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Tony Cairoli obtained his ninth podium of the season with third place at a wet and overcast Lommel circuit for the GP Limburg Grand Prix of Belgium and the twelfth round of fifteen in the FIM MX1-GP World Championship. An audience of 28,000 braved the inclement weather - which was a contrast to the temperatures and sunshine of Saturday - to see the riders at the highest level of the sport attack one of the trickiest and most physically-demanding circuits on the schedule.
The ruts and shapes of the loose Belgian sand across a long layout peppered with jumps, bomb-holes and quick, open turns meant a thorough technical test. Cairoli was at a disadvantage after a troublesome Saturday Qualification Heat saw him crash twice and enter the start gate down in twenty-first position. The world championship leader took his time to build up from a slot outside the top ten and reached fifth by passing two rivals on the last two laps. The weather started to improve for the start of the second moto and Cairoli got away from the line well, raising his speed to overtake Steve Ramon and Ken De Dycker into second spot. The 23 year old gave chase to leader Max Nagl but ran out of time to enact another of his famous moto dashes to the flag.
In sixth position overall was Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team's Josh Coppins. The New Zealander rode to fourth and seventh in the motos and was pro-active in the second race as he steered the works YZ450FM from almost last after failing to avoid a fallen Clement Desalle on the first corner.
Coppins was followed in the final classification by Cairoli's De Carli team-mate Tanel Leok, who was seventh but hampered by the same incident that claimed Coppins in the first moto and left the Estonian needing to comeback from twenty-first to eighth. He was sixth later in the day.
World Champion David Philippaerts was ninth in Lommel. The Italian had a difficult weekend that began with a technical problem on Saturday which saw him retire from the Qualification Heat on the first lap and thus occupy last position in the start gate. The 24 year old suffered a crash in both motos and crossed the finish line after struggling to find an effective speed and rhythm across the track. He was sixth and tenth.
Yamaha have all four riders in the top seven of the world championship standings. With just 150 points left in the 2009 campaign Cairoli leads by 49. Philippaerts is third and 78 from the top while Coppins is sixth and Leok seventh. Yamaha machinery has been present in all of the twelve podiums ceremonies witnessed so far and the brand currently heads the manufacturer's table by 54 points.
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