it will be better for me, having a more power powerful bike."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Team Ricci:
"The track was reallybumpy and difficult. I was not able to train much after Namur because theweather was really bad and then I had a problem with my groin. The first motowas not too bad and I took it easy for the first fifteen minutes. I pushed inthe middle of the race but got tired towards the end and finished thirteenth;that was not so bad for the sand. In the second race I started low down and thencrashed after 15 minutes. I think I needed another 15 minutes to pick up thebike and get going again! I was so far behind that I retired. In the Italianchampionship before the season I felt good but then broke my ankle and I missedfour races trying to come back to fitness and speed. I had to go step by step.In Sweden, Loket and Namur I was really fast but then had this problem and I hadalready lost a lot of points."
2007 GP of Lierop, Netherlands02/09/2007
Race 1 - 17 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'35.785
2 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'4.990
3 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'41.299
4 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'41.832
5 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'6.116
6 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'10.838
7 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'11.968
8 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 1'12.825
9 Wyatt Avis KTM RSA 1'24.430
10 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'25.923
11 Rob van Vijfeijken KTM NED 1'27.467
12 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'29.651
13 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'38.336
14 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA1'40.971
15 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'42.041
16 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR1'42.834
17 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'56.280
18 Anthony BoissireKawasaki FRA 2'4.213
19 Rinus Van de Ven KTM NED 2'5.621
20 ShaunSimpson Kawasaki GBR 2'6.338
Race 2 - 17 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu.Nat. Total Time
1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 42'13.317
2 Erik EggensSuzuki NED 0'5.024
3 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'7.934
4 Gareth SwanepoelKawasaki RSA 0'8.714
5 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'29.402
6 Xavier BoogYamaha FRA 1'10.620
7 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 1'16.746
8 Jeremy VanHorebeek KTM BEL 1'23.908
9 Anthony Boissire Kawasaki FRA 1'36.526
10Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'42.445
11 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 2'1.393
12Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 2'6.920
13 Rob van Vijfeijken KTM NED 2'17.371
14 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR -1 Laps
15 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA -1 Laps
16 Gert Krestinov KTM EST -1 Laps
17 Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR -1 Laps
18 Rinus Van de Ven KTM NED -1 Laps
19 Mike Kras Suzuki NED -1 Laps
20 Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA -1 Laps
26 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA -14 Laps
28 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL -14 Laps
Rider Standings02/09/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Antonio Cairoli YamahaITA 660
2. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 510
3. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA436
4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 371
5. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 364
6. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 358
7. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 320
8.Matti Seistola Honda FIN 276
9. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 260
10. KennethGundersen Yamaha NOR 244
11. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 243
12. DavideGuarneri Yamaha ITA 226
13. Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 219
14. Carl NunnYamaha GBR 198
15. Anthony Boissire Kawasaki FRA 192
16. Jeremy VanHorebeek KTM BEL 167
17. Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 160
18. Matteo BoniniYamaha ITA 157
19. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 144
20. Tom Church KawasakiGBR 140
31. Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 30
Manufacturer Standings02/09/2007
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Yamaha 721
2. KTM 616
3. Kawasaki 546
4. Honda 435
5. Suzuki 259
