Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin missed out on a podium position by just one point at a cloudy but dry Loket circuit for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic and the twelfth round of fifteen in the 2008 FIM MX2-GP World Championship. The Frenchman was 4th overall at the venue where he scored his maiden victory twelve months earlier.
The hard and fast Loket mud meant that it was very difficult for riders to make up time on their competitors while even the smallest mistake conceded hard-won ground to pursuers. The 20 year old took 2nd place in his qualification heat on Saturday despite suffering a stomach illness which took the edge from his physical condition. He had an average start in the first of the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos but fought back to capture 3rd spot behind runaway leaders Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle.
The duo battled for the win again in an entertaining Moto2 while Aubin had to strive against countrymen Steve Frossard and Anthony Boissiere for a top five position. Finally abdominal pain meant that 6th position was the best he could manage.
Second best Yamaha finisher was 3C Racing's Manuel Monni. The 2008 Italian MX2 champion registered 11th and 8th for a decent top ten standing and 8th overall. Monni spent long periods of the first moto chasing and fighting with sole Red Bull De Carli representative Alessandro Lupino. The teenager notched the best result of his short career to-date with a decent start and 12th behind his fellow Italian. A tougher second moto meant he finished 17th, but 13th overall was a landmark.
Aubin's team-mate Davide Guarneri was 12th at the end of the afternoon and although he could only complete the second moto he gained 14 points for 7th spot. The Italian was fighting for 11th in Moto1 until a crash three laps from the line dropped him far behind the pack and he rode into the pit-lane, well out of the points. A more positive outing in Moto2 produced his eighth top ten result this season.
Guarneri is missing a ligament in his right knee and is currently reviewing his options to have corrective surgery in order to use the winter months for rehabilitation and come back fully fit for testing and preparation in 2009.
Impressive 18 year old American Zach Osborne was on slightly easier ground compared to the demands of his world championship debut last week in the deep Belgian sand. The Utag Yamaha.com rider has signed with the British team to finish the Grand Prix season with the YZ250F and although his lap-times would have guaranteed a top ten finish he suffered a mechanical problem in Moto1 and was knocked off the bike on the fourth corner of Moto2 which meant he had to restart from last and reached 16th position.
Yamaha Van Beers Evgeny Bobryshev was back in Grand Prix action after missing the last round in Belgium to win the final meeting of the Russian MX1 series with a YZ450F. The rookie missed the points in Moto1 and had a big crash on a steep downhill in Moto2 but was able to walk away.
Aubin's points haul in Loket and Shaun Simpson's absence due to a fractured collarbone in Saturday practice means that he is 3 points from 4th position in the championship standings. Tony Cairoli is still 3rd despite missing the last two events and the rest of the season after the operation on his left knee. Monni is 10th.
Three consecutive Grand Prix events - in Ireland (Dublin), Holland (Lierop) and Italy (Faenza) will finish the season after a three week break which now lies ahead for the teams and riders of the MX1-GP and MX2-GP categories.
Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 4th:
"I am a bit disappointed because I had pain in my stomach today and for sure this affected my speed; I knew before the races that it would be a difficult GP. I had a bad start in the first moto but I made my way to 3rd and then tried to catch Tommy. I started to have some pain and had to ease-off at the end. It was the same problem in Moto2 but this time after a few laps, right at the time I was fighting with a group of riders.
4th overall is not a bad result considering the problem I had and now we have a few weeks before Ireland. It is bad luck for Shaun that he missed this GP because he has ridden well this season but I hope we can fight on the track again and both try for that third position in the championship."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 12th:
"It was a bad weekend up until the last moto! I did not ride well on Saturday; I was too tense on the bike and then had a bad start in the heat race. In the first moto I got the start wrong again and my speed was not so good. When a rider put me on the floor I was too far behind by the time I restarted and stopped. I was angry for the second moto and pushed as hard as I could to reach 7th, which was much better. This might be the last race for me, although I will be in Ireland if the doctor cannot do the operation in the next few weeks."
Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 13th:
"Today I had two good starts and this was very important; I was really happy about this and also the fact I could do some good lap-times that were not too far from the front guys. Fighting with Monni was fun and it was like an Italian championship race! Staying in front of him for 17 laps was very hard, so it is something I can be pleased about. It has been a tough time for the team so I am pleased I can give them a small result and show that I am making progress in my first season."
Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 22nd:
"To say I did not have much luck today is a big understatement. I am a bit disappointed because I had the lap-times to be hanging with the top five but it overall it was a good learning experience because I sorted my starts. I will head back to the US to do Southwick on a 450 and then return in time to be ready for Ireland."
Circuit Length: 1630
Crowd: 28,000
Weather: Cloudy
2008 GP of Czech Republic, Loket 10/08/2008 Race 1 - 21 Laps
1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 40'20.524
2 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'4.493
3 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'9.888
4 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 0'11.828
5 Anthony Boissičre KTM FRA 0'13.149
6 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'14.178
7 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 0'14.995
8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'15.974
9 Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 0'17.119
10 Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 0'36.511
11 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 0'39.144
12 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 0'42.322
13 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR 0'49.717
14 Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 0'52.567
15 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 0'54.891
16 Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 0'56.787
17 Gert Krestinov KTM EST 1'2.672
18 Loic Rombaut Kawasaki FRA 1'5.522
19 Gunter Schmidlinger Honda AUT 1'8.845
20 Petr Smitka Yamaha CZE 1'13.475
Race 2 - 21 Laps
1 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 40'44.956
2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'11.162
3 Anthony Boissičre KTM FRA 0'14.520
4 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'19.897
5 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 0'23.158
6 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'26.136
7 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 0'28.266
8 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 0'28.909
9 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'31.683
10 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'34.397
11 Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 0'43.388
12 Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 0'47.232
13 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'48.062
14 Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 0'50.107
15 Elliott Banks-Browne Suzuki GBR 0'52.827
16 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 0'53.855
17 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 0'59.025
18 Gert Krestinov KTM EST 1'1.139
19 Loic Rombaut Kawasaki FRA 1'8.502
20 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1'9.492
Rider Standings 10/08/2008
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 499
2. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 479
3. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 357
4. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 312
5. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 309
6. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 303
7. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 248
8. Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 245
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 244
10. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 226
11. Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 212
12. Anthony Boissičre KTM FRA 210
13. Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 180
14. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 167
15. Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 161
16. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 148
17. Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 101
18. Gautier Paulin Kawasaki FRA 95
19. Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 85
20. Gert Krestinov KTM EST 80
25. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 45
26. Evgeny Bobryshev Yamaha RUS 42
29. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 25
43. Deny Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 7
Manufacturer Standings 10/08/2008
1. KTM 569
2. Yamaha 520
3. Kawasaki 371
4. Suzuki 296
5. Honda 234
- Yamaha Racing , Amsterdam -
