WCH MX: RND 2, GRAND PRIX OF SPAIN
17 April 2006 - KTM-Sportmotorcycles AG

Bellpuig Second win in a row for Rattray (16.04.2006)

Redbull KTM Motocross representative Tyla Rattray rode to his second consecutive Grand Prix victory this afternoon at Bellpuig and the Grand Prix of Spain.

The 20 year old was 5th and 2nd in the two motos and climbed the top step of the podium at the venue where he scored his debut Grand Prix win two years ago. He was joined in his celebration by Marc de Reuver who entered the top three for the second time in two weeks. The duo now hold the top two positions in the World Championship.

The Bellpuig soil offered up its usual bumpy and hard texture, and the racing conditions were extra tricky under some hot spring sunshine, which also bathed the 26, 200 fans that travelled to the venue in Catalunya.

Rattray churned out a decent performance in the first MX2 race after falling on the second turn and needing half of the 20 laps to arrive back to fifth. The South African stuck with holeshotter Antonio Cairoli in the second moto and the pair circulated together at the front but the Italian, who had crashed and retired in Moto1, proved too strong for the Zolder victor. De Reuver, defying some back pain, had a small crash earlier in the day but gained the overall runner-up spot with a 3rd and 5th.

Several mistakes by Sebastien Tortelli, in both MX1 motos, meant that the Frenchman could not repeat his Belgian-battle with Everts and was resigned to 6th position overall. The former World Champion made a strong comeback to 5th in the second moto after a first lap incident left him down in 23rd across the line.

He was slightly overshadowed by team-mate Jonathan Barragan, riding the new SX-450F, in the first race as the youngster produced a decent performance in front of his own fans. He resisted the pressure of Stefan Evertsfor a quarter of the distance and only being demoted to 4th by the World Champion with 2 laps to run. The Spaniard did not get the best start in the second half of the MX1 contest and finished 7th.

David Philippaerts was frustrated by two bad starts in the MX2 class that largely determined his hefty distance from the leaders. The Italian, who won the opening MX2 moto at Zolder two weeks ago, also hit the deck in the first race and finished 6th. He was 10th in Moto2 for seventh overall. Carl Nunn rode in spite of some discomfort with his knee that he banged in practice yesterday after a run-in with a wild card entrant. The British Champion started in the top four on both occasions but wasn’t able to sustain a pace to stay with his team-mates and ended up 10th overall.

The third round of the World Championship will occur in just seven days with a trip to Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal.

Tyla Rattray:

“It was crazy the amount of water they put down for the race. When I can around the second corner I lost the front end and slid down the track like a road racer. I picked the bike up quickly and saw a few guys go down in the second corner. I knew I had to put in a few hard laps in the beginning because the group starts to get spread out and it is harder to pass riders. I expected the second race to be a lot better, as long as I could get through the first lap OK. I got a good jump out of the gate but then I bumped with Kenneth and only came around the first turn in third. I passed De Reuver to try and stay with Cairoli. He was trying to get away and stretch a lead but I wasn’t going to let that happen. I was pushing as hard as he was and although the pace dropped a little bit towards the end I still could not find a way to get close to overtake. That makes nine GP wins and I’d really like to go for number ten in Portugal.”

Marc de Reuver:

“I was third in the first heat and that was the best I could do because I made some mistakes and I had to push a lot to stay ahead of Pourcel. It was quite exciting towards the end as four riders were within five seconds of each other. I started well again in the second heat but I wasn’t riding as smooth and made a small crash. I still took fifth and it was good enough for another podium and also important for the Championship because I am still second. I am being consistent and I have finished top five in every heat so far.”

Sebastien Tortelli:

“I did not ride this week because I was not 100% and a few mistakes arrived today. It was a hard race. I was missing a little time on the bike and it is always useful to ride during the week before coming to the GP. So I struggled to find my groove and wasn’t riding the way I wanted to. I had a good charge in the second moto because I did not like how the first race turned out.”

Jonathan Barragan:

“In the first race I made a good start which is so important in the World Championships. I could keep third position for practically the whole moto but I was making a few mistakes and felt the pressure of Everts coming. I was fighting with him for a little while but could not re-take third. In the second race I was down in 12th at the start and tried hard to come back. I spent most of the time trying to get past Jorgensen and a few other riders and that messed with my rhythm. Normally my home GP is not easy because I feel the pressure but today I learned from the experience and how the atmosphere can help me. I took some important points here and the new bike worked well although we have to do a little bit of work on the clutch.”

MX1 Moto1 Result

1. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL SUZUKI

2. LEOK Tanel EST KAWASAKI

3. EVERTS Stefan BEL YAMAHA

4. BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA KTM

5. DE DYCKER Ken BEL HONDA

6. RAMON Steve BEL SUZUKI

7. TORTELLI Sebastien FRA KTM

8. BILL Julien SUI YAMAHA

9. NOBLE James GBR HONDA

10. MELOTTE Cedric BEL YAMAHA

MX1 Moto2 Result

1. EVERTS Stefan BEL YAMAHA

2. LEOK Tanel EST KAWASAKI

3. RAMON Steve BEL SUZUKI

4. MELOTTE Cedric BEL YAMAHA

5. TORTELLI Sebastien FRA KTM

6. DE DYCKER Ken BEL HONDA

7. BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA KTM

8. PRIEM Manuel BEL YAMAHA

9. LEURET Pascal FRA HONDA

10. JORGENSSEN Brian DEN HONDA

MX1 Overall classification

1. EVERTS Stefan BEL 45

2. LEOK Tanel EST 44

3. RAMON Steve BEL 35

4. BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA 32

5. DE DYCKER Ken BEL 31

6. TORTELLI Sebastien FRA 30

7. MELOTTE Cedric BEL 29

8. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL 27

9. LEURET Pascal FRA 22

10. BILL Julien SUI 22

MX1 World Championship standings after 2 rounds of 15:

1. EVERTS Stefan BEL 92

2. LEOK Tanel EST 82

3. TORTELLI S. FRA 77

4. RAMON Steve BEL 69

5. DE DYCKER Ken BEL 61

6. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL 60

7. BARRAGAN J. SPA 59

8. MELOTTE Cedric BEL 54

9. LEURET Pascal FRA 47

10. PRIEM Manuel BEL 30

MX2 Moto1 Result

1. GUNDERSEN Kenneth NOR YAMAHA

2. CHIODI Alessio ITA YAMAHA

3. DE REUVER Marc NED KTM

4. POURCEL Christophe FRA KAWASAKI

5. RATTRAY Tyla RSA KTM

6. POURCEL Sébastien FRA KAWASAKI

7. NUNN Carl GBR KTM

8. MACKENZIE Billy GBR YAMAHA

9. SEGUY Luigi FRA YAMAHA

10. PHILIPPAERTS David ITA KTM

MX2 Moto2 Result

1. CAIROLI Antonio ITA YAMAHA

2. RATTRAY Tyla RSA KTM

3. MACKENZIE Billy GBR YAMAHA

4. GONCALVES Rui POR KTM

5. DE REUVER Marc NED KTM

6. PHILIPPAERTS David ITA KTM

7. POURCEL Christophe FRA KAWASAKI

8. GUARNERI Davide ITA YAMAHA

9. SEGUY Luigi FRA YAMAHA

10. CHIODI Alessio ITA YAMAHA

12. NUNN Carl GBR KTM

MX2 Overall classification

1. RATTRAY Tyla RSA 38

2. DE REUVER Marc NED 36

3. MACKENZIE Billy GBR 33

4. CHIODI Alessio ITA 33

5. POURCEL Christophe FRA 32

6. GUNDERSEN Kenneth NOR 27

7. PHILIPPAERTS David ITA 26

8. CAIROLI Antonio ITA 25

9. SEGUY Luigi FRA 24

10. NUNN Carl GBR 23

MX2 World Championship standings after 2 rounds of 15:

1. RATTRAY Tyla 83

2. DE REUVER Marc 74

3. GUNDERSEN K. 64

4. POURCEL C. 64

5. PHILIPPAERTS D. 59

6. CAIROLI Antonio 53

7. CHIODI Alessio 48

8. NUNN Carl 47

9. MACKENZIE Billy 45

10. POURCEL S. 44

Photo courtesy of R Archer

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