Guarneri's first GP win only highlight for Yamaha
By TMX Archives on 5th Aug 07
With FIM MX1 World Championship leader Josh Coppins out of action due to a small shoulder break and second rider Marc de Reuver unable to get to grips with narrow and fast circuit at Namur, Yamaha Motocross Team were unfortunately without a representative for the Grand Prix of Belgium and the twelfth round of fifteen in the 2007 series watched by a 31,000 crowd today.
The injury to Coppins - that hopefully should onlymean a one race absence - and De Reuver's unsuccessful attempts to posta lap-time that put him in the top thirty on Saturday meant that theItalian team were not able to count on a rider for Sunday's races forthe first time ever in their long and successful history. Prior to lastweek's GP of Czech Republic, Coppins had been present on the podium atnine of ten races, winning five.
After Sebastien Pourcel won the Grand Prix with David Philippaertssecond and Tanel Leok third, Coppins' advantage in the rider'sstandings has been reduced from 77 to 43 points - Steve Ramon was fifthoverall - with three rounds (Ireland, Britain and Holland) remainingand 150 points left to win.
For De Reuver a practice crash and a lack of confidence around the'enduro-esque' 2500m circuit (tight, bumpy, dark and tree-lined) sawhim miss the qualification cut-off mark for the first occasion since heentered Grand Prix racing in 2001.
The world championship will reconvene at Moneyglass Demense for theGrand Prix of Northern Ireland in two weeks time and the meeting willbe the first of three weekends in a row leading to the climax of theseason.
Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team:
"We honestly don't know what happened with Marcand I don't think he does either. He is completely lost at the momentin terms of confidence and motivation. He did not complain about thebike but admitted that he was scared out there. We are trying tosupport him as much as possible in many different ways but somethingneeds to click inside of him and there is only so much we can do. Thereis no more news about Josh's injury at the moment. We have to wait abit more to see what condition he might be in for Ireland. He will tryto ride just before the GP."
2007 GP of Namur, Belgium 05/08/2007
Race 1 - 15 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 42'55.504
2 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'4.092
3 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'8.516
4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'9.304
5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'11.555
6 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'23.734
7 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'27.230
8 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'29.276
9 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 0'34.197
10 Julien Bill Honda CHE 0'35.471
11 James Noble Honda GBR 1'7.410
12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'12.053
13 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'26.683
14 Alessio Chiodi Aprilia ITA 1'27.639
15 Lauris Freibergs Yamaha LVA 1'29.093
16 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'31.529
17 Alex Salvini Yamaha ITA 1'34.672
18 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'34.769
19 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 1'37.488
20 Kristof Salaets Yamaha BEL 1'50.233
Race 2 - 15 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 43'10.344
2 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'4.495
3 Julien Bill Honda CHE 0'6.162
4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'11.408
5 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'23.604
6 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'43.697
7 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'48.719
8 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'56.944
9 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 1'1.761
10 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'5.817
11 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 1'9.209
12 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'15.983
13 Lauris Freibergs Yamaha LVA 1'30.403
14 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'33.645
15 Alessio Chiodi Aprilia ITA 1'36.840
16 Cedric Melotte Aprilia BEL 1'48.966
17 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 1'58.975
18 Bradley Anderson Yamaha GBR 2'5.060
19 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 2'17.082
20 James Noble Honda GBR 2'34.749
Rider Standings 05/08/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 445
2. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 402
3. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 362
4. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 351
5. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 334
6. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 311
7. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 309
8. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 304
9. Mike Brown Honda USA 299
10. Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 271
11. James Noble Honda GBR 223
12. Manuel Priem TM BEL 174
13. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 167
14. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 147
15. Julien Bill Honda CHE 146
16. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 129
17. Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 113
18. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 107
19. Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 102
20. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 92
Manufacturer Standings 05/08/2007
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Yamaha 478
2. Suzuki 471
3. Kawasaki 438
4. KTM 432
5. Honda 407
6. TM 174
7. Aprilia 31
RACE REPORT 05/08/2007
Guarneri's maiden victory gives Yamaha Team Ricci second consecutive success
The twelfth round of fifteen in the 2007 MX2 World Championship hasbeen another memorable meeting for Team Yamaha Ricci as Davide Guarneriwon his first ever Grand Prix at Namur for the Belgian round of thecalendar. The Italian's triumph, with results of fourth and third,comes one week after Nicolas Aubin's victory in the Czech Republic.World Championship leader Antonio Cairoli finished eighth and off thepodium for the first time this season after a first moto start crash.
The circuit around the lofty Citadelle setting - a former militaryfortress - offered its usual array of fast, technical and sometimesdangerous elements. The tree-lined course was narrow with hard andbumpy terrain. The layout is nearly double the normal length of a GrandPrix track and loops around the hillside in the centre of the town withtree roots, dark shade, very steep drops and hardly any overtakingpossibilities forming part of its features.
Guarneri was fast from the beginning of the weekend and took secondplace in his qualification heat behind Christophe Pourcel. He rodesuperbly in the first Grand Prix moto of 35 minutes and 2 laps durationcoming back from eighteenth place and an unwilling member of a firstcorner pile-up to pass fourteen riders and engage in an entertainingscrap for third, in which he finally took fourth. In the next moto hemoved his performance up a level and with a better exit from the gatewas one of only several riders this year to break the double-act ofPourcel and Cairoli at the front of the field. He only led for a lapbut was a constant threat and only slowed down in the final twocirculations with fatigue but safe in the knowledge that the overallwin was safe.
Cairoli won his first Grand Prix here in 2004 but there was to be norepeat of his partying three years later. The Italian was left limpingon Saturday after a slower rider moved across his line and resulted ina nasty-looking collision. Cairoli hurt his right leg but was able toride without any major problem and won his eleventh qualification heatof the season.
The 21 year old was hit by Christophe Pourcelcoming out of the gate and then collided again with the fallenFrenchman on the first corner of race one. Cairoli had to drop the bikeand rip out the green fencing that had caught in his rear wheel meaningthat he was at least half of a long lap behind once he restarted. The2005 world champion kept pushing and reached sixteenth position by theflag for five points. It was still more than Pourcel, who crashedheavily on lap 12. The race was won by Tommy Searle.
The Sicilian resumed normal service in the second outing althoughPourcel was very quick and Guarneri also complicated matters. Anear-accident aggravated his already weak left index finger and hebriefly slipped back to third. The nine-times GP winner gritted histeeth and hassled Pourcel for the lead until the very end of aphysically intense sprint and lost out by less than a second, takingthe runner-up spot.
Grand Prix of Czech Republic winner Nicolas Aubin had a tough day. TheFrenchman made mistakes with both of his starts and actually caught thegate in the first moto. At the back of the field he was never going totrouble the riders fighting for podium positions but found some placesto overtake and come back to eleventh. In the second race he slippedoff the Yamaha and bruised his hip; the pain meant that he could notcontinue.
Kenneth Gundersen had to come through the LastChance session on Saturday after a freak problem saw his carburettorbecome dislodged. The Norwegian was badly placed in the outside of thegate and at a disadvantage for the start. The Yamaha Team Ricci ridercontested third place for the second half of the opening race alongwith Guarneri and Marcus Schiffer before finally sealing fifth. Hecould not finish the second moto after a small crash caused more painin the shoulder he had injured at Loket seven days previously.
Frenchman Xavier Boog took his best ever Grand Prix classification with seventh position overall on the PSM Yamaha machine.
Three Yamaha riders have now used the YZ250F towin ten of the twelve Grand Prix run this season. Only six of thetwenty-four motos have not been owned by the YZ.
With 150 points left to win in the 2007 seasonAntonio Cairoli is now within touching distance of his second worldchampionship. He has a lead of 124 points. Aubin is seventh, Gundersenninth and Guarneri has moved up to eleventh after his good form ofrecent weeks and having missed the first two months of the year due toan injury with his left ankle.
Consecutive Grand Prixs in Northern Ireland, Great Britain and TheNetherlands will close the season and the trek across northern Europebegins in two weeks time with the meeting at Moneyglass.
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Team Ricci:
"I saw in Loket that I had the speed and I thoughtthat a podium might be possible soon but I honestly did not expect awin! The track was very difficult and bumpy. To come back to fourthfrom that bad start and crash was very good. In the second race I triedto fight as much as possible with Cairoli and Pourcel and got throughto the lead for a lap but it was too quick for me there and I startedto feel tired. I had some problems at the beginning of the season withmy ankle and knee and of course I am happy to come back to this level.I am so pleased for me and also the team that we can win for the secondtime."
Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha:
"It was a really difficult race for me; I did notlike the track and I think it is really dangerous. I had two bigcrashes, one yesterday and another this morning, so I was a bitcautious. Christophe fell in front of me in the first moto so I went toride over his bike but caught the green fence in my rear wheel. I losta least a minute trying to sort this out and restarted far behind. Icould come back to sixteenth and this was made slightly better by thefact that Pourcel did not finish.
I led the second race for quite a while butstrained my injured finger on a heavy landing from a jump. I had a lotof pain and could not hold the bars for at least 500m. I could not dothat jump on the next laps so Christophe and Guarneri came close andhad better lap-times at that moment. Towards the end I pushed hardagain because I wanted to win the heat but Christophe was really fastand I did not want to take a big risk."
Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Team Ricci:
"I made mistakes with both of my starts today. Iwent too early and hit the gate in the first moto. I was last and cameback to eleventh which I was quite pleased with given thecircumstances. The track is not the best for me but I was enjoyingmyself on the bike and had a good feeling. Again I made a mess of thesecond moto and had a crash after six laps that left me with a painfulhip. I could not continue at a good speed and retired. It is adisappointing weekend but I feel fast and happy on the bike so I know Iwill again be back at the front."
Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci:
"The whole weekend was quite good. On Friday I didnot know if I could ride with my shoulder but I was quick through mostof the sessions and had some bad luck in the qualifying race. I pickedup the corner of a banner in one corner and it ended up popping off thecarburettor and it gave me a bad start position for today. In the firstmoto it was great to be back near the front, even if I did not have asmuch strength as normal. I started badly in the second race and cameback to fourteenth but fell off in a corner and put my hand out when Iwent down. I had some more pain and did not want to try and tackleNamur with a bad arm. Now I have two weeks to get better. I am reallyhappy for the team and also Davide; I hope it will be my turn next!"
Circuit Length: 2457
Temp: 32
Crowd: 31000
Weather: Sunny
2007 GP of Namur, Belgium 05/08/2007
Race 1 - 15 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 43'33.506
2 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'3.427
3 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 0'3.894
4 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 0'14.095
5 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'14.747
6 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'15.741
7 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 0'20.412
8 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'21.323
9 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 0'24.348
10 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 0'29.244
11 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'32.737
12 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 0'34.176
13 Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 0'36.505
14 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 0'49.924
15 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'51.827
16 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 1'3.988
17 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'5.847
18 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR 1'21.051
19 Matthias Walkner KTM AUT 1'32.840
20 Ray Rowson Kawasaki GBR 2'25.809
Race 2 - 15 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 40'50.164
2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'0.719
3 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 0'18.907
4 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'23.480
5 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'26.256
6 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'28.349
7 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 0'30.785
8 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 0'31.092
9 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'35.102
10 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'43.326
11 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 0'46.246
12 Gautier Paulin Honda FRA 1'3.841
13 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'11.134
14 Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 1'19.488
15 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'20.902
16 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 1'22.331
17 Matthias Walkner KTM AUT 1'23.067
18 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'31.295
19 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'35.891
20 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 2'4.975
Rider Standings 05/08/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 560
2. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 436
3. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 387
4. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 371
5. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 320
6. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 286
7. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 272
8. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 231
9. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 213
10. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 204
11. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 192
12. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 177
13. Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 163
14. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 156
15. Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 146
16. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 103
17. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 101
18. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 100
19. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 93
20. Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 92
23. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 77
37. Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 6
Manufacturer Standings 05/08/2007
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Yamaha 576
2. KTM 487
3. Kawasaki 466
4. Honda 372
5. Suzuki 191