David Philippaerts And Tyla Rattray Take World Titles In Italian GP - Dirt Rider Magazine

FAENZA (ITALY), 14 September 2008 - The SIDI Grand Prix of Citta di Faenza put a finish to the MX1 and MX2 World Championships throughout an extremely emotional event.The 30,000 home fans celebrated David Philippaerts' MX1 World Title at the end of a hard fought Grand Prix characterized by mixed weather conditions. Max Nagl won his first Grand Prix courtesy of a double heat win. Ken de Dycker and Jonathan Barragan rounded off the podium. Steve Ramon and De Dycker ended second and third respectively in the MX1 Championship.In the MX2 class it was another crowd explosion when Tyla Rattray wrapped up his first MX2 title after the first moto. Rattray even mounted on the GP podium in second place behind overall winner Tommy Searle. The latter ended second in the Championship with Nicolas Aubin rounding off the top three.MX1 CLASS
It was an intense day in Italy for Max Nagl and David Philippaerts; Nagl, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider, took his maiden start to finish first in heat one and went on to take another win in heat two ending with his first GP win under his belt.On the other hand David Philippaerts of Yamaha Monster Motocross rode two strong heats and even though he could not make the top three overall he was crowned MX1 World Champion in front of his home crowd. Philippaerts became the first ever Italian to win an MX1 Title as the last Italian to have won a title in the top class was Alex Puzar in 1990 (250cc).After taking second in heat one Teka Suzuki WMX1's Ken de Dycker moved up to second in the Championship but could not hold teammate Steve Ramon's challenge in heat two as he dropped back to third behind Ramon. Though De Dycker brought home a podium courtesy of a strong recovery in heat two.AXO KTM Silver Action's Jonathan Barragan brought the factory bike home in third courtesy of two fourth places in the heats.Ramon was fourth overall ahead of Philippaerts.Sebastien Pourcel had a tough day. In heat one some green net tangled up in his back wheel and forced him off for three laps. In heat two he crashed several times.MX1 Moto1
Nagl dominated heat one from the start to the checkered flag. Pourcel was following in second until a mistake forced the Frenchman off the track with green net tangling in his rear wheel. De Dycker and Philippaerts gained one position each and found themselves in second and third respectively. Previously the duo went through the pack in an impressive recovery from the bottom of the top ten. Barragan worked his way up to fourth ahead of Mackenzie as both exploited a mistake of De Reuver. Ramon was eleventh after a crash.MX1 Moto2
Once again Nagl dominated all 22 laps of the final heat. Ramon moved past Coppins for second and kept the place until the checkered flag, moving back to second in the Championship. On the other hand De Dycker had a bad start to recover to an eventual fifth. Philippaerts started well but dropped down to an eventual ninth to wrap up the MX1 title. Coppins was third ahead of Barragan who made a mistake before the end of the opening lap stalling the bike in a rut.De Reuver retired as he hurt his right foot while Pourcel crashed several times.Max Nagl:
"I trained so much for this weekend, Stefan (Everts, team manager and multi world champion) gave me some advice on the lines. I have won one race during the season but I can't believe today I won both for my first GP win. I will be back next year and I will be fighting for a top three position in the title."Ken De Dycker :
"If somebody had told me at the start of the season that I'd finish third in the championship I wouldn't have believed them It's been a long and hard championship season and I'm really pleased with my final position. The first race was good for me. I was riding well and I came from a long way back to finish second. The second moto wasn't so good, I got another bad start and I could see Steve ahead of me but I think that made me a little nervous because I wanted to catch him so much - it just didn't work out for me. I'm really happy that Suzuki won the manufacturers' title - it really means a lot to Suzuki, the team and also the riders. I think it goes a long way to prove just how good the Suzuki RM-Z450 is as a bike. I've learned a lot this year and for sure next year there will be things that I'll do differently. That's really important that I learn from my mistakes and I can gain motivation from the fact that I know I can still improve."David Philippaerts MX1 WORLD CHAMPION :
"It has been a long, long year and now I am so happy. Steve ( Ramon) and Ken ( De Dycker) were really fast all week and kept the pressure on. I wanted to take decent points at every GP and I only really believed that the title was in my grasp during that second moto today. I had looked at Steve's season in 2007 and I knew that consistency was the key to the title. I am so pleased for the team, Yamaha, Michele Rinaldi and my sponsors. I also want to say a big thank you to my girlfriend Alice. I am happy and it was so emotional to win the championship here in Italy and in front of those fans. I do not know what else I can say!"

MX2 CLASS
Tommy Searle did his best to take his World Title chance and close in on Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team mate Tyla Rattray. Searle went on to win both heats and the overall but a solid ride by Rattray in heat one saw the South African become World Champion after the first checkered flag of the day.Rattray took another podium with second overall as Champ KTM's Joel Roelants mounted on his first career podium courtesy of a fantastic final moto which he finished in second.Utag-Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne had a bad start in the opening moto but made up for it with a solid ride in third place at heat two. He was fourth overall ahead of Molson Kawasaki's Stephen Sword.Shaun Simpson and Nicolas Aubin rounded off the top seven as the Frenchman defended the third place in the Championship from Simpson.After a promising first heat Anthony Boissiere crashed and dnf'd in heat two. After today's solid performance the Frenchman will stand in for injured Steven Frossard at the Red Bull MXoN in two weeks at Donington.2 stroke Husqvarna mounted Antoine Meo ended 26th courtesy of the point he marked in heat one as Italian star Davide Guarneri was forced to retire due to problems to his right knee. He will undergo an operation this week.MX2 Moto 1
Searle led the pack into turn one but Boissiere moved past to lead the opening three laps. Searle and Rattray attacked and passed the Frenchman who never let the duo go. In the final laps the three came very close even though no passing took place. Searle won from Rattray who wrapped up the Title. Boissiere took third ahead of Sword and Van Horebeek who moved past Simpson with two laps to go. Osborne recovered to seventh ahead of Roelants and Aubin.MX2 Moto 2
Searle and Roelants battled it out for the top spot after they got rid of Sword taking the lead after the start. Once the duo had pulled away from the rest of the field Searle posted a successful move on Roelants to take the eventual win. The Belgian was second ahead of Osborne and Rattray. Sword dropped down to fifth ahead of Goncalves and Boog. Aubin Simpson and Monni rounded off the top ten.Boissiere crashed and dnf'd in the opening lap.Tommy Searle:
"I did my best today and although there was a big gap I never gave up hope of winning the title. I have learnt a lot in the last year. My best GP was in France but the second half of the season was quite difficult. I made a few mistakes but that is part of learning and I will take that experience with me when I go to race in the States."Tyla Rattray MX2 WORLD CHAMPION
"I was a bit stressed in the first moto but I was more relaxed in the second, I did have some problems with the suspension in the second moto and I didn't want to push too much but at the same time Tommy was very fast today. For me this is the best day and a dream come true."Zach Osborne:
"Just one point from the podium so it was quite a positive way to end the season. I was disappointed with my start in the first race; I made a complete mess with my technique and everything. I did better in the second moto and stayed in third for pretty much the whole way. I had one really big moment that cost me about four seconds and maybe that last spot on the podium but the result was OK. I enjoyed the track; it was really rough towards the end."MX1 Moto 1
1. Maximilian Nagl, KTM
2. Ken De Dycker, Suzuki
3. David Philippaerts, Yamaha
4. Jonathan Barragan, KTM
5. Billy MacKenzie, Honda
6. Marc De Reuver, Honda
7. Julien Bill, Honda
8. Clement Desalle, Suzuki
9. Marcus Schiffer, KTM
10. Joshua Coppins, YamahaMX1 Moto 2
1. Maximilian Nagl, KTM
2. Steve Ramon, Suzuki
3. Joshua Coppins, Yamaha
4. Jonathan Barragan, KTM
5. Ken De Dycker, Suzuki
6. Tanel Leok, Kawasaki
7. Clement Desalle, Suzuki
8. Carlos Campano, Yamaha
9. David Philippaerts, Yamaha
10. Billy MacKenzie, HondaMX1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINT
1. David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 509
2. Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 495
3. Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 490
4. Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 455
5. Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 446
6. Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 444
7. Sebastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 392
8. Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 352
9. Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 320
10. Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 292MX2 Moto 1
1. Tommy Searle, KTM
2. Tyla Rattray, KTM
3. Anthony Boissiere
4. Stephen Sword, Kawasaki
5. Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM
6. Shaun Simpson, KTM
7. Zach Osborne, Yamaha
8. Joel Roelants, KTM
9. Nicolas Aubin, YamahaMX2 Moto 2
1. Tommy Searle, KTM
2. Joel Roelants, KTM
3. Zach Osborne, Yamaha
4. Tyla Rattray, KTM
5. Stephen Sword, Kawasaki
6. Rui Goncalves, KTM
7. Xavier Boog, Suzuki
8. Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha
9. Shaun Simpson, KTM
10. Manuel Monni, YamahaMX2 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINT
1. Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 636
2. Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 613
3. Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 406
4. Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 394
5. Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 380
6. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 357
7. Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 307
8. Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 299
9. Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 291
10. Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 289
22. Zach Osborne, Yamaha, USA, 77