A hot Saturday in Uddevalla saw the opening day of the Swedish GP, the ninth of 15 rounds in the World Championship calendar.
Steve Ramon took pole from team mate Ken de Dycker in the MX1 class while Antonio Cairoli and Tommy Searle won the two qualifying heats.
MX1
Teka Suzuki WMX1’s Steve Ramon collected his second Lovemytime Pole Position Award of the season after France and will choose the gate position for first tomorrow.
Ramon will see team mate Ken de Dycker enter the start area in second place, with the Suzuki duo holding the third and the fourth spots in the Championship respectively.
After taking his first podium of 2008 last weekend in Germany, Kawasaki Racing’s Tanel Leok was back with a solid performance and took third in the time sheets from AXO KTM Silver Action’s Jonathan Barragan. The latter topped the free practice one and was second to De Dycker in free practice two.
GPKR’s Sebastien Pourcel was fifth quickest today ahead of Clement Desalle and Championship leader David Philippaerts, riding with an injured rib from France.
The winner of the German GP Joshua Coppins was ninth quickest, sandwiched in between Max Nagl and Billy Mackenzie. The Scott’s team mate Steve Boniface -12th quickest today- announced he will ride with the CAS Honda team until the end of the 2008 season.
Top five: 1. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 1:40.169; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:00.040; 3. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), +0:00.085; 4. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), +0:00.435; 5. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:00.465
MX2
Yamaha Red Bull De Carli’s Antonio Cairoli and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tommy Searle dominated today’s qualifying heats to take their seventh and fifth Lovemytime Qualifying Award respectively. Championship leader Tyla Rattray ended second to Cairoli in heat one with a solid Davide Guarneri rounding off the top three. Shaun Simpson took second in heat two, with Steven Frossard third.
After missing the German GP, Stephen Sword had to sit out of this other round as well due to his shoulder injury from France.
MX2 QUALIFYING RACE 1
Cairoli took a dominant victory in the opening moto, making it to the chequered flag with a four second advantage over runner up Rattray. The latter settled down for a safe second but kept a decent pace throughout the heat as the leading duo left the rest of the field 24 seconds behind. Guarneri secured a positive third, recovering from the bottom half of the top ten, while Boog and Van Horebeek rounded off the top five.
Top five: 1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 24:40.954; ; 2. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), +0:04.314; 3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +0:28.147; 4. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), +0:31.466; 5. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:36.798
MX2 QUALIFYING RACE 2
Searle dominated the final qualifying heat despite a strong Avis battled it out with the Brit for the holeshot; after a storming start, Avis dropped to an eventual fourth as he was attacked and passed by Frossard with five laps to go. Goncalves was second when he crashed and handed the runner up spot to KTM fellow rider Simpson. Seistola rounded off the top five, sandwiched in between Avis and Goncalves.
Aubin crashed in the opening laps and lost lots of time to restart the bike; he qualified by clocking the quickest time in the last chance.
Top five: 1. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 24:40.514; ; 2. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:06.566; 3. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:14.883; 4. Wyatt Avis (RSA, Honda), +0:19.821; 5. Matti Seistola (FIN, Honda), +0:20.432
NEWS OF THE DAY: FOX CHARITY BY PSEPARTS
PSEPARTS, the Fox Racing distributor for Scandinavia, have founded the FOX CHARITY BY PSEPARTS in cooperation with FOX Racing. The foundation supports people from the extreme sports that FOX Racing is involved in, including motocross. The support of this foundation consists in making the people experience unforgettable situations, such as attending sports events as special guests or meeting up with the company’s top athletes. These characteristics make the FOX CHARITY BY PSEPARTS a unique foundation which is present at the Grand Prix of Sweden, opening its doors to the many enthusiastic fans.
NEWS OF THE DAY: SCOTT’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY
Worldwide multi sports company Scott Sports celebrated today in Uddevalla its 50th anniversary as the company was founded in 1958. In the first years Scott produced ski poles and it started to manufacture the first motorbike goggles in the seventies. Now Scott Sports covers on road, off road and snowmobiles, for a 360° business in the field of motorcycling. Moreover Scott Sports is active in other fields, such as cycling, winter sports and running. In the FIM Motocross World Championship Scott Sports supports top MX1 riders Sebastien Pourcel and Joshua Coppins who introduced the new Voltage Pro Air goggles to the press today.
GLIMMINGE MOTORSTADION AND UDDEVALLA
The Swedish course in Uddevalla is located in a beautiful natural rocky valley, where the rocks become a fantastic spot for the many spectators attending the Grand Prix every year. The ground compost is intermediate while the track’s layout is technical and quick. At last year’s dry Grand Prix, De Dycker won the overall MX1 class and Cairoli the MX2.
Uddevalla is located in the province of Bohuslän, between Gothenburg and Oslo. The city has about 50000 inhabitants and its active port makes it one of the most important industrial cities on the West coast of Sweden. Gustafsberg is one of the top items in the to do list, as it is Europe's oldest seaside health resort –dating at the 18th century- and it is just South of Uddevalla.
THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE
Sunday July 6: MX2 Warm-up at 9:00 am; MX1 Warm-up at 9:30 am; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 at 12:10 am; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 at 1:10 pm; MX2 Grand Prix Race 2 at 3:03 pm; MX1 Grand Prix Race 2 at 4:03 pm (local time).
The Grand Prix will be broadcast live on:
EUROSPORT 2 (Pan Europe) : MX1 Race 1 at 13:00 and Race 2 at 16:00 CET
MOTORS TV (Pan Europe): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00 CET
SPORT ITALIA (Italy): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00 CET
VRT (Belgium): MX1 Race 1 at 13:00 and Race 2 N/A CET
GALAXIE SPORT (Czech Republic): MX2 Race 2 at 15:00 CET
ART (Pan Middle East): MX1 Race 2 at 14:00 GMT
SPORT TV (Slovenia): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00 CET
EUROSPORT WORLD (PAN ASIA): MX1 Race 1 at 11:00 and Race 2 at 14:00 GMT
MEDIAZONE (Worldwide): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00; MX1 Race 1 at 13:00 and Race 2 at 16:00 CET
TRANS 7 (Indonesia): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00; MX1 Race 1 at 13:00 and Race 2 at 16:00 CET
SPORT TV (Portugal): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00 CET
The Grand Prix will be broadcast delayed on:
EUROSPORT WORLD (Pan Asia): Monday July 7; MX1 Race 1 at 02:00 and at 07:30; MX1 Race 2 at 08:15 and at 16:45; MX2 Class at 17:30 and at 21:30. Tuesday July 8; MX1 Race 2 at 04:00, at 10:30 and at 22:30; MX2 Class at 11:15 and at 23:15 GMT
AMERICA ONE SPORTS (USA): Second Tuesday after the GP; MX2 Race 2 at 21:00; MX1 Race 2 at 22:00 USA Eastern Time
GAORA: MX2 Race 1 and Race 2; MX1 Race 1 and Race 2; N/A CET
Information, photos and results are online at http://www.motocrossMX1.com , the official website of the FIM Motocross World Championships.
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- Daniele RIZZI -
