Rinaldi Yamaha rider Stefan Everts went nine-for-nine in the MX1 class after winning the Grand Prix of Sweden last weekend. Everts finished ahead of fellow Belgian Steve Ramon (Suzuki) and Josh Coppins (Honda). In the MX2 class it was KTM factory rider David Philippaerts who took his third GP victory in a row and moved a little closer to series leader Christophe Pourcel (Kawasaki), who finished second in the MX2 class, third was Tommy Searle (Kawasaki).
Everts took his fifth pole position of the season yesterday and did not hide his lack of fondness for the Uddevalla undulations, stating that the venue was one of his “least favorites” of the calendar, hardly surprising as the Belgian has not won in Scandinavia since 2003.
“This is not my favorite track here in Sweden,” Everts said. “So I knew it would be tough because in the past two years I had been struggling. However I took a good pole when everybody was close together and the first race went OK. Barragan kept close and I had a three-second lead but I made a mistake in the whoops and he caught up, then we were into the lappers. It was tight at the end and I felt a bit tired because of the heat. I rested in between the races and then the second one was better. After the mistake the first few laps were pretty hard because everyone was going fast and it was not easy to pass. I saw the Suzuki guys pull away and I thought second might be possible but first was a long shot. At one stage Steve stopped gaining seconds on me and then started to lose them; that gave me some wings! I pulled harder and it was close. It was exciting for the crowd.”
In the first moto Everts enacted a now familiar routine for his many fans by seizing the lead on the first lap and controlling the race from his pursuers. The Belgian notched his fourteenth moto win in a row despite the moto-long presence of Jonathan Barragan and a distance between the pair that fluctuated between one and three seconds for the total of a very hot 35-minute and two-lap duration. On the last two laps it was the Intur Sports team rider who was more decisive through a pack of backmarkers and the first step in his 96th victory was complete.
As in the British Grand Prix two weeks ago, Everts gave himself a harder job in the second sprint when he crashed on the first lap and had to work the entire race to catch his main rivals. Finally a fantastic performance was rounded off by overtaking leader Steve Ramon with one lap remaining to notch his 15th consecutive moto win. He now holds a career tally of 96 and is drawing ever closer to the big ‘ton’.
The first MX2 sprint must rank as one of the best races this season. Three riders led proceedings with Christophe Pourcel, Antonio Cairoli and Philippaerts all taking their turn in the spotlight. A furious last lap dash between Cairoli and Philippaerts was decided on the final corner and by a tenth of a second when the winner of the Italian and British GP, who was using some new engine modifications and suspension alterations, ran fast and wide to beat his Yamaha rival. The closest finish in the sport this century thus far led to some confusion with Philippaerts not even knowing he had won the moto until he had pulled into the podium area. In the second outing on a bumpier and rougher track, the Italian had to concede spoils to Pourcel but second place was good enough for the overall.
“Today was really good,” Philippaerts told. “In the first heat I picked up a decent speed after starting around tenth and beat Cairoli by less than a second at the flag so I was really pleased by that. I don’t know I had won but Alice came up to me and gave me the good news. In the second heat I saw that Pourcel was really fast and that Cairoli had gone and the others like Tyla and Marc were also behind. To win the GP and take some extra points was perfect. The second moto was very tiring because the track was so bumpy and there were a lot of lines so it was difficult.”
MX1 Moto 1
1. S. Everts Yamaha BEL 38′ 45.263
2. J. Barragan KTM ESP +4.324
3. J. Coppins Honda NZL +14.111
4. S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +23.370
5. T. Leok Kawasaki EST +24.941
6. K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +54.231
7. G. Crockard Honda GBR +59.603
8. K. De Dycker Honda BEL +1′ 8.611
9. J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +1′ 13.560
10. J. Noble Honda GBR +1′ 18.441
11. C. Melotte Yamaha BEL +1′ 24.967
12. B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +1′ 30.351
13. J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1′ 34.027
14. M. Van Daele Honda BEL +1′ 38.964
15. D. Theybers Suzuki BEL +1′ 40.610
16. A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1 lap(s)
17. K. Nemeth Suzuki HUN +1 lap(s)
18. J. Lindhe KTM SWE +1 lap(s)
19. C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +1 lap(s)
20. M. Kovalainen Honda FIN +1 lap(s)
MX1 Moto 2
1. S. Everts Yamaha BEL 39′ 54.109
2. S. Ramon Suzuki BEL +3.881
3. K. Strijbos Suzuki BEL +17.410
4. G. Crockard Honda GBR +22.967
5. J. Coppins Honda NZL +30.702
6. K. Nemeth Suzuki HUN +38.034
7. J. Garcia Vico Honda ESP +59.738
8. J. Noble Honda GBR +1′ 7.798
9. K. De Dycker Honda BEL +1′ 15.851
10. J. Bill Yamaha GBR +1′ 18.647
11. M. Priem Yamaha BEL +1′ 21.586
12. L. Freibergs Suzuki LVA +1′ 27.213
13. M. Kovalainen Honda FIN +1′ 30.737
14. A. Pyrhonen TM FIN +1′ 36.841
15. N. Bradshaw Suzuki GBR +1′ 37.859
16. A. Salvini Suzuki ITA +1′ 44.060
17. T. Allier Kawasaki FRA +1′ 55.534
18. C. Desalle Suzuki BEL +1 lap(s)
19. B. Jorgensen Honda DNK +1 lap(s)
20. A. Bobkovs Honda LVA +1 lap(s)
Championship standings MX1
1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 442
2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 328
3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 294
4. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 294
5. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 292
6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 212
7. Javier Garcia Vico Honda ESP 165
8. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 159
9. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 157
10. Manuel Priem Yamaha BEL 146
11. Julien Bill Yamaha GBR 145
12. James Noble Honda GBR 132
13. Brian Jorgensen Honda DNK 131
14. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 127
15. Antti Pyrhonen TM FIN 106
16. Sebastien Tortelli KTM FRA 99
17. Gordon Crockard Honda GBR 86
18. Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 84
19. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 72
20. Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 55
MX2 Moto 1
1. D. Philippaerts KTM ITA 39′ 17.217
2. A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +0.108
3. C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +9.254
4. M. De Reuver KTM NED +18.357
5. T. Rattray KTM RSA +23.307
6. G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +39.353
7. T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +48.095
8. A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +56.679
9. R. Goncalves KTM POR +1′ 2.049
10. K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +1′ 3.657
11. C. Nunn KTM GBR +1′ 14.223
12. A. Leok Yamaha EST +1′ 21.815
13. N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +1′ 21.903
14. E. Remes Honda FIN +1′ 37.414
15. J. Wing KTM SWE +1′ 46.161
16. C. Campano KTM ESP +1′ 51.872
17. J. Dougan Honda GBR +2′ 0.809
18. A. Pellegrini Suzuki ITA +1 lap(s)
19. J. Tarroux Kawasaki FRA +1 lap(s)
20. P A. Renet Honda FRA +1 lap(s)
MX2 Moto 2
1. C. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 40′ 13.934
2. D. Philippaerts KTM ITA +11.074
3. T. Searle Kawasaki GBR +33.578
4. G. Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA +34.886
5. M. De Reuver KTM NED +40.170
6. D. Guarneri Yamaha ITA +43.236
7. C. Nunn KTM GBR +48.102
8. K. Gundersen Yamaha NOR +51.551
9. B. MacKenzie Yamaha GBR +52.057
10. S. Pourcel Kawasaki FRA +1′ 6.734
11. M. Monni KTM ITA +1′ 9.925
12. A. Cairoli Yamaha ITA +1′ 13.686
13. A. Chiodi Yamaha ITA +1′ 14.994
14. C. Campano KTM ESP +1′ 35.092
15. N. Aubin Kawasaki FRA +1′ 47.862
16. P A. Renet Honda FRA +1′ 53.417
17. T. Church Kawasaki GBR +1 lap(s)
18. J. Wing KTM SWE +1 lap(s)
19. E. Remes Honda FIN +1 lap(s)
20. X. Boog Yamaha FRA +1 lap(s)
Championship Standings MX2
1. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 350
2. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 304
3. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 302
4. Marc De Reuver KTM NED 284
5. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 261
6. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 213
7. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 205
8. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 196
9. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 194
10. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 181
11. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 180
12. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 169
13. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 164
14. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 127
15. Manuel Monni KTM ITA 99
16. Luigi Seguy Yamaha FRA 94
17. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 87
18. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 73
19. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 69
20. Pierre-Alexandre Renet Honda FRA 56
