Philippaerts podium at Loket
By TMX Archives on 9th Aug 09
The Grand Prix of Czech Republic at the hard and fast Loket circuit deep in the western region of the country saw Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's David Philippaerts take 3rd position on his works YZ450FM as three Yamaha riders classified in the top five at the thirteenth round of fifteen in the FIM MX1-GP Motocross World Championship, attended by 21,000 people.
Light cloud and hot sunshine were the conditions for race-day but the quick, simple and slippery course close to the resort town of Karlovy Vary was still challenging by virtue of its tendency to punish mistakes. Lap-times were close and start positions important; it was tough for riders to gain time so the 35 minute and 2 lap motos became relentless sprints.
Philippaerts, competing at the venue where he was victorious in 2008, gained his second consecutive Czech trophy in his fifth podium ceremony of the season after intense skirmishes with team-mate Josh Coppins in the first moto and countryman Tony Cairoli in the second. The reigning world champion went 3-3 for his first rostrum appearance since the GP of France.
In 4th was Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Cairoli. The Sicilian was struggling with a cold over the weekend and had to recover from a chaotic first corner in Moto1 when he was pushed wide and up onto the narrow banking next to the crowd. Slipping down to rejoin the pack he was submerged into the second half of the pack and had to use all his guile to rise to 6th, with team-mate Tanel Leok graciously moving over to allow the MX1-GP series leader to gain another position on the last lap. Cairoli was able to negotiate the opening turn in stronger fashion in Moto2 and after a substantial part of the race looking for a way to make a concrete move on Philippaerts -which he managed in the final ten minutes - was ultimately too far from leader Clement Desalle. Cairoli missed the podium for only the fourth time this year.
Josh Coppins was the last Yamaha representative in the first five and the New Zealander's 5th spot was earned with results of 4th and 5th positions. His tussle with Philippaerts for 3rd in Moto1 was entertaining and a goggle fault and near-miss on the first corner meant that he had to recover from mid-pack for his second race ranking.
Tanel Leok had an unlucky day and despite effective speed and courteous riding to finish 7th in the first race he suffered two crashes and a small problem with his rear brake to only make 15th later in the day for 12th overall.
Cairoli has a 45 point margin in the MX1 Rider's table. This means that the former double MX2 world champion can lift the premier class crown in his maiden season in a matter of weeks if he gains 6 points more than Max Nagl in Holland. Just 100 points remain up for grabs in the series and Cairoli has held the red plate since round three at Turkey. Philippaerts is 3rd and 30 points from Nagl but just 2 in front of Desalle. Coppins is 6th and Leok 7th.
Yamaha maintain their streak of a YZ machine on every Grand Prix rostrum to-date. A 53 point lead is currently held in the Manufacturer's standings with the possibility of the title being confirmed at the following race.
A small break now precedes the penultimate round of the FIM World Championship. Round fourteen will take place within the wide sandy straights of the Lierop circuit for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in three weeks time. The final meeting will be at Canelinha in Brazil on the second weekend of September.
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 3rd:
"I am happy with today. I like the track here at Loket and enjoyed the win last year. Since my last podium in France I have had some physical problems that took me one month to get rid of but now things are much better. It is hard to pass and I had good fight with Josh in the first moto, perhaps it went on longer than it should because I made a mistake. I had the same experience with Cairoli in the second race; any battle with Cairoli is always hard! He had some good lines and lap-times and looks as though he will be champion this year. This season has not been easy for me but we have two more GPs now and I want to get a top three position at least."
Tony Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 4th:
"Today I had two really good starts but I did not expect Max to come so close to my wheel. I ran off the track and it was pretty dangerous because I was on a narrow ridge right next to the public. I jumped back down into the group and was back in 25th so I was passing as many riders as quick as I could, which was not easy at all. I finished 6th and have to thank Tanel because he moved over on the last lap and that was a nice gesture. In the second moto the same thing almost happened at the start and I just avoided the green fence. I had to brake and could not believe it when I was again in the middle of the group. Fortunately I had a good line in the second corner and came up the hill inside the top ten. I started to push and made ground but lost some time when I reached David. He was a bit slower than me but we had a good fight and it was enjoyable to race like that with him. When I was in second with just ten minutes to go Desalle was so far and it would have been risky to catch him. I have not lost too many points to Nagl and I hope in Lierop - with my good condition - I can push hard and try to have a decent race there. I had a cold at the start of the weekend but today was not so bad. I was struggling to cleanly breathe sometimes but it was not a major problem."
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 5th:
"A tough day at the office. I rode pretty well and it got off to a good start. I had a decent battle with David there for a while, he passed me, made a mistake and I could get him back and finished fourth by the line. I was away really well in the second moto but Nagl hit me hard on the first corner. I got roosted and my tear-offs were rubbish from that point. I did the best I could to fight back but the goggle lens popped out and I was getting dirt and dust in my vision all the time. Overall I felt I performed OK here but just missed a break to get a better overall result."
Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 9th:
"My speed and my feeling was good on this track but I had really bad luck today. My start could have been better in the first heat and it was difficult to pass. I started better in the second moto but around the second corner Aranda was on the inside of me and pushing wide and I slid out. I ended up with a lot of people and bikes on top of me. I tried to get going but nudged the back wheel of Priem and went down again. When I restarted I was coming through but had to stop to take out a stone from the rear brake! It was a nightmare race."
Last Years Winner: David Philippaerts
2009 GP of Czech Republic 09/08/2009
Race 1 - 21 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 39'02.888
2 Clement Desalle Honda BEL 0'10.188
3 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'21.531
4 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'22.734
5 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'23.854
6 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'25.147
7 Tanel Leok Yamaha EST 0'32.151
8 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 0'47.271
9 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 0'51.509
10 Manuel Priem Aprilia BEL 0'55.829
11 Julien Bill Aprilia CHE 0'59.347
12 Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 1'11.154
13 Jason Dougan CCM GBR 1'15.252
14 Tom Church CCM GBR 1'16.420
15 Filip Neugebauer Kawasaki CZE 1'17.303
Race 2 - 21 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Clement Desalle Honda BEL 39'40.072
2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'16.564
3 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'24.609
4 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'29.833
5 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'33.593
6 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'40.831
7 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'52.202
8 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 1'03.342
9 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 1'11.859
10 Loic Leonce Aprilia FRA 1'19.504
11 Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 1'25.676
12 Tom Church CCM GBR 1'27.297
13 Manuel Priem Aprilia BEL 1'30.070
14 Filip Neugebauer Kawasaki CZE 1'34.452
15 Tanel Leok Yamaha EST 1'35.395
19 Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED -1Laps
Rider Standings 09/08/2009
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 503
2. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 458
3. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 428
4. Clement Desalle Honda BEL 426
5. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 409
6. Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 409
7. Tanel Leok Yamaha EST 347
8. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 218
9. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 215
10. Manuel Priem Aprilia BEL 178
11. Aigar Leok TM EST 167
12. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 153
13. David Vuillemin Kawasaki FRA 150
14. Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 143
15. Tom Church CCM GBR 105
17. Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 100
27. Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED 37
38. Lauris Freibergs Yamaha LVA 12
49. Davis Livs Yamaha LVA 4
Manufacturer Standings 09/08/2009
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Yamaha 571
2. KTM 518
3. Honda 461
4. Suzuki 426
5. Kawasaki 272
6. Aprilia 211
7. TM 172
8. CCM 140