Cairoli second in season opener

From Yamaha Racing

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli, the defending MX2-GP World Champion, took the second step of the podium at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands on his YZ250F at a sunny but cold and breezy Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard, a short distance from Eindhoven.

Watched by 26,000 spectators on Sunday Cairoli duelled with title rivals Tommy Searle and eventual winner Tyla Rattray in both motos after going to the gate in third position. The dark Dutch sand was considerably rough and penalized small mistakes.

The lead changed frequently in the early stages and the first half of the opening moto was particularly riveting as six riders tussled for control. The Sicilian was encouraged by a strong late charge in the second race as he hunted the rear wheel of Rattray on the last two laps.

"I am happy with this result because we have been making a lot of tests and effort towards MX1 during the pre-season," Cairoli said. "I still need a bit more time on my 250, particularly in the sand. At the beginning of the first moto I was not so sharp and Tyla got away. He is really fast on this kind of track I just tried to be as fast as I could without making mistakes."

Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nicolas Aubin was one of the protagonists but the Frenchman crashed in the first race when he lost control of the front-end descending one of the heavily rutted hills. He was edged off-line by Searle and fell again in the second race but results of ninth and sixth helped him to seventh overall and the second highest Yamaha representative.

The next round on the 2008 schedule will take place at Bellpuig for the Grand Prix of Spain in two weeks time.

Results
Race 1 - 17 Laps
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 40'59.119
2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA +15.146
3. Tommy Searle KTM GBR +35.267
4. Erik Eggens Suzuki NED +39.399
5. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR +42.142
6. Rui Goncalves KTM POR +47.601
7. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL +1:00.720
8. Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA +1:01.488
9. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA +1:12.157
10. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 1:25.585

Race 2 - 17 Laps
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 39:49.877
2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA +1.246
3. Erik Eggens Suzuki NED +1:08.488
4. Rui Goncalves KTM POR +1:09.622
5. Tommy Searle KTM GBR +1:25.853
6. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA +1:26.419
7. Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR +1:48.366
8. Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA +1:55.118
9. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR +2:20.438
10. Joel Roelants KTM BEL +1 Lap

Point Standings
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 50
2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 44
3. Erik Eggens Suzuki NED 38
4. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 36
5. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 33
6. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 28
7. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 27
8. Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 26
9. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 22
10. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 21