CAIROLI BEATS THEM ALL
08 August 2004 - Yamaha Racing

Building on his success in Czech Republic last weekend, teenage sensation Antonio Cairoli (De Cali Yamaha) continued his show of speed in Namur and took the overall win in the MX2 class.

Cairoli was the most consistent rider claiming second in race one and coming home fourth in race two. Finland’s Jussi Vehvilainen made a successful comeback to racing action to claim second overall. Andrew McFarlane (Yamaha UK Race Team) took third. Townley (KTM) leads provisional standings with 497 points, Rattray (KTM) is second, Yamaha trio Cairoli, McFarlane and Chiodi hold third, fourth and fifth.

Race one saw Finnish rider Jussi Vehvilainen take the holeshot with Alessio Chiodi (Team Yamaha RZ) and Antonio Cairoli in hot pursuit, and these positions remained deadlocked for nine laps. A mistake by Vehvilainen allowed Chiodi and Cairoli into first and second places and the two Yamaha pilots set about a dogfight that set the crowd alight. Try as he might the young Italian couldn’t get by his more experienced countryman and Chiodi crossed the finish line in first place. Cairoli was second, and Michaël Maschio (Kawasaki) took third, Caps (Team Yamaha Evolution) and McFarlane were fourth and fifth.

The second race once again saw Jussi Vehvilainen storm into the lead, but he was unable to hold off the challenges of series leader Ben Townley (KTM) as the Kiwi when by on lap five. Andrew McFarlane also had a great start and although he lost some places in the race, his fifth place in race one and eighth in race two put him on the podium in third overall. Bad luck hit Chiodi in the second outing and a mechanical failure in the engine put him out of the race on lap one. Meanwhile Cairoli was making progress through the field following a mediocre start in seventh place on lap one. Townley went on to win the race with his team-mate Mark De Reuver pushing hard in second, Jussi Vehvilainen in third and Antonio Cairoli in fourth, and sufficient points to hand him the overall win from Vehvilainen and McFarlane. The YZ250F mounted Italian Manuel Monni (Team Yamaha De Carli) had his best heat result of the season, finishing tenth.

Antonio Cairoli (Yamaha De Carli) – overall winner
“The track here in Namur is quite unique so when I first rode on Saturday I had some problems to find a good rhythm, but lap after lap I was getting faster and by the end of the day I was happy. I didn’t like the track when I arrived, but of course I do now. The first race was quite intense racing with Chiodi, but I enjoyed it very much. Then in the second race, I didn’t get such a good start but I saw that Alessio had stopped and so the pressure was off me a little. I am very happy to win here today.”

Andrew McFarlane (Yamaha UK Race Team) – third overall
“I damaged my shoulder on the Wednesday during training, just before Loket and I was unable to race there, so I’m very happy to be on the podium here in Namur. I still lack strength and power in my shoulder and I had to ride smartly here today because it wasn’t possible to push as hard as I’d normally like to. I just tried to get as many points as possible so I’m pleased with my overall result today.”

Alessio Chiodi (Team Yamaha RZ) – seventh overall
“I was really happy with my win in the first moto. The race was very tough and Cairoli really pushed me hard, but I think my experience carried me through to win in the end. In the second race I was holding onto third place but unfortunately I developed an engine problem with the bike and didn’t even manage to complete one lap. Of course this cost me a possible overall win today.”

Patrick Caps (Team Yamaha Evolution) – 13th overall
“To crash in the second race was very disappointing. I felt very comfortable on the track today and I had the speed to be on the overall podium at my home GP. Coming home fourth in the opening race was a good result, because I had to come back from seventh. Unfortunately I lost some time to pass McFarlane who was fourth and when I finally passed him I had lost contact with the leaders. Just after the start in the second race I collided with another rider, the bike was damaged and I hurt my back. Going on was impossible.”

Andrea Bartolini (Team Yamaha RZ) – 15th overall
“I got quite a poor start in the first race and had to push very hard to make up some places which really took a lot of energy. In the second race I got an even worse start and really struggled with the heat and severity of the track so I reluctantly had to retire from the race on lap three.”

Claudio Federici (Team Yamaha De Carli) – 22nd overall
“I crashed at the start of the first race and worked very hard to push through the field which was very tough. I eventually finished the race in 13th place which is not so good, but it was the best I could do after starting in last place. I got another bad start in the second race but crashed whilst in 17th place and retired without any hope of a good finish.”

Race classification MX2

Round: 13 - Grand Prix of Wallonie
Circuit: Namur
Circuit Length: 2477
Lap Record: 2'' 45.269 (Marc De Reuver, 2004)

Race: 15 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA 42'' 37.773
2 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +1.623
3 M. Maschio Kawasaki FRA +20.278
4 P. Caps Yamaha BEL +31.137
5 A. McFarlane Yamaha AUS +44.556
6 J. Vehvilainen Honda FIN +53.995
7 T. Rattray KTM RSA +1'' 15.613
8 A. Bartolini Yamaha ITA +1'' 19.195
9 C. Stevanini Honda ITA +1'' 20.735
10 A. Leok KTM EST +1'' 21.967
11 C. Nunn Honda GBR +1'' 30.923
12 P. Leuret KTM FRA +1'' 32.574
13 C. Federici Yamaha ITA +1'' 33.473
14 A. Boissiere Yamaha FRA +1'' 36.671
15 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +1'' 39.476
16 S. Sword Kawasaki BGR +1'' 40.389
17 W. Avis Suzuki RSA +1'' 42.331
18 G. Swanepoel KTM RSA +1'' 43.917
19 D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +1'' 46.634
20 M. Van Daele Suzuki BEL +1'' 47.883

Race 2: 15 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 B. Townley KTM NZL 42'' 8.052
2 M. De Reuver KTM NED +2.224
3 J. Vehvilainen Honda FIN +6.828
4 A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +22.394
5 S. Sword Kawasaki BGR +26.925
6 C. Nunn Honda GBR +33.184
7 S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +38.555
8 A. McFarlane Yamaha AUS +39.278
9 T. Rattray KTM RSA +53.173
10 M. Monni Yamaha ITA +56.332
11 A. Boissiere Yamaha FRA +57.093
12 M. Van Daele Suzuki BEL +59.057
13 T. Allier Kawasaki FRA +1'' 8.043
14 A. Leok KTM EST +1'' 10.725
15 K. Salaets Honda BEL +1'' 12.016
16 G. Swanepoel KTM RSA +1'' 15.208
17 R. Goncalves Yamaha POR +1'' 15.970
18 P. Leuret KTM FRA +1'' 28.248
19 C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +1'' 30.413
20 F. Sandouly Yamaha FRA +1'' 33.374

Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 M. De Reuver KTM NED 2'' 45.269

Championship standings MX2
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Ben Townley KTM NZL 497
2 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 404
3 Stephen Sword Kawasaki BGR 382
4 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 337
5 Andrew McFarlane Yamaha AUS 329
6 Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 318
7 Mickael Maschio Kawasaki FRA 303
8 Carl Nunn Honda GBR 253
9 Patrick Caps Yamaha BEL 248
10 Claudio Federici Yamaha ITA 207
11 Aigar Leok KTM EST 194
12 Anthony Boissiere Yamaha FRA 187
13 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 186
14 Marc De Reuver KTM NED 177
15 James Dobb Honda GBR 154
16 Jeff Dement Honda USA 150
17 Andrea Bartolini Yamaha ITA 148
18 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 121
19 Pascal Leuret KTM FRA 117
20 Marvin Van Daele Suzuki BEL 116
30 Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 45


Manufacturers standings MX2
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 KTM 298
2 Yamaha 261
3 Kawasaki 242
4 Honda 192
5 Suzuki 83

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