PODIUM JOY CONTINUES FOR KTM
07 September 2005 - KTM-Sportmotorcycles AG

The Red Bull factory KTM team celebrated another haul of trophies this afternoon at Lierop and the Grand Prix of Netherlands for the sixteenth round of seventeen in the 2005 FIM Motocross World Championship.

Tyla Rattray won his second MX2 race in succession and was joined in his champagne celebration by Marc de Reuver in second place. Steve Ramon and Ben Townley took second and third positions respectively in the MX1 contest behind Stefan Everts who confirmed a record ninth title and his third consecutive in the premier class.

Around 30,000 spectators flocked to the sandy Lierop circuit that was extremely deep, rough and typically Dutch. The sun brought almost unbearable temperatures, hitting thirty degrees, and created arguably the most physically demanding Grand Prix of the season.

Townley produced one of his best performances of the year in the first moto. The Kiwi was involved in the same spectacular first corner incident that also took down Mickael Pichon and Tanel Leok. Having to pit on the next lap in last position, the team ripped the damaged front mudguard from his 450SXF and he embarked on a confident and frantic display of ruthless sand riding to pull back into the top ten. He edged past Danny Theybers and Kevin Strijbos in the same section to move through to fifth, gaining another position before the chequered flag.

Ramon maintained the good speed that has seen him take podium results in the last three Grand Prix. The Belgian swooped from seventh to second in the first moto and completed a lonely ride to the runner-up spot. He managed to score third behind Everts and Townley in the second fare to confirm second place overall.

Kenneth Gundersen crashed in the formative stages of moto1 and after taking an age to restart his machine retired well behind the rest of the field. The Norwegian then battled hard, having recovered from the strained hand suffered on the Isle of Wight, and fought with Yoshi Atsuta, finally gaining thirteenth for his efforts.

Tyla Rattray was again omnipotent once more in the MX2 class. The South African may have watched Antonio Cairoli win the World Championship this afternoon but he largely ruled the motos, leading the first for the majority of the 35 minute and 2 laps over team-mate de Reuver after a thrilling tussle for first place and then clearing off to sweep the second race ahead of the Dutchman. De Reuver’s start in moto2 permitted Rattray an opportunity to break free from his clutches and prevent a race one re-run.

David Philippaerts crashed in the first moto but toiled to return from twenty-eighth to fifth and then settled into a clear third position in the second sprint where KTM filled the top three positions. The Italian finished in fourth overall which was eleven places above Carl Nunn. The Briton, who is on course to wrap-up his first British Championship title next week, stalled the 250F in moto1 and could not restart the machine, prompting his retirement. In race 2 he misjudged the start and was disappointed with his riding to score eighth.

In terms of the standings Steve Ramon has now leapfrogged Mickael Pichon to sit fourth in the MX1 table, 80 points behind Townley who confirmed his ranking of third for the year. Rattray has pegged his way up to sixteenth courtesy of his 89 point haul from a possible 100 in the last two Grand Prix. Philippaerts is fourth and could possibly catch Alessio Chiodi who lies just 29 points ahead with just 50 left to play for.

The final round of the World Championship will take place in two weeks time at Desertmartin for the Grand Prix of Ireland.

Tyla Rattray:
“Today was pretty good and I am really happy with that second moto. I got into the lead on the second lap and dominated the race. I got a good gap on De Reuver and could maintain it. At one point I thought he is bound to be tired and hit a wall and I just wanted to push as hard as I could to build that gap and make sure of the race. I think it was like 24 or 25 seconds on the last lap or two. I am really happy with this second GP win and I think it shows that I could have been in with a good chance of the title.”

Marc de Reuver:
“I expected to do well here because it is home crowd and home soil. I have raced here since I was six. I did OK in the qualifying heat yesterday and was by far the best rider in the first moto. I was taking it easy behind Tyla and I could have passed him in a lot of places. When I made the move near the end I made a gap of some fifteen seconds in two laps and I did not feel that tired. In the second heat I was struggling to get near the front quickly and Tyla had the chance to breakaway. I really tried hard to get with him but the gap stayed the same and I got to a point where I had nothing left to give and settled for second.”

David Philippaerts:
“The track was really difficult so I was happy with my riding. In the second race I was fourth in the start which was good enough and my condition was fine for the first twenty minutes but then I was finished! To take third in the sand was a perfect result for me because Tyla and de Reuver were just too quick in that first part of the moto.”

Carl Nunn:
“In the first race I got a good drop but I think the wheel spun a little bit. Someone hit Leok in the turn and he came across me. We all got tangled up and I was down in the 20s and had to come through the pack. I reached ninth and made a stupid mistake in one corner and stalled the engine. I could not get the bike started and it was disappointing because I would have had an easy top ten. I was pushing hard and should have been a bit more patient. In the second race I was put off by someone next to me hitting the gate and I should not have let it get to me, but it did. I missed the drop and had another bad start so I had to come through again. I rode around and it was the worst race of my life; really horrible. I was trying as hard as I could but it would have been better to back off and concentrate on being smooth and consistent. My lap-times got that way towards the end and I was doing the same pace as Philippaerts.”

Ben Townley:
“The crash in the first turn easily cost me the chance of taking the overall. I showed good speed in that first moto and hard to work a lot to take those positions. I was happy with my lap-times and I think if I had been near the front from the start I could have fought with Stefan. I used a lot of energy and that affected me in the second race. I thought Stefan might be a bit conservative when I was ahead of him but he has won too many times to back-off! He took control of the race and I thought I might be able to follow him but he was too strong. He is a legend of motocross though and I really want to congratulate him on that ninth title; it is a record that will never be matched.”

Steve Ramon:
“Overall second is a good result for me. When I got up to second in the first moto Stefan had already got free. I pushed to close the gap but started to feel a little tired later in the moto. In the next moto my start was better but I made a mistake in the whoops and some riders passed me. Ben came through and again I found myself working to try and close the gap. I am pleased with second place and I want to thank the team for the great job they did.”

Kenneth Gundersen:
“In the first moto I came from last to eighth but I crashed after ten minutes and stopped. In the second moto I wanted to start slowly and see if I would have some energy at the end. I started slow in the beginning and stayed that way the whole race! I could not find another pace. For me it was a good learning experience for next year. My speed is coming back but I need to work on my legs because I feel like I have no strength.”

MX1 Moto1

1. Everts, Stefan Yamaha 40:30.657
2. Ramon, Steve KTM 40:43.811
3. Coppins, Joshua Honda 41:10.522
4. Townley, Ben KTM 41:30.562
5. Strijbos, Kevin Suzuki 41:32.790
6. Vehvilainen, Jussi Honda 41:35.193
7. Theybers, Danny Suzuki 41:36.938
8. Jorgensen, Brian Yamaha 41:46.983
9. Barragan, J KTM 42:33.876
10. de Dijcker, Ken Honda 40:33.888
27. Gundersen, K KTM 9:24.422

MX1 Moto2

1. Everts, Stefan Yamaha 41:35.060
2. Townley, Ben KTM 42:12.886
3. Ramon, Steve KTM 42:16.389
4. Coppins, Joshua Honda 42:20.885
5. Barragan, J KTM 43:18.048
6. Priem, Manuel Yamaha 43:47.771
7. Vehvilainen, Jussi Honda 43:58.648
8. Strijbos, Kevin Suzuki 41:37.798
9. Verhoeven, Bas Honda 41:48.585
10. Theybers, Danny Suzuki 41:50.866
13. Gundersen, K KTM 42:21.894

MX1 Overall result

1. Everts, Stefan 50
2. Ramon, Steve 42
3. Townley, Ben 40
4. Coppins, Joshua 38
5. Vehvilainen, Jussi 29
6. Strijbos, Kevin 29
7. Barragan, Jonathan 28
8. Theybers, Danny 25
9. Priem, Manuel 23
10. Pyrhonen, Antti 20
17. Gundersen, K 8

MX1 World Championship standings

1. Everts, Stefan BEL 671
2. Coppins, Joshua NZL 614
3. Townley, Ben NZL 545
4. Ramon, Steve BEL 465
5. Pichon, Mickael FRA 446
6. Smets, Joel BEL 385
7. Leuret, Pascal FRA 296
8. de Dijcker, Ken BEL 292
9. Barragan, J. SPA 284
10. Noble, James GBR 282
31. Gundersen, K. NOR 22

MX2 Moto1

1. de Reuver, Marc KTM 40:40.549
2. Rattray, Tyla KTM 41:05.153
3. Mackenzie, Billy Yamaha 41:45.034
4. Caps, Patrick Honda 41:55.842
5. Philippaerts, David KTM 42:04.349
6. Chiodi, Alessio Yamaha 42:09.819
7. Cairoli, Antonio Yamaha 42:16.267
8. Goncalves, Rui Yamaha 42:23.758
9. McFarlane, Andrew Yamaha 42:27.241
10. Pourcel, C Kawasaki 42:29.490
11. Schiffer, Marcus KTM 42:29.590
23. Nunn, Carl KTM 16:07.359

MX2 Moto2

1. Rattray, Tyla KTM 42:31.654
2. de Reuver, Marc KTM 42:48.733
3. Philippaerts, David KTM 42:56.524
4. Mackenzie, Billy Yamaha 43:03.448
5. Pourcel, Sebastien Kawasaki 43:15.142
6. Pourcel, Christophe Kawasaki 43:24.787
7. Nunn, Carl KTM 43:30.866
8. Cairoli, Antonio Yamaha 43:35.336
9. Goncalves, Rui Yamaha 43:40.236
10. Chiodi, Alessio Yamaha 43:41.165

MX2 Overall result

1. Rattray, Tyla 47
2. de Reuver, Marc 47
3. Mackenzie, Billy 38
4. Philippaerts, David 36
5. Cairoli, Antonio 27
6. Pourcel, Christophe 26
7. Chiodi, Alessio 26
8. Pourcel, Sebastien 25
9. Goncalves, Rui 25
10. Caps, Patrick 18
11. Schiffer, Marcus 17
12. Nagl, Maximilian 16
13. Nunn, Carl 14

MX2 World Championship standings

1. Cairoli, A. ITA 549
2. McFarlane, A. AUS 494
3. Chiodi, Alessio ITA 479
4. Philippaerts, D. ITA 450
5. Pourcel, C. FRA 359
6. Melotte, Cedric BEL 352
7. Mackenzie, B. GBR 332
8. Nunn, Carl GBR 332
9. Sword, Stephen GBR 310
10. Goncalves, Rui POR 288
16. Rattray, Tyla RSA 179
27. de Reuver, Marc NED 89

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