FIM Motocross World Championship Benelux GP - Dirt Rider Magazine

LIEROP (THE NETHERLANDS), 7 September 2008 - Excitement continued in the FIM Motocross World Championships as the series just saw its penultimate round completed in Lierop under mixed weather conditions and in front of 35.000 spectators.Home rider Marc de Reuver won in front of the massive crowd as Ken de Dycker and Max Nagl rounded off the podium. David Philippaerts remained the series leader courtesy of two gutsy races as runner up Steve Ramon lost points on the Italian as he finished a bitter eighth.Tyla Rattray took another GP win to increase his points lead over teammate and runner up Tommy Searle, second on today's podium. Nicolas Aubin rounded off the top three and moved up to third in the Championship.MX1 CLASS
Martin Honda's sand specialist Marc de Reuver took his first ever GP victory on his favourite ground and no other place was better than his home round in Lierop. Winning heat one, De Reuver had a tough time in the final heat as Teka Suzuki WMX1's Ken de Dycker won to seal the second overall position. On the other hand De Reuver crashed twice but still won the overall courtesy of a strong recovery. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Max Nagl rounded off the podium ahead of Yamaha Monster Motocross' David Philippaerts and teammate Joshua Coppins. Steve Ramon had a tough time and could only manage to finish eighth overall.Billy Mackenzie sat out of the GP because a crash the previous day in practice caused him unbearable pain to the rib area.MX1 MOTO 1
De Reuver took victory in heat one after displaying great sand riding skills; the Dutchman felt the pressure of a hungry De Dycker who crashed in the final laps while chasing De Reuver for first. Once De Dycker crashed Philippaerts found himself in second but Barragan, who crashed in the opening laps while chasing early leader Nagl from second, eventually moved past for the runner up spot ahead of Philippaerts. Coppins rode solid to take fourth ahead of Nagl, who crashed with 13 minutes to go. Ramon dropped to seventh after a good start while De Dycker ended eighth.MX1 MOTO 2
An eventful final moto ended with De Dycker on top of the class ahead of Nagl and De Reuver. The latter put together two impressive recoveries; the first one after he crashed into Barragan, who had previously crashed, and the second one after he crashed when he was in the lead. For the first time in his career Priem led a moto but a mistake saw the Belgian drop down to ninth. Nagl confirmed his solid self by taking second and the same goes for Desalle, finishing fourth ahead of Philippaerts and Coppins. The latter gave victory a go when he stormed to De Dycker's tail in the final laps but a mistake and a crash hampered his final result. Ramon ended eighth ahead of Priem.Marc De Reuver:
"Qualifying was good. I put in a fast lap, then De Dycker passed me and I felt like I could give a little bit more so I went out again and I did the perfect lap. I knew from how good the time was that it would be good enough for pole and I was right.In the first moto I built up my pace through the race like I did in Lommel. I waited for the front guys to tire a little bit because they went wide open in the first few laps. I didn't have such a good rhythm in the beginning but it got better as the race progressed and I was able to work my way through all those guys and win quite easily.In the second moto I wanted to get a good start so I didn't get stuck in all the traffic. I actually did get a really good start and I was running second until Barragan passed me quite aggressively. I just let him go because I was confident that I could control the race anyway but then he crashed quite hard in front of me and I ran into him and I crashed also.I thought to myself 'this is not possible and I must win' so I did three or four very fast laps and then I rested for a little bit and then I pushed again to take the lead. Then I made a stupid mistake and I slid out right in front of the pit lane. When I got going again I was tired and all I could do was follow home the front guys to finish third. I'm very happy to win here in front of my home crowd - it's been an unbelievable day for me."

Ken De Dycker:
"It's been quite a good day for me, I got a pretty good start in the first race and I was just taking it easy and I moved into the lead without pushing too hard and but then Marc ( De Reuver) came by so I tried to follow his lines and not make too many mistakes but then I lost concentration a little bit and ended up stuck in the green fencing. It took me a long time to get out of it and that wasn't so good. I got another okay start and I came through okay but by the halfway point it started to get a little crazy because everyone was riding like it was the last lap or something. A lot of people made a lot of mistakes but I was able to keep going and it was good to win.I knew this was going to be a tough race and the track was very difficult to ride but I'm very pleased to win a moto and also to take second overall. I'm also happy to take points from both the riders ahead of me in the championship. I know it's easy to say 'if' about things but I know that if I hadn't made that mistake in the first race then I'd have caught up a lot more points but I learnt a lot from today and that's a good thing in itself."Max Nagl:
"I was very confident today, I've been living in Belgium for three years so I like riding in the sand. It's no problem for me. I took the holeshot in the first race and I was really pushing but I got tired in the end and finished in fifth .I broke the roll off mechanism so I couldn't see in the rain and mud so I had to throw away my goggles.MX1 Moto 1
1. Marc De Reuver, Honda
2. Jonathan Barragan
3. David Philippaerts
4. Joshua Coppins
5. Maximilian Nagl
6. Tanel Leok, Kawasaki
7. Steve Ramon, Suzuki
8. Ken De Dycker, Suzuki
9. Sebastien Pourcel, Kawasaki
10. Marcus Schiffer, KTMMX1 Moto 2
1. Ken De Dycker, Suzuki
2. Maximilian Nagl, KTM
3. Marc De Reuver, Honda
4. Clement Desalle, Suzuki
5. David Philippaerts, Yamaha
6. Joshua Coppins, Yamaha
7. Marcus Schiffer, KTM
8. Steve Ramon, Suzuki
9. Manuel Priem, Kawasaki
10. Aigar Leok, YamahaMX1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINT
1. David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 477
2. Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 463
3. Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 452
4. Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 419
5. Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 415
6. Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 394
7. Sebastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 392
8. Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 337
9. Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 293
10. Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 277MX2 CLASS
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Tyla Rattray took a step closer to the title by winning the GP of Benelux with a double moto victory. Teammate and runner up in the Championship Tommy Searle took second while Ricci Racing Yamaha's Nicolas Aubin completed the podium at the end of two hard fought motos. Other Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider Rui Goncalves and KTM UK's Shaun Simpson rounded off the top five ahead of Gert Krestinov and Matiss Karro, both who gave superb performances.Steven Frossard crashed and was injured in the second moto. After he was taken to the hospital to remove a brake peg that penetrated the lower part of his body Frossard is now okay. The fracture to his fibula will prevent him from racing Faenza and the Red Bull MXoN as the new French Team's line up will be announced soon.MX2 MOTO 1
Rattray won a hard fought first moto which started with Goncalves on the lead; the Portuguese tried to pull away and set quite a good pace until Rattray and Searle caught up with him to move past eventually. In the final laps Searle chased down Rattray but crossed the chequered flag in second. Goncalves was third ahead of Aubin as Roelants rounded off the top five. Karro took ninth after spending the first laps in the top five while sand specialist Gert Krestinov was twelfth after a couple of crashes.MX2 MOTO 2
Krestinov took an early lead then Rattray moved past to take a dominant win from Searle, who tried once again to come closer to the Championship leader. Again Aubin worked his way up to third after a troubled start while Goncalves and Krestinov rounded off the top five. Latvian Karro ended eighth after having ridden with the front runners in the early stages.Frossard and Roelants crashed at the end of the opening lap and the Frenchman ended to the hospital with a broken fibula and part of a brake peg inside the lower part of his body. The peg was successfully removed and the rider is now ready to recover.

Tyla Rattray:
"It was a good weekend, Rui (Goncalves) was in the lead in race one and I got behind him and tried to keep a good pace and not take risks because the track was very rough. Then I passed him in the final stages and put in a fast lap time to take the win. I knew the second race would be about physical condition but I'm very fit so that was no problem. Also I knew it was going to be a race between Tommy (Searle) and me because we are the fastest."Tommy Searle:
"I tried my best but the last two GPs have been very tough. I had some problems in qualifying so I didn't have very good starts and I am not a specialist on this type of track. I also knew Tyla is strong on sand and it was very hard to race on this surface. I'm still satisfied and the championship is still open even though I know the only way I can win now is if Tyla has some misfortune."Nicolas Aubin:
"Top three in the championship was my aim at the beginning of the season so I was watching Simpson and Goncalves carefully today. I had some low moments in the middle of the year but I have been building it back up and getting better step-by-step. I liked the track but my starts were not great and I made some small mistakes, apart from that moment my rhythm was strong and my lines were good. I am happy with the podium today and can take some more confidence to Faenza."Zach Osborne:
"In the first moto I just struggled with the rhythm of the track. It wasn't a good race for me and I fell three times. In the second moto I started OK and was around eighth before we had another small problem with the bike. Overall it was not a good day but I learned a lot from the weekend. The sand was a lot different to Lommel. It was heavier and required a different technique. The Grand Prix was a good experience." MX2 Moto 1
1. Tyla Rattray, KTM
2. Tommy Searle, KTM
3. Rui Goncalves, KTM
4. Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha
5. Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL
6. Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR
7. Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA
8. Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM
9. Matiss Karro, Suzuki
10. Gareth Swanepoel, KawasakiMX2 Moto 2
1. Tyla Rattray, KTM
2. Tommy Searle, KTM
3. Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha
4. Rui Goncalves, KTM
5. Gert Krestinov, KTM
6. Shaun Simpson, KTM
7. Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha
8. Matiss Karro, Suzuki
9. Gareth Swanepoel, Kawasaki
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTMMX2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINT
1. Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 596
2. Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 563
3. Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 381
4. Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 367
5. Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 365
6. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 357
7. Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 289
8. Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 283
9. Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 277
10. Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 259
28. Zach ,Osborne , Yamaha, USA, 43