Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

but it didn't work on the start line." Jonathan Barragan of the KTM factory team was third overall and showed good speed. He continues to fight for top five finishes, and Loket was his second podi- um finish of the season - the first being the GP of Portugal. In the MX2 races David Philippaerts won but had some rough battles with series leader Christophe Pourcel and defending champion Antonio Cairoli. Pourcel felt it was not clean riding by Philippaerts and said so in the press con- ference after the race. Philippaerts, who was sitting next to Pourcel at the time, came back with his own idea of how it all went, and no doubt the two will cross paths again soon. Philippaerts may have won the MX2 class, but he certainly did- n't make any new friends at Loket. Of course, the Italian saw it differently than his rivals. "In the second heat I passed Pourcel," Philippaerts told. "I block-passed him, and the second corner he passed me back in a normal fashion. I passed Cairoli hard, but this is motocross; I think it is okay to ride that way. "In the second moto I had some prob- lems with my brake on the fifth lap. I pushed the brake and it didn't work, then I pushed the brake again and crashed. It's difficult to win the championship, but it's possible to win all the races, that is what I try to do." Pourcel, the series leader and favorite to win the MX2 world title, was not happy with how Philippaerts rode, and also had trouble with Belgian rider Patrick Caps. Still, Pourcel remains smart, scoring points when he needs them and not losing his large points lead he has held for a month now. "At the start of the first moto we all came togeth- er," Pourcel said. "Cairoli, myself and some others all locked up together and I crashed. I made a great recov- ery, but at the end I had some trouble with Caps. Caps has some feeling towards me and he does all he can to stay in front of me, but in the end he gets tired and I pass him. In the second moto I had a better start, then I made some mistakes. The fight I had with Philippaerts was diffi- cult; to me, he does not ride by the rules. He is very aggressive and I don't like rac- ing close with him." England's Carl Nunn of the Champ KTM team finished third in the MX2 class and rode with consistency, just as he had done in South Africa two weeks earlier. The British rider has reached his peak form, and he is beginning to turn out some good results as he searches for a ride for next year. "South Africa was good for me," Nunn said. "It gave me confidence to run at the front. Basically, I didn't make silly mistakes today. I just wish the better form had come earlier in the season, really." CN GRAND PRIX OF CZECH REPUBLIC LOKET, CZECH REPUBLIC RESULTS: JULY 3, 2006 (ROUND 1 OF 15) MX1 MOTO 1: 1. Stefan Everts (Yam); 2. Joshua Coppins (Hon); 3. Jonathan Barragan (KTM); 4. Steve Ramon (Suz); 5. Ken de Dijcker (Hon); 6. Kevin Strijbos (Suz); 7. James Noble (Hon); 8. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 9. Pascal Leuret (Hon); 10. Wyatt Avis (KTM); 11. Manuel Priem (Yam); 12. Clement Desalle (Suz); 13. Alex Salvini (Suz); 14. Kornel Nemeth (Suz); 15. Lauris Freibergs (Suz). MOTO 2: 1. Stefan Everts (Yam); 2. Kevin Strijbos (Suz); 3. Joshua Coppins (Hon); 4. Jonathan Barragan (KTM); 5. Steve Ramon (Suz); 6. Ken de Dijcker (Hon); 7. Gordon Crockard (Hon); 8. Cedric Melotte (Yam); 9. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 10. Manuel Priem (Yam); 11. Wyatt Avis (KTM); 12. James Noble (Hon); 13. Kornel Nemeth (Suz); 14. Alex Salvini (Suz); 15. Marko Kovalainen (Hon). MX1 OVERALL: 1. Stefan Everts (50); 2. Joshua Coppins (42); 3. Jonathan Barragan (38); 4. Kevin Strijbos (37); 5. Steve Ramon (34); 6. Ken de Dijcker (31); 7. Tanel Leok (25); 8. James Noble (23); 9. Manuel Priem (21); 10. Wyatt Avis (21). FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MX1 POINTS STANDINGS (After 11 of 15 rounds): 1. Stefan Everts (542/11 wins); 2. Kevin Strijbos (393); 3. Steve Ramon (368); 4. Tanel Leok (355); 5. Ken de Dijcker (353); 6. Jonathan Barragan (273); 7. Pascal Leuret (202); 8. Cedric Melotte (190); 9. Manuel Priem (189); 10. Vico Garcia (172). MX2 MOTO 1: 1. Tyla Rattray (KTM); 2. David Philippaerts (KTM); 3. Carl Nunn (KTM); 4. Alessio Chiodi (Yam); 5. Tommy Searle (Kaw); 6. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 7. Gareth Swaenepoel (Kaw); 8. Patrick Caps (Hon); 9. Marc de Reuver (KTM); 10. Matti Seistola (Hon); 11. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 12. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 13. Carlos Campano (KTM); 14. Manuel Monni (Hon); 15. Tom Church (Kaw). MOTO 2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 2. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 3. David Philippaerts (KTM); 4. Marc de Reuver (KTM); 5. Carl Nunn (KTM); 6. Billy MacKenzie (Yam); 7. Tommy Searle (Kaw); 8. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 9. Gareth Swaenepoel (Kaw); 10. Manuel Monni (Hon); 11. Carlos Campano (KTM); 12. Patrick Caps (Hon); 13. Alessio Chiodi (Yam); 14. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 15. Max Nagl (KTM). MX2 OVERALL: 1. David Philippaerts (42); 2. Christophe Pourcel (37); 3. Carl Nunn (36); 4. Antonio Cairoli (35); 5. Marc de Reuver (30); 6. Tommy Searle (30); 7. Gareth Swaenepoel (26); 8. Alessio Chiodi (26); 9. Tyla Rattray (25); 10. Patrick Caps (22). FIM WORLD CHAMPI- ONSHIP MX2 POINTS STANDINGS (After 11 of 15 rounds): 1. Christophe Pourcel (379/1 win); 2. Antonio Cairoli (347/1 win); 3. David Philippaerts (329/4 wins); 4. Tyla Rattray (305/3 wins); 5. Marc de Reuver (284/1 win); 6. Carl Nunn (241); 7. Billy MacKenzie (228/1 win); 8. Tommy Searle (224); 9. Gareth Swaenepoel (210); 10. Sebastien Pourcel (207). C Y C L E N E W S • AUGUST 9, 2006 35 (Below) Second- place MX2-finisher Christophe Pourcel made it clear that he was unhappy with Philippaerts' riding. MX2 winner David Philippaerts (19) goes toe to toe with Christophe Pourcel (90) off the start. (Above) MX1 runner-up Josh Coppins put in another solid ride aboard his CAS Honda.

• Cover