Taking the brand new
KTM 350 SX-F to its racing debut this weekend at the Mantova Starcross, 2009 MX1 World Champion Tony Cairoli did the job with gallantry as the Sicilian took the overall win of the event – actually the first public appearance of the new KTM recruit.
KTM's Tony Cairoli was the overall winner of the Starcross Mantova
FIM Motocross pre-season race.
Despite missing out on the One vs. One challenge victory in the morning, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Cairoli made up for it already at the first of three moto’s. Taking a decent start behind holeshotter Teka
Suzuki World MX1’s Ramon and Tanel Leok of LS Motors
Honda, Cairoli worked his way up and moved past both to take the lead. As the three-time World Champion pulled away, Leok and Ramon dropped outside the top-five while Philippaerts moved up to second. De Reuver, Simpson and Barragan completed the top-five.
In Race 2 Cairoli took a superb start and dominated the whole moto. Behind his shoulders Tanel Leok and other Teka Suzuki World MX1 man Desalle fought tooth and nail for the runner-up spot which was eventually taken by the Belgian. Leok, Ramon and De Reuver completed the top-five.
In the final moto Tanel Leok won from Desalle and Cairoli. These two battled hard as Cairoli charged from fourth and reached the Belgian after having moved past Ramon. Cairoli slipped and let Desalle alone in second, even though he picked the bike back up and secured the third-place. Ramon and Albertson completed the top-five.
In the overall classification Cairoli won from Ramon and Desalle. Philippaerts and De Reuver completed the top-five.
In the morning One vs. One challenge it was Honda Racing Motocross’ Jimmy Albertson to take the win. The American first beat Cairoli to become the sole MX1 rider to be admitted to the final challenge, then he faced and beat Musquin, the MX2 rider making it to the final.
Tony Cairoli topped the podium in the MX1 class.
1. Tony Cairoli (KTM)
2. David Philppaerts (
Yamaha)
3. Marc De Reuver (Suzuki)
4. Shaun Simpson (KTM)
5. Jonathan Barragan (
Kawasaki)
MX1 Race 2 Results:
1. Tony Cairoli (KTM)
2. Clement DeSalle (Suzuki)
3. Tanel Leok (Honda)
4. Steve Ramon (Suzuki)
5. Marc De Reuver (Suzuki)
MX1 Race 3 Results:
1. Tanel Leok (Honda)
2. Clement DeSalle (Suzuki)
3. Tony Cairoli (KTM)
4. Steve Ramon (Suzuki)
5. Jimmy Albertson (Honda)
Shaun Simpson and Marvin Musquin made it a 1-2 win for KTM in the MX2 class.
1. Tony Cairoli (KTM) - 70
2. Steve Ramon (Suzuki) - 52
3. Clement DeSalle (Suzuki) - 51
4. David Philippaerts (Yamaha) - 51
5. Marc De Reuver (Suzuki) - 50
MX 2 Overall Standings:
1. Shaun Simpson (KTM) - 72
2. Marvin Musquin (KTM) - 65
3. Arnaud Tonus (Suzuki) - 56
4. Markus Schiffer (KTM) - 56
5. Herjan Brakke (Yamaha) - 43
Rider Quotes:
Clement Desalle - Teka Suzuki:
“I just wanted to come here to ride and start the year in a good way. The result was not that important for me: I had a crash in the first moto and decided to take it easy after that. Physically I feel fine and I am taking things step-by-step. The bike worked well and we will continue to test; overall I am pretty happy.”
Ken De Dycker - Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci:
“Today was a start. We did some work and development of the bike to get the setting right for me and that was the main reason for coming here. The last moto was not going well and it was a little dangerous with the sun so low. We will continue with what we need to do and I may travel down to race at Montevarchi next week.”
“I am happy because Mantova is always a difficult race for me. This is an improvement over last year for sure. I had bad arm-pump in the first moto but the other two races were fine and I am pleased with three good starts. My riding was good and the third moto was the best mainly because I found the rhythm I wanted right away. This is the first race and I am on the podium, so I cannot complain too much.”
David Philippaerts - Yamaha Monster Energy:
“I am pretty happy. Today the first moto was good and we did some work with the bike. My main goal was to get time
on the track and running the speed with the others. Many riders crashed and I did not want to make mistakes; the track was difficult. We collected some data, which was important and we are ready for the next step. The season has started earlier this year and I am not 100% but this is fine and I am pleased with the level we have.”
Jonathan Barragan - Kawasaki Racing Team:
“I was hoping a better result for this first race of the season, but the bad weather in recent weeks has played havoc with our preparation and we haven’t been able to test many new things on the bike. In fact I only got to ride my factory KX450F for the first time last Thursday, so I still need time to get used to it because it is very different to my training bike, particularly the suspension and the engine power. But we have a strong team around us and I have a race every week until then so I am confident that we will be right up there when the GP season starts in two months.”
