Shaun Simpson takes positives from Russian Grand Prix

Monster Energy Yamaha completed their eastern European stint of the FIM Motocross World Championship today as Shaun Simpson walked away from a rough and sun-kissed Semigorje track with 12th position overall on his factory YZ450FM. 45,000 spectators travelled to the remote site some 500km east of Moscow for the Grand Prix of Russia and the first visit to the country by the FIM series in ten years.


The Grand Prix teams and riders again had to deal with inclement weather conditions as rainstorms battered the venue on Saturday and turned the shallow sand into a muddy quagmire. Simpson shone on the difficult terrain and rode to a career-best second position in the qualification heat.


Good work and preparation by the organisers for what was Semigorjes inauguration on the world stage created a different, harder and faster prospect for Sunday when blue skies and sunshine finally arrived. The location itself saw a stadium setting of banking and grandstands surrounding three sides of the 1500m track that was flat with several hefty jumps, rhythm sections and off-cambered corners.


Simpson was hit off the bike in the second corner of the first moto and had to restart from last place. The Scot didnt find the best rhythm through the ruts and bumps and crossed the line in 13th. In the second race he got away from the gate in the leading group and was heavily involved in the battle for slots in the lower half of the top ten.


Finally he finished 11th for his overall ranking. Simpson still holds 11th in the FIM MX1 Championship standings. 24 will be in action next weekend at Hawkstone Park for the sixth round of eight in the Maxxis British Championship before driving across to Loket for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic on August 5th.


Shaun Simpson:

First of all thanks to the guys for coming all this way just for me. It is a privilege to be able to ride this bike. It was not really how I thought the day would go after yesterday. The conditions were quite a bit different but still technical and I made a fast time in the morning. We had some damage on the bike after a second turn crash and I struggled to get in my rhythm to catch back up to the rest of the pack.


In the second one I was looking to go really tight in the first corner but Ken De Dycker nudged me and I ended up in sixth. I kept my head down the whole race and fought hard to the end. I was not the best of the rest unfortunately and Im a bit disappointed. There are still positive things to take from this weekend and Ill try to change the good positions from Saturday to a Sunday, especially at Loket next which is a track I like.
 


2012 MX1-GP Russia
Semigorje 22/07/2012    21 Laps   
race I

1    Antonio Cairoli    KTM    ITA    39'45.999
2    Ken De Dycker    KTM    BEL    0'05.960
3    Clement Desalle    Suzuki    BEL    0'07.597
4    Christophe Pourcel    Kawasaki    FRA    0'09.938
5    Kevin Strijbos    KTM    BEL    0'30.092
6    Evgeny Bobryshev    Honda    RUS    0'35.017
7    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    0'37.056
8    Rui Goncalves    Honda    POR    0'48.946
9    Tanel Leok    Suzuki    EST    0'50.714
10    Jonathan Barragan    Honda    ESP    0'52.555
11    Davide Guarneri    KTM    ITA    1'34.316
12    Sébastien Pourcel    Kawasaki    FRA    1'38.291
13    Shaun Simpson Yamaha GBR    1'39.141
14    Xavier Boog    Kawasaki    FRA    -1Laps
15    Augusts Justs    Honda    LVA    -1Laps
17    Alexander Ivanutin    Yamaha    RUS    -1Laps
19    Roman Morozov    Yamaha    UKR    -20Laps


race II


1    Antonio Cairoli    KTM    ITA    39'21.770
2    Clement Desalle    Suzuki    BEL    0'07.892
3    Ken De Dycker    KTM    BEL    0'25.744
4    Christophe Pourcel    Kawasaki    FRA    0'33.416
5    Evgeny Bobryshev    Honda    RUS    0'36.099
6    Rui Goncalves    Honda    POR    0'40.135
7    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    0'52.103
8    Jonathan Barragan    Honda    ESP    1'03.761
9    Xavier Boog    Kawasaki    FRA    1'15.308
10    Tanel Leok    Suzuki    EST    1'18.144
11    Shaun Simpson Yamaha GBR    1'18.807
12    Kevin Strijbos    KTM    BEL    2'43.849
13    Davide Guarneri    KTM    ITA    -1Laps
14    Augusts Justs    Honda    LVA    -1Laps
15    Dimitry Parshin    Honda    RUS    -1Laps
17    Alexander Ivanutin    Yamaha    RUS    -2Laps



  MX1-GP World Standing
Rider Standings    After Race 11 of 16

   
1.    Antonio Cairoli    KTM    ITA    442
2.    Clement Desalle    Suzuki    BEL    422
3.    Christophe Pourcel    Kawasaki    FRA    393
4.    Gautier Paulin    Kawasaki    FRA    376
5.    Ken De Dycker    KTM    BEL    341
6.    Kevin Strijbos    KTM    BEL    304
7.    Xavier Boog    Kawasaki    FRA    277
8.    Tanel Leok    Suzuki    EST    253
9.    Rui Goncalves    Honda    POR    247
10.    David Philippaerts Yamaha  ITA    212
11.    Shaun Simpson Yamaha GBR    203
12.    Evgeny Bobryshev    Honda    RUS    194
13.    Jonathan Barragan    Honda    ESP    175
14.    Sébastien Pourcel    Kawasaki    FRA    166
15.    Davide Guarneri    KTM    ITA    136
16.    Matiss Karro    KTM    LVA    112
17.    Steven Frossard Yamaha FRA    66
26.    Herjan Brakke    Yamaha    NED    24
29.    Alfie Smith    Yamaha    GBR    14
31.    Gregory Aranda    Yamaha    FRA    11
33.    Alexander Ivanutin    Yamaha    RUS    8
35.    Loic Leonce    Yamaha    FRA    8
38.    Rodolfo Fernandez    Yamaha    USA    7
43.    Samir Rodriguez    Yamaha    MEX    4
49.    Roman Morozov    Yamaha    UKR    2
50.    Giuzepe Vazquez    Yamaha    MEX    2
         


  Manufacturer Standings 22/07/2012

1    KTM    492
2    Kawasaki    463
3    Suzuki    433
4    Honda    322
5    Yamaha 320
6    TM    58

         
Yamaha , Amsterdam