SEVENTH PODIUM OF THE SEASON FOR RATTRAY
05 September 2006 - KTM-Sportmotorcycles AG

Lierop (03.09.2006)

Factory Red Bull KTM motocrosser Tyla Rattray finished third at a wet and blustery Lierop for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands today and the penultimate round of the 2006 FIM MX1/MX2 World Championship. The South African picked up his second trophy inside a week and moved up to third in the series standings as a result.

The dark sand of Lierop was bumpy and technical, suiting Belgian-based KTM riders De Reuver, Rattray and Philippaerts down to the ground. Dark rain clouds made for dismal weather conditions but the track was as hard and physically tough as always. The course left the competitors more drained than after any other set of motos this year.

Rattray overcame a brace of average starts to place 2nd and 3rd on the 250 SX-F and take the third step of the rostrum behind winner Christophe Pourcel and Antonio Cairoli. David Philippaerts and Marc de Reuver both had motos to forget. The Italian was riding well in the first MX2 race and lead the vast majority of the 35 minute and 2 lap distance but with three laps remaining crashed at slow speed after being distracted by a fallen rider ahead of him. Losing time to restart Philippaerts then hassled Pourcel for third position and actually moved back into the top three on the final circulation but then slipped off again and limped home in 8th amongst a field separated by vast time differences.

De Reuver was recovering from a bad start and looked fast and slick at his home Grand Prix but then started to slow and finally retired in Moto1 after struggling with stomach cramps. The second race produced a similar story after a charge to second place was ruined by a crash on lap three and despite a decent effort to regain places he again pulled into the pits.

After making some adjustments to his rear suspension on Saturday Carl Nunn was a consistent presence in the top ten today and finished as the second highest member of the MX2 quartet with a well-earned 7th spot thanks to 9th and 5th place results.

Credit must be given to Silver Action Team’s Rui Goncalves who was 4th overall for his best classification of the season.

In MX1 Jonathan Barragan produced a confident and mature display in the sand. The Spaniard started the opening moto in the worst possible way by falling on the first corner. However he picked up the 450 SX-F – being used with some clutch modifications this weekend – and ploughed through the field to take 9th. Barragan’s steadiness while his peers either slipped up or became tired was encouraging and his speed merited 3rd in the second race; his seventh top three of a decent season. Barragan was 5th overall.

With only 50 points left to win this season the World Championship standings show that Rattray is third in MX2, leapfrogging Philippaerts with six points separating the pair. Rattray cannot rise any higher than third while De Reuver faces a similar predicament in fifth although he can still be caught by Nunn in sixth who is 30 points behind the Dutchman. Barragan cannot climb higher than sixth in MX1 and needs just five points to secure the position from the threat of Josh Coppins.

The last round of the 2006 campaign will take place in two weeks time at the Ernee circuit near the town of Rennes for the Grand Prix of France. One week afterwards all the members of the Red Bull KTM team will represent their countries at Matterley Basin in the United Kingdom for the 60th Motocross of Nations.

Tyla Rattray:
“In the first race I had a problem with my goggles and had to throw them off on the fifth lap. It was pretty hard to pass riders as I was getting their roost in my face all the time. I pushed hard and managed to get second; that was the best I could do. Christophe was too strong in the second. I spun on the gate and had to come back from twelfth position. I was up to eighth by the second lap and decided it was time to start kicking down and making time. I caught Christophe and rode behind him for three laps. I tried to pass him but then made a mistake and after that I felt tired.”

David Philippaerts:
“It was a difficult race. I had some good speed and lines in the first heat but I made a stupid crash. I saw the yellow flag and changed my line. I don’t know how it happened but I braked and the rear wheel flipped up and put me over the bars. It was hard to get the bike started. I tried to attack Pourcel and crashed on the last lap. Other than that the riding was good. In the second heat the bike felt a bit slow off the line and Tyla shot past me. Today was not a good day.”

Carl Nunn:
“We made some changes to the bike overnight with the rear shock and those alterations gave me a bit more confidence because I was struggling on the rough track during Saturday. In the first race I got a really bad start but put my head down because I knew it was going to be a long race. I passed as many people as I could and ended up ninth. In the second race my start was much better. I shot out of the gate but my back wheel bounced on the gate and I lost all my drive, however I made up a few positions. It was then a case of knuckling down again and passing as many people as possible. I was quite surprised at how many guys tired before twenty minutes was up and I did not really feel knackered until about ten minutes from the end. I am beat now. I did not finish both races here last year so now I know what it feels like!”

Marc de Reuver:
“In the first heat the cramp in my stomach was unbelievable. I was seeing double ruts. I had to stop because I could not manage any more. In the second moto I was riding well and coming to the front but then I crashed and tensed up. The cramps came again. My condition is not 100% but these races should not have been a problem so I don’t know what happened. I am only sorry I could not do a better GP for the fans.”

Jonathan Barragan:
“I had some bad luck in the first moto. I crashed at the start after touching another rider and I’m not sure who it was. I started last and came through to ninth for some points at least. In the second race I started better and was in the top eight. I began to gain some ground to arrive in third. Coppins was just in front but I had to lower my rhythm a little because it was really hard work. It was a hard track but I am happy with the overall result.”

MX1 Moto1

1. EVERTS Stefan BEL YAMAHA
2. COPPINS Joshua NZL HONDA
3. RAMON Steve BEL SUZUKI
4. LEOK Tanel EST KAWASAKI
5. DE DYCKER Ken BEL HONDA
6. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL SUZUKI
7. VERHOEVEN Bas NED KAWASAKI
8. PRIEM Manuel BEL YAMAHA
9. BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA KTM
10. NORLEN Marcus SWE SUZUKI

MX1 Moto2

1. EVERTS Stefan BEL YAMAHA
2. COPPINS Joshua NZL HONDA
3. BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA KTM
4. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL SUZUKI
5. RAMON Steve BEL SUZUKI
6. PRIEM Manuel BEL YAMAHA
7. AVIS Wyatt RSA KTM
8. FREIBERGS Lauris LAT SUZUKI
9. NEMETH Kornel HUN SUZUKI
10. VERHOEVEN Bas NED KAWASAKI

MX1 Overall result

1. EVERTS Stefan BEL YAMAHA 50
2. COPPINS Joshua NZL HONDA 44
3. RAMON Steve BEL SUZUKI 36
4. STRIJBOS Kevin BEL SUZUKI 33
5. BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA KTM 32
6. PRIEM Manuel BEL YAMAHA 28
7. VERHOEVEN Bas NED KAWASAKI 25
8. DE DYCKER Ken BEL HONDA 25
9. FREIBERGS Lauris LAT SUZUKI 19
10. NEMETH Kornel HUN SUZUKI 19

MX1 World Championship standings after 14 of 15 rounds

1. Stefan EVERTS BEL, 689
2. Kevin STRIJBOS BEL, 491
3. Steve RAMON BEL, 454
4. Ken DE DYCKER BEL, 434
5. Tanel LEOK EST, 405
6. J.BARRAGAN SPA, 338
7. Joshua COPPINS NZL, 293
8. Manuel PRIEM BEL, 267
9. Pascal LEURET FRA, 247
10. Cedric MELOTTE BEL, 224

MX2 Moto1

1. CAIROLI Antonio ITA YAMAHA
2. RATTRAY Tyla RSA KTM
3. POURCEL Christophe FRA KAWASAKI
4. SEARLE Tommy GBR KAWASAKI
5. LEOK Aigar EST YAMAHA
6. GONCALVES Rui POR KTM
7. NAGL Maximilian GER KTM
8. PHILIPPAERTS David ITA KTM
9. NUNN Carl GBR KTM
10. ROELANTS Joel BEL KTM
23. DE REUVER Marc NED KTM

MX2 Moto2

1. POURCEL Christophe FRA KAWASAKI
2. RATTRAY Tyla RSA KTM
3. CAIROLI Antonio ITA YAMAHA
4. GONCALVES Rui POR KTM
5. NUNN Carl GBR KTM
6. LEOK Aigar EST YAMAHA
7. SEARLE Tommy GBR KAWASAKI
8. SCHIFFER Marcus GER KTM
9. SEISTOLA Matti FIN HONDA
10. VERBRUGGEN Dennis BEL YAMAHA
22. DE REUVER Marc NED KTM
28. PHILIPPAERTS David ITA KTM

MX2 Overall result

1. POURCEL Christophe FRA KAWASAKI 45
2. CAIROLI Antonio ITA YAMAHA 45
3. RATTRAY Tyla RSA KTM 44
4. GONCALVES Rui POR KTM 33
5. SEARLE Tommy GBR KAWASAKI 32
6. LEOK Aigar EST YAMAHA 31
7. NUNN Carl GBR KTM 28
8. NAGL Maximilian GER KTM 24
9. SCHIFFER Marcus GER KTM 22
10. SEISTOLA Matti FIN HONDA 22
13. PHILIPPAERTS David ITA KTM 13
25. DE REUVER Marc NED KTM 0

MX2 World Championship standings after 14 of 15 rounds

1. POURCEL C. FRA 541
2. CAIROLI Antonio ITA 513
3. RATTRAY Tyla RSA 446
4. PHILIPPAERTS D. ITA 440
5. DE REUVER Marc NED 373
6. NUNN Carl GBR 343
7. GONCALVES Rui POR 300
8. SEARLE Tommy GBR 296
9. POURCEL S. FRA 291
10. SWANEPOEL Gareth RSA 286

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