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MX GP: Eighth '09 podium for Toni Cairoli in Sweden

In Offroad

08 luglio 2009

The Grand Prix of Sweden through the bumpy and fine terrain of the Uddevalla circuit saw Yamaha Red Bull De Carli rider and MX1-GP world championship leader Tony Cairoli score 2nd position and claim his eighth piece of silverware from the eleven rounds of fifteen held in the 2009 FIM campaign so far. After journeys to Germany and Latvia in the past two weeks, the visit to the venue over 80km north of Gothenburg brought an end to a hectic spell in the calendar. In front of 22,000 spectators Cairoli was able to stretch his season statistics to 9 moto victories from the 22 run to-date after he matched his 4th place from Moto1 with victory in Moto2.

Cloudy and cool conditions on Sunday provided a contrast to the sun and heat of Saturday. Cairoli, who had celebrated three wins in the past five years in the MX2-GP class at Uddevalla, was boxed-in around the first corner of the opening moto and had to recover from a first lap position outside of the top ten to rise to 4th; almost overtaking Clement Desalle on the final two circulations. The Sicilian was more diligent out of the gate on his YZ450F for Moto2 and controlled the race from the front after the initial few corners.

In 4th position overall was world champion and Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's David Philippaerts, almost back to full fitness after suffering illness before the meeting last week in Latvia. The Italian had a rough first moto in which he started badly and took a distant 5th. A better launch and overall approach in the next race saw him successfully defend 3rd place from Ken De Dycker on the YZ450FM.

Cairoli's team-mate, Tanel Leok, was set-back by a pair of mediocre starts and confessed that he never found a consistent rhythm across the shifting and churned soil. The Estonian was 7th and 6th in the two 35 minute and 2 lap sprints.

Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's Josh Coppins could not register two consecutive podiums in Sweden after his spoils in Latvia seven days previously and was another rider who was slightly off his game through the slippery Swedish dirt. He was steady to take 6th and be the third Yamaha rider in a train of four machines in Moto1 but a bad start and small technical problem in Moto2 saw him adrift of the leaders and down in 7th by the chequered flag.

Yamaha still lead the Rider and Manufacturer standings in what is becoming a strong season for the brand. Cairoli has an advantage of 53 points over Swedish winner Max Nagl, more than one Grand Prix with just four remaining. Three other Yamaha riders fill positions in the top seven starting with Philippaerts in 3rd and 65 points from Cairoli's total. Coppins is 5th and 20 behind his team-mate while Leok is 7th. Yamaha head their nearest rival brand by 54 points. A Yamaha machine has been present on all twelve of the GP podiums so far in 2009.

After three Grand Prix events in a row a three week break will now take place. The first of the four rounds left in the 2009 series will occur in the deep sand of Lommel for the GP of Limburg (Belgium) on the first weekend in August.

Tony Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 2nd:

"I had to close the gas at the start of the first moto because I risked a crash. A lot of riders got past me and by the end of the first lap I had a lot of work to do. I did not want to make any mistakes so I looked for the best and easiest places to pass. It was not easy to overtake David and we had a clean and good fight there for a while. I caught up to Desalle in the final laps but for me he is one of the most difficult riders to get by without taking a gamble. A holeshot is always a help so the second moto start was much better. I pushed hard at the beginning as Max kept close but I could control the gap to the end."

David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 4th:

"I felt better in the second moto than the first. Earlier on I lost lines easily and generally found the race difficult, my start was also poor. In the second race I was better out of the gate and got into third place right away. I knew De Dycker was getting close to me sometimes but there was no risk of losing the position, especially because at the finish he was probably more tired than me. Physically I feel that I am getting back to normal after my illness last week and this was a consistent result."

Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 6th:

"My starts were bad and I could not get away with the front guys. My riding and lap-times were also not great and I only felt an improvement towards the end. I lost the chance of better positions just because of those first laps."

Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 7th:

"I struggled to be honest and my speed wasn't too good. My start was OK in the first race but I just didn't quite have the rhythm and we made a mistake with the tyre choice. Sixth was the best I could do and we weren't fast enough. I had a bit of trouble with the gearbox out of the gate in the second moto and hit neutral. I went up from last to seventh and hit neutral a few more times which was pretty scary so I had to run the race out from there. Overall I did not have the pace today and need to do a bit of work to get back the form that I had last week."