Philippaerts third in MX 1 Moneyglass Ireland
By TMX Archives on 19th Aug 07
KTM Red Bull factory rider David Philippaerts put in a solid day's MX1 racing at a brand new track in Northern Ireland for fourth and third in the two motos for overall third at the Grand Prix of Northern Ireland.
But while the Italian rider was on the podium, it was a mixed day for hisSpanish teammate Jonathan Barragan who was third in the first moto then had toretire with some technical problems in the second. Barragan's 20 points from thefirst heat was sufficient to allow him to finish in eleventh overall.
"I did have some small throttle problems in the second heat, Philippaertssaid. "But I still managed to do the best I could and I am quite satisfied withthe weekend. In fact the bike went very well all weekend and I like this kind oftrack, even if some of the landings were a little too soft. I am now gettingcloser to Pourcel and I hope to be able to close the gap," he said. Just 11points separate Pourcel, still in third place on the standings, and Philippaertsin fourth and with two rounds to go, the Italian is still hopeful of capturinghis season podium.
Rain that deluged the area on Friday and reduced practice to a minimum timeon Saturday cleared for the race day but many of the riders agreed withPhilippaerts that some of the landing areas were too soft.
Barragan said he was disappointed that after a solid finish in the first motothat he was prevented from following it up with a podium on a day wheneverything seemed to be going his way. "I had a good speed and a good rhythm andafter the first heat I was confident that I had a good chance to make a podiumtoday," Barragan added. Team Boss Stefan Evert agreed and said he still hopedthat one of his riders would be on the podium at season's end.
In the week leading up to the next round, to be held on a brand new course atDonington Park, David will stay on in England to train with Tommy Searle andother members of the team. Jonathan plans to go to Belgium to train and returnto the UK next weekend.
Results
1. Kevin Strijbos, Belgium, Suzuki
2. Sebastien Pourcel, France, Kawasaki
3. David Philippaerts, Italy, KTM
4. Ken de Dyker, Belgium, Honda
5. Steve Ramon, Belgium, Suzuki
11. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM.
