Everts Continues MXGP Domination at the Germany GP, Pourcel Claims his First MX2 Victory

The Germany GP of the '06 FIM Championship Series marked the fourth consecutive win by the unstoppable Stefan Everts, making it his 91st career GP win. Cristophe Pourcel won his first GP in the MX2.

A huge crowd of 30,000 people participated in this fourth event in the MX World Championship that took place in the little town of Teutschenthal just outside Halle, Germany. The weekend featured very nice weather throughout and the track was very dry and hard even though it had been watered abundantly. There was really only one visible line on the course, so passing was very difficult and this made the start the crucial point of the race.

Medical Bulletin:

Bad news for the KTM team. After a thorough analysis of Sebastien Tortelli, he's been diagnosed with ruptured ligaments in his right knee which is going to stop the Frenchman from riding for at least 5 months.

Kawasaki rider Stefan Sword was victim to an awful fall during warm up on Sunday. He was riding at very high speed when he got to the table top parallel to the finishing line and jumped more than 20 meters (60 feet) and nearly crashed into the crowd. He hit the ground quite hard but luckily enough for the Scottish rider, he only broke his ankle.

MX1 Class

It was another double victory for Stefan Everts of the Rinaldi Team. He is unbeatable, fast, determined and most important of all, at ease with his new YZ450F which is surely helping him to take the lead right from the start (which didn't happen very often last year). The other riders are only left to see the number 72 from behind.

Kevin Strijbos and Tanel Leok, in the first and the second moto respectively, tried to put their wheels in front of the Belgian's, but there was nothing they could do. Everytime Stefan noticed that somebody was trying to challenge him for the lead, he'd simply speed up and readjust the distance.

Kevin Strijbos finished second overall. The young Belgian on his works Suzuki demonstrated once again that he's growing as a rider; he's very fast, concrete and most importantly, he hardly ever makes mistakes. He tried repeatedly to put Everts under pressure in the first heat by trying to get around him, but he failed. A poor start for him in the second heat penalized his whole performance.

Tanel Leok, thanks to a 6-2 finish, gained third overall in the German GP. The Estonian and his Kawasaki were slowed down in the first heat by Steve Ramon's crash and he was left to fight his way back up to sixth place. The second heat ended much better where straight after the start he got close to Everts and even attempted to pass, him but with no success (apart from his second place finish).

Steve Ramon slid out in the first turn just after the start, Leok luckily avoided him, but still lost precious time.

Everts has been enjoying some holeshots lately and did the same in Germany. Strijbos and Cedric Melotte followed him into the first turn. This trio remained the same until the second-to-last lap when Melotte was overtaken by Jonathan Barragan: the Spanish rider is the only one still riding a works KTM due to Mickael Pichon's problems and Sebastien Tortelli's injury.

Ramon, 27th after the fall, recovered nicely and crossed the finish line in ninth place

Strijbos didn't start off too well in the second moto because Leok got his place behind the gate, forcing Strijbos to go into a spot that was full of mud, with little traction for his bike.

Everts had a splendid start and he led the whole group off the line. Leok started off good as well as the Belgian and he tried to push it as much as he could to get close to the leader. But as soon as he got close to Everts, Rinaldi signalled his rider, Stefan, to pick up the pace to rebuffer the distance, which he did.

Ramon, the other Suzuki rider, still kept in third place until the 14th lap during which he slid out to end his race in fifth. A bad start and two falls coerced a DNF from Melotte, who retired from the race before the end.

Everts was once again the winner, and still dominates the chart with 192 points over Leok (152) and Strijbos (138).

Stefan Everts:
"I rode really fast today and I had to because Kevin Strijbos chased me in the first Moto and Tanel Leok was right there in the second. It is better for me when I have some pressure and quick riders around. The young guys are getting better and physically stronger. They want to beat me for sure so I have to keep on working hard during the week. I am doing my best. It is good for the racing that we have these guys at the front and it makes it more interesting. The new Yamaha is so strong, not only for riding but also on the starts; I am making a lot of holeshots and this makes it so much easier to win the race."

Kevin Strijbos:
"The track was fast today but I had a good feeling on the bike. In the first heat I could push a lot and there was maybe two occasions when I could pass Everts but he was tough to overtake. I think I exerted myself too much in the first 15 minutes because I had to back off a little towards the end. In the second moto I had to pick another gate because Leok took mine. It was full of mud and I did not get a good jump. I was far back along the straight but could turn tight and gained a lot of positions by heading up the inside. After Ken passed me I started to find better lines and rhythm. It was just a shame that I could not catch him in the last couple of laps. However I am really pleased with the podium and I feel like I am getting better and more confident every week."

Tanel Leok:
"I had a good reaction from that start gate but Ramon was just ahead of me and lost his front wheel as we hit the tight right hand first turn, it's on a downhill so I don't know if he just braked too hard or clipped someone's rear wheel. I missed him luckily, but lost a lot of time, by the end of lap one I had moved up to 10th position. With three or four laps still to go I could see that I was riding in a lonely 6th position, I couldn't catch the guys in front and I had a safe distance on 7th place, I knew that race two would be tough and I wanted to save my energy.

"In the Moto2 my start was much better but I can't believe how Everts can be so strong and get off the line to grab the holeshot, I was right with him on his rear wheel right until five or so laps from the end. There were quite few opportunities where I wanted to make a pass, he has such good lines I was closing on his by just riding in his tire tracks, I think there were some many times I was within bike or two bike lengths off him. I know that I needed second position, there was no way that I could catch or pass his, he was simply too strong, I rode to save second and get on the podium."

MX2 Class

The French Cristophe Pourcel came very close to victory two weeks ago in the Portugal GP, and it was just a matter of time for him to achieve his first deserved victory in his young career.

The rider of the Kawasaki team GPKR, though only 17 years-old, had a fantastic weekend. He started off by winning the qualifying race on Saturday, and then dominating both motos with incredible speed and precision. To top all this, he had two high-flying holeshots. He's definitely gaining authority—he's likely to be one of the contenders to win the MX2 World Championship.

Marc DeReuver perfrormed well aboard his KTM SX-F. The tall and funny Dutch rider pulled out a lot of determination and regularity on a track not very suitable for him, who's more accustomed to the sands of Northern Europe. Thanks to two second places (his best perfromance in 2006) he finished second overall, and more importantly he's gained points for his teammate Tyla Rattray who holds the lead.

It's now clear that Tyla Rattray is aiming to win the championship. He is still the series leader in the MX2 class, but his advantage is down to only eight points after two not-so-brilliant starts. On a track where passing was a real mission, and after a few too many bobbles, the South African tried to limit the damage. And with a 4-3 finish, he succeded. He knows the championship is still far from ending. In fact, there are still 22 motos to be disputed, but it's always very important to gain points.

This GP started off badly for Italian rider Antonio Cairoli, the defending world champion. The DeCarli team rider crashed his Yamaha, sending him to the ground hard during the warm-up, causing him some bad bruises to his neck and shoulder.

He took some painkillers before the beginning of the race which only helped him through the first heat where he battled hard against Tyla Rattray for fourth place. But unfortunately for him the painkillers lost their effect by the time the second moto started, and he had to settle for a seventh place which landed him an overall fifth place finish.

It was a good performance by veteran rider Alessio "Chicco" Chiodi, who thanks to his experience and regularity took his Yamaha (Team Ricci) to third place in the first moto. When he was nearly about to repeat the same performance in the second moto, mechanical failure took him out of the race with only three laps to go.

Like already said, it was Cristophe Pourcel who holeshot the first moto, the first rider on the down hill part of the track just off the start, followed by his older brother Sebastien. Luck was definitely not on Sebastien's side. In fact, he retired from the race during the seventh lap due to mechanical problems with his Kawasaki. In the meantime, an exciting battle for second was going on between the two KTM teammates: Rattray and DeReuver. Unfortunately for Rattray, he slid out and was left to face Chiodi. Even thugh Rattray tried to overtake the Italian in many ways, he bobbled again and ended fourth. This first heat saw Cristophe Pourcel first, DeReuver second and Chiodi third.

Another start in moto 2 was another holeshot for Cristophe, with Chiodi glued to his wheels and DeReuver, Mackenzie and Rattray following behind. During the foruth lap, DeReuver overtook Chiodi, as did Rattray with Mackenzie. Sebastien Puorcel unfortunately DNF again due to more problems with his Kawasaki.

C. Pourcel, DeReuver, Chiodi and Rattray lead the charge, respectively. But three laps away from the end of the race, Chiodi was on foot at the edge of the circuit and he seemed very angry. We soon found out his bike stopped working completely.

Christophe Pourcel:
"I never really enjoyed this track, but I found some good lines. Before we came I knew that the start will be important, and with Sbastien we did our best to take the first two places on the grid. We both won our qualifying race, and took the inside position on the grid. I got two good start, I felt comfortable on the bike and that's it! At the first start I pushed a little bit Chiodi, I knew that I would lost too much time if I didn't passed him straight. It was easy to do a mistake and I pushed really hard to have a strong lead, then I controled the race without any trouble. At the moment I work a lot on the start, that's the key of the race. I'm not really surprised to win the GP, I knew that I had the speed to win and I just needed great start."

Marc de Reuver:
"It is the first time I have finished second this season and they were my best two motos yet. I made some good starts but I got lucky in some places. Guarneri and Philippaerts took each other out and Sebastien Pourcel's bike broke but I will not complain about some good fortune! It is my best start to the season, three podiums in four races and I am putting together some good results at the moment which is important for the Championship

Tyla Rattray:
"In the first moto I did not get such a good start but I kept tight in the first corner and came around tenth. I passed a few guys quickly before Guarneri and Philippaerts crashed together. I was into fourth and pushing hard to pass Chicco. I caught up but then stalled the bike and lost time to restart. I had Cairoli behind me at the end and it was a good race between us for fourth. In the second moto I was third and trying to pass Marc. I went into the corner after the table-top and lost the front end. I got back into the race and was closing on Chicco towards the finish; luckily for me his bike broke. I enjoy racing with him because he is a nice guy, and also hard to beat. I took third and the same position overall; it was vital for the Championship."