Day one at Lierop was an exciting starter for the many fans watching local hero Marc de Reuver taking pole in the MX1 class at this penultimate round of the series.
Tyla Rattray and Joel Roelants won the MX2 qualifying heats. Larissa Papenmeier was the quickest in the Women’s World Championship qualifying as Championship leader Livia Lancelot qualified second and looks forward to wrapping the Title tomorrow in this final round.
MX1
Taking pole at his home GP Marc de Reuver of Martin Honda looks confident for tomorrow’s races in Lierop where last year he won his maiden MX1 moto and took his maiden MX1 podium.
Right behind the Dutchman was Teka Suzuki WMX1’s Ken de Dycker who had a 1.472 second gap while Championship runner up Steve Ramon took third.
Being second and third in the MX1 series the Suzuki factory duo aims at getting closer to Championship leader David Philippaerts of Yamaha Monster Motocross. The latter was 11th
KTM Sarholz Racing’s Marcus Schiffer was a surprising fourth ahead of AXO KTM Silver Action’s Jonathan Barragan who will remain in the team also next year as it was announced in an official press conference today.
CAS Honda’s Billy Mackenzie took a disappointing 19th as he was riding with a broken rib from the morning’s practice.
Top five: 1. Marc de Reuver (NED, Honda), 1:57.145; 2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:01.472; 3. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), +0:01.953; 4. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), +0:02.942; 5. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), +0:03.041
MX2
Winning his ninth Lovemytime Qualifying Award today in heat one Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Tyla Rattray is first in the Lovemytime standings and could wrap both his first ever MX2 title and the Lovemytime final award in Faenza next weekend. Keeping the focus on this weekend Champ KTM’s Joel Roelants took his first ever qualifying heat win as he won the battle with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Rui Goncalves (third) and Ricci Racing Yamaha’s Nicolas Aubin (second). Beursfoon Suzuki’s Erik Eggens and Champ KTM’s Jeremy van Horebeek rounded off the top three of heat one. Tommy Searle was fourth in heat two after a couple of crashes in the opening laps.
MX2 QUALIFYING RACE 1
Rattray won an eventful qualifying heat as he had to work his way up to first after making a mistake when he was at the lead. A solid Eggens kept following until he moved past Rattray for first but he was an eventual second ahead of Van Horebeek who rode solid in third during the whole moto. Boog, Simpson and Swanepoel battled it out for fourth with Boog taking the spot from Simpson and Swanie.
Top five: 1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 25:34.055; ; 2. Erik Eggens (NED, Suzuki), +0:05.493; 3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:33.114; 4. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), +0:42.982; 5. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), +0:45.170
MX2 QUALIFYING RACE 2
Winning a three way battle for first Roelants took his first ever qualifying moto with Aubin second and early leader Goncalves third. Right out of the gate Searle was all set on catching the Portuguese for victory but he crashed twice in the opening two laps and ended fourth. Seistola rounded off the top five.
Top five: 1. Joel Roelants (BEL, KTM), 26:11.488; ; 2. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:04.446; 3. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:06.456; 4. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), +0:42.474; 5. Matti Seistola (FIN, Honda), +0:46.295
NEWS OF THE DAY: MX ROOKIE PRIZE GIVING
The maiden edition of the MX Rookie, a motocross tournament dedicated to young talents, was held in Lommel during the GP weekend and winner Mike Vanderstraeten was awarded today with a brand new Yamaha YZ250F handed directly by Yamaha’s Michele Rinaldi.
MX Rookie organizer Eric Geboers introduced the event and Vanderstraeten to the press who got to know more closely this 16 year old Belgian talent. Before leaving the event the MX Rookie winner was also handed a special racing shirt by his official fans’ club.
NEWS OF THE DAY: AXO KTM SILVER ACTION ANNOUNCES 2009 LINEUP
The Italy based squad AXO KTM Silver Action headed by Fulvio Crippa announced its 2009 line up today together with KTM’s Off Road Director Pit Beirer and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s team manager Stefan Everts.
The riders will be Spaniard Jonathan Barragan, who won four GP’s so far this season (his first with the team), and Estonian Gert Krestinov, who took his maiden GP win at Lommel this year. Both will be on MX1 machinery as Barragan will have a full factory bike.
NEWS OF THE DAY: KAWASAKI RACING TEAM IN 2009
The Kawasaki Racing Team will change ownership in 2009 with Frenchmen Roger Pourcel (current team manager of GPKR) and Thierry Chizat Suzzoni (currently co-owner of the CLS Kawasaki team) joining forces to head the squad.
Current KRT Team Manager Martin van Genderen will continue to manage the KRT team and its members from the current base in Schijndel, The Netherlands.
The squad will line up three riders in the World Championship scene; GP winner Sebastien Pourcel and Gareth Swanepoel will race the MX1 class with the fuel injection KX450F-SR with current Women’s World Championship leader Livia Lancelot completing the factory Kawasaki team.
DE HERSELSE BOSSEN AND LIEROP
After Valkenswaard and Lommel, the De Herselse Bossen track is another sandy venue in the World Motocross calendar. The venue hosted its first Grand Prix back in 1996 (500cc class) and it is more than a classical Dutch sandy course; the start straight is always covered in grass while there is a part of the track going through a forest.
The whole layout and the ground are very demanding as a good physical challenge will add to the mounting mental pressure of the final two rounds of the MX1 and MX2 series. Among last year’s winners are Kevin Strijbos (MX1), Antonio Cairoli (MX2) and Katherine Prumm (Women).
Lierop is one of four community villages that form the municipality of Someren, a sort of natural paradise with its 1.615 hectares of woods, natural grounds and plantation landscape on which windmills, chapels and several other monuments are part of the beautiful Dutch scenery. Lierop is a quiet town at 20 kilometres from Eindhoven and 150 kilometres North of lively Amsterdam.
THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE
Sunday September 7: Women’s World Championship Warm-up at 9:00 am; MX2 Warm-up at 9:30 am; MX1 Warm-up at 10:00 am; Women’s World Championship Race 1 at 11:10 am; MX2 Grand Prix Race 1 at 12:10 am; MX1 Grand Prix Race 1 at 1:10 pm; Women’s World Championship Race 2 at 2:10 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 at 16:00 CET
GALAXIE SPORT (Czech Republic): MX2 Race 1 at 12:00 and Race 2 at 15:00 CET
ART (Pan Middle East): MX1 Race 2 at 16:00 CET
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 GMT
RED BULL TV (Austria): 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
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 2 (Pan Europe): Monday September 8; MX1 Race 1 at 10:00, Race 2 at 15:00 and at 17:00 CET
MOTORS TV (Pan Europe): Sunday September 7; MX2 Race 1 at 21:00 and Race 2 at 21:55. Monday September 8; MX 2 Race 1 at 05:00 and Race 2 at 05:50. Tuesday September 9; MX1 Race 1 at 21:00 and Race 2 at 21:55. Wednesday September 10; MX2 Race 1 at 01:00 and Race 2 at 01:50, MX1 Race 1 at 07:00 and Race 2 at 07:50; MX2 Race 1 at 14:00 and Race 2 at 15:50; MX1 Race 1 at 14:55 and Race 2 at 16:40 CET
SPORT ITALIA (Italy): Sunday September 7; MX1 Race 1 at 23:30. Monday September 8; MX1 Race 2 at 00:30 CET
EUROSPORT WORLD (Pan Asia): Sunday September 7; MX1 Race 1 at 15:30 and at 21:00; MX1 Race 2 at 17:30 and at 21:45. Monday September 8; MX1 Race 1 at 03:00 and at 08:00, Race 2 at 08:45 and at 23:15; MX2 Race 2 at 18:15. Tuesday September 9; MX2 Race 2 at 00:00, at 08:15 and at 21:30; MX1 Race 2 at 07:30 and at 20:45. Wednesday September 10; MX1 Race 2 at 04:30 and at 10:30; MX2 Race 2 at 05:15, at 11:15 and at 19:00 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 (Japan): 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.
MediaZone Moto is the leading global online broadcaster of Motocross and SuperMoto events. Fans worldwide can watch the thrills from this and every race of the 2008 FIM Motocross & SuperMoto World Championships LIVE and On Demand exclusively at www.MediaZoneMoto.com.
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- Daniele RIZZI -
