Cairoli 3rd through Lommel sand

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli’s 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.

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.

The hard-pack and stony track of Loket, just outside of the idyllic town of Karlovy Vary, will host the Grand Prix of Czech Republic and the thirteenth stop on the calendar next weekend.

Tony Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli:

“I am satisfied because this is only my second sandy race with the 450. I made a mistake on Saturday and after two average starts today I had to push really hard. I could pass Max and David on the last lap of the first moto and that was some important points for the championship. Max was really fast in the second race and I could not catch him. Motos can be decided in the last ten minutes on tracks like these and I knew my physical condition was good; Max was just a bit too far away.”

Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team:

“My riding was OK today. We made a bit of a mistake with the settings for the first race and when the rain came down I struggled with the bigger fuel tank and used a lot of energy to ride around and finish fourth. It was a lot of effort and things did not feel as easy as they should have. There was not much I could have done at the start of the second moto when Desalle crashed in front of me. I stood the bike up and slowed down but then someone hit me from behind and I went to ground. It was unfortunate and it is a tough track to come from last position! Fifth overall means that it was not the best day, but alright considering. I am now looking forward to the next couple of GPs.”

Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli:

“It was a tough GP for me. I did not ride well in the first laps of the first moto and the speed eventually came but I made a hard job for myself. The second race was much better but started badly when Coppins crashed in front of me. I made decent positions after that but ran off the track towards the end and lost time getting the bike back across the fence.”

David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team:

“It was a bad day. In the first moto my lap-times were consistent but on the last lap I had a break of concentration and Nagl and Cairoli passed me and I had a stupid crash. The second race was harder and I could not find a good feeling. I was sitting down a lot on the bike and found the bumps hard to deal with. I used a lot of energy to finish the race and overall it was just difficult. I spend six months of the year here training a lot on this circuit so I should have been strong for this GP; it is hard to understand why it did not work out. I like Lierop and also Loket, which is next, and I hope I can repeat my win of last year there.”

Crowd: 28,000

Tags: belgium, cairoli, coppins, desalle, fim, fuel, gp, leok, lommel, motocross, NAGL, presenter, ramon, sand, training, yamaha