Red Bull KTM MX2 riders colour it Orange in Latvia
By TMX Archives on 28th Jun 09
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Rui Goncalves rode a masterly second moto in Latvia on Sunday to snatch his third MX2 GP victory of the season and move into third in the championship standings. Team-mate Marvin Musquin was overall second.
Goncalves ended the day with equal points with Musquin who won the first motoand was second to Goncalves in the second - but this time the GP glory went tothe Portuguese rider. Musquin, also satisfied with his weekend, retains thecoveted red plate and consolidates his lead in the world championship standingsand now has a 49-point lead on second placed Frenchman Gautier Paulin.
The win for Goncalves, who was also on pole, was a hugeconfidence boost and he clearly enjoyed the conditions at the new worldchampionship venue at Kegums in Latvia.
Rui Goncalves: "This wasmy third GP win and it was great to win here at this new track. It's the firsttime we have had a race here so it's a bit like going into the MX history books.I already had a very good impression of the track when I walked it on Friday andI knew I was going to enjoy the racing here. It was a bit soft on a hard surfaceand there were many lines. Now my goal is to keep riding like I did this weekendand to be on the podium as many times as possible. I am in a great team and Ihave a great bike and because of this I want to do my best."
MarvinMusquin: "It was a good weekend, a good result for me and also good for mychampionship points. This was a slippery track on a hard surface and it gotquite bumpy but that did not worry me. My bike is strong and so am I. Eventhough I won the first race, I didn't expect an easy second race. I knew thatRui was very strong especially on this kind of track. I tried to catch him inthe second but I could see his was fast so I tried to be happy with second placeand not push too much. I don't have to be sad about coming second today."
Everts satisfied with whole team effort
Red Bull KTM FactoryRacing's team boss Stefan Everts was delighted with having both of his MX2riders on the podium. "It was a great MX2 result for us and I want tocongratulate Rui and Marvin. Also Rui is now third in the standings and there isonly 21 points difference between him and the second placed rider. I think hecan catch him easily. Also this weekend we had four hole shots in four racesThat shows that KTM is the strongest at the start and this is a reason to thankthe mechanics and the whole team for this great work."
ResultsMX2
1. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM, 22-25--47
2. MarvinMusquin, France, KTM, 25-22—47
3. Gaultier Paulin, France, Kawasaki,16-20—36
4. Ken Roczen, Germany, Suzuki, 20-16—36
5. Davide Guarneri,Italy, Yamaha14-18—32
Other KTM
6. Joel Roelants, Belgium, KTM15-15—30
9. Marcus Schiffer, Germany, KTM, 9-13—22
13. Arnaud Tonus,Switzerland, KTM, 4-8—12
14. Valentin Teillet, France, KTM 5-7—12
16.Jeremy van Horebeek, KTM 0-10—10
19. Anthony Boissiere, France, KTM, 7-0—7
20. Jake Nicholls, Britain, KTM 0-5—5
MX2 Championshipstandings
1. Marvin Musquin, France, KTM 371
2. GautierPaulin, France, Kawasaki, 322
3. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM301
4. Davide Guarneri, Italy, Yamaha, 296
5.Steven Frossard, France, Kawasaki, 264
Other KTM
10. Jeremyvan Horebeek, Belgium, 157
11. Joel Roelants, Belgium, 146
12. Marcus Schiffer, Germany, 135
14. Anthony Boissiere, France,KTM, 122
15. Arnaud Tonus, Switzerland, 120
17. Shaun Simpson,Britain, 97
18. Stephen Sword, Britain, KTM, 87
20.Valentin Teillet, France, KTM, 83