Yamaha were cruelly denied a podium finish in the thirteenth round of fifteen of the MX2-GP World Championship at a bright Fairyhouse circuit near Dublin for the Grand Prix of Ireland. 16,000 people saw Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne win his first ever race in only his third international meeting with the British team, while Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nicolas Aubin was 4th overall and missed a second rostrum celebration of the season by just 2 points.
The pair went 1-3 in Moto1 respectively, but a mechanical problem for the American halted his progress while in second place during Moto2 and Aubin suffered a bad start and a brief mid-race crash before taking 7th by the flag.
Aubin had showed quick pace around the heavily wood-chipped and soft course located in the centre of the horse racing track some 20 kilometres north of Dublin. He was 2nd in the first qualification heat and therefore entered the gate in 3rd position on Sunday. He was behind Osborne who won his first Saturday heat race.
Osborne sprinted away from the field in just his fifth moto with the Utag Yamaha.com YZ250F and kept series-leader Tyla Rattray at bay for the whole race. His success meant that he gave the team their first set of 25 points since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix and became only one of a handful of Americans to sample victory on the world championship stage. He was also the third Yamaha rider to score a win in 2008. Sadly an overall trophy was snatched away with a mechanical glitch half way through Moto2 and he left the circuit with 8th overall.
Aubin had taken a steady 3rd place in Moto1 and his progress was dented by a poor getaway in Moto2 and then a small mistake while gaining ground deep into the 35 minute and 2 laps duration.
Ricci Racing team-mate Davide Guarneri failed to bag any points but twisted his weak right knee and was in considerable pain, forcing a retirement in Moto2. The Italian is scheduled to have an operation after the final Grand Prix in just over two weeks.
Matteo Bonini was back in action for the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli squad after recovering sufficiently from his hand injury. The Italian scored respectable points in each moto to finish 13th overall. Team-mate Alessandro Lupino was 16th and with 10 points obtained his third highest total of 2008.
Aubin is 4th in the standings and 14 points from the third position held by the absent Antonio Cairoli.
The 2008 world championship now hurries towards its conclusion with two events in the next two weeks. The Grand Prix of Benelux will take place in the sand of Lierop in Holland while the hard-pack Faenza circuit entertains the final round in Italy.
Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 4th:
"I was pleased to make the top three in the first moto but I cannot believe the bad start I made in the second race. A rider crashed in front of me in the first corner and I think I restarted in something like 25th position. I got back to 12th but then crashed trying to pass Goncalves and restarted in 15th before finding my way to 7th. I had some pain again in my stomach and it was difficult to ride like this. I am satisfied with the result, especially because the track was difficult for passing."
Zach Osborne, Yamaha Utag.com, 8th:
"This was a big step for my career today and I am really pumped with the team and everything that has been going on here. Tyla is in 'championship mode' so I knew he would not take any big chances in the first race to try and pass me. I rode as hard as I could and it worked out for me. It was a shame about the second moto but it felt really good to win and join a small group of Americans to have done so."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 25th:
"This was a really hard GP for me. I did not like the track and could not get the speed together. My starts were bad and when I caught my leg on a bump in the second moto it finished the day. We will have to see how the knee is before Lierop next week."
Matteo Bonini, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 13th:
"I did not feel a great deal of pain when I was riding and my main problem was that I did two 30 minute motos for the first time only last Tuesday, so physically it was hard to get used to Grand Prix speed again and finish those two motos. I am happy. I did not have a good rhythm at the start of the motos but I got better and improved throughout."
Circuit Length: n/a
Crowd: 16,000
Weather: Changeable
2008 GP of the Republic of Ireland, Dublin 31/08/2008 Race 1 - 20 Laps
1 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 38'59.589
2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'2.365
3 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'10.678
4 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'10.678
5 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'44.102
6 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'45.527
7 Anthony Boissière KTM FRA 0'46.258
8 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 0'46.749
9 Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 0'47.153
10 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'55.719
11 Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 0'59.039
12 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'3.472
13 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'15.296
14 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 1'24.775
15 Martin Barr Yamaha GBR 1'27.639
16 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 1'28.866
17 Gert Krestinov KTM EST 1'30.003
18 Elliott Banks-Browne Suzuki GBR 1'41.995
19 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'44.564
20 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE 1'46.766
Race 2 - 20 Laps
1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 39'55.406
2 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'6.126
3 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'12.077
4 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 0'21.385
5 Anthony Boissière KTM FRA 0'24.993
6 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 0'26.163
7 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'28.350
8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'29.694
9 Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 0'30.703
10 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 0'47.801
11 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'49.467
12 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 0'52.392
13 Gert Krestinov KTM EST 0'59.327
14 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR 1'7.302
15 Elliott Banks-Browne Suzuki GBR 1'25.623
16 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 1'30.835
17 Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 1'36.756
18 Marcus Norlen Suzuki SWE 1'46.045
19 Teddy Maier Kawasaki USA 1'53.186
20 Deny Philippaerts Yamaha ITA -1 Laps
Rider Standings 31/08/2008
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 546
2. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 519
3. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 357
4. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 343
5. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 337
6. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 327
7. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 284
8. Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 269
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 253
10. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 245
11. Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 243
12. Anthony Boissière KTM FRA 240
13. Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 180
14. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 167
15. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 165
16. Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 161
17. Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 101
18. Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 99
19. Gautier Paulin Kawasaki FRA 95
20. Gert Krestinov KTM EST 92
23. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 55
27. Evgeny Bobryshev Yamaha RUS 42
28. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 41
41. Deny Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 8
46. Martin Barr Yamaha GBR 6
Manufacturer Standings 31/08/2008
1. KTM 616
2. Yamaha 559
3. Kawasaki 407
4. Suzuki 320
5. Honda 234
- Yamaha Racing -
