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Round: 9 - Grand Prix of France
Circuit: St Jean d'Angely
Date: 26 June 2005
Crowd: 28000
Temp: 36ºC
Weather: Very Hot
The Grand Prix of France witnessed some exciting racing in the MX2 class with the surprising David Philippaerts (KTM) topping the winner's podium followed by home rider Anthony Boissiere (Yamaha PSM-Casola) and Carl Nunn (KTM). Andrew McFarlane (Ricci Racing) equaled third placed Nunn on points, gaining the provisional lead in the MX2 standings with 301 points, his team mate Alessio Chiodi trails by six points, Antonio Cairoli is third a further 25 points adrift.
In typical fashion a blue bike claimed the holeshot and this time it was Andrew McFarlane who made it ahead of Chiodi and Maschio. The heat and treacherous track with many ruts and technical sections gave riders a real challenge. Chiodi took control from the first lap but he could not resist his countryman Philippaerts. Philippaerts quickly ran off and won the race with a 25 second margin over second placed Alessio Chiodi. Former world champ Mickael Maschio seemed 'en route' to a terrific third in front of his home crowd until he made a mistake in one of the many ruts. That was after Yamaha L&M Motocross Team rider had knocked himself out of contention clipping the rear wheel of Maschio in an attempt to overtake 'Mickey'. However the young Anthony Boissiere (Yamaha PSM Casola) gave the crowd something to cheer for with a strong fourth. The French crowd saw two other French youngsters reach the top ten with Nicolas Aubin (Yamaha JK Racing) coming home ninth and Christophe Pou! rcel (Kawasaki) finishing tenth. Andrew McFarlane bounced back from a first lap crash that saw him drop to seventh to claim third in the end.
It was a close call but Carl Nunn (KTM) just beat Romberto Lombrici for the holeshot of the second MX2 race, with Boissiere, Maschio and Chiodi close behind. Nunn's lead was short lived as Boissiere quickly made his intentions clear passing Nunn in the third lap after a short fight. Boissiere, 19, regularly clocked the fastest times on the track confirming the speed he showed in the first race -and the strong results he scored at the Saint-Jean d'Angely track last year. Until two laps before the end Boissiere was even virtual Grand Prix winner with a better second race result giving him the edge over David Philippaerts. All this changed ultimately when Mackenzie- after an impressive comeback from eleventh to second- crashed out of the runner up position. Philippaerts moved up to third, enough to win the overall Grand Prix. Australia's Mcfarlane rode his YZ250FM to fourth, ahead of Yamaha trio Melotte, Goncalves and Chiodi.
Previous championship leader Antonio Cairoli (Team Yamaha De Carli) got excluded from Sunday's race and received a 4000 dollar fine after a special jury meeting on Saturday evening. During the second qualification race of the MX2 class Cairoli had instigated a disappointing and regrettable incident. The Team Yamaha De Carli rider reacted strongly against Davide Guarneri who accidentally had caused Cairoli to crash. Team Yamaha De Carli has offered their apologies to Davide Guarneri, the Team Ricci Racing and all who were offended by the incident, directly or indirectly, to the supporters and the sponsors of the team, to Yamaha and to the national and International Motorcycle Federations. Furthermore Team Yamaha De Carli has accepted the jury decision without appeal. Cairoli has personally apologized to Guarneri and expressed his regret about what has happened. Antonio's reaction was not justifiable and certainly not a reflection of his everyday personality. This behavior is ! fitting with nor his personal beliefs or his view on the sport, and does not have any precedent in his career.
Anthony Boissiere (Yamaha PSM-Casola) - Second overall "This was just a terrific surprise, I only came back from a broken shoulder bone in this very race. I had a little bit of luck on my side today, because things are so much easier with good starts! When I was leading in the second race I did not even think about the overall, I was just pushing and trying to hold on till the end. I was completely knackered by the end, but it felt great to have the support of my home crowd and they pulled me through. I'm very happy with the result, even if I was close to winning the Grand Prix my first race win is not bad either!"
Andrew McFarlane (Ricci Racing) - fourth overall "With my holeshot in the first race I probably had my best start of the year so far, unfortunately I lost the front hitting a braking bump going into the second lap. Than I went from ninth to third but I crashed again four or five laps before the end. I needed sixteen stitches in my left arm in between races, and it was pretty tough in the second race with my arm injured. I was pretty happy with my riding, but when Maschio crashed I could not avoid him and went over the handlebars myself. It was a shame because I made some good passes and my speed was good as well."
Alessio Chiodi (Ricci Racing) - Fifth overall "Not the best GP, but it could be worse as well. During the last chance qualifying race yesterday I touched the ground inconveniently and hurt my left knee. This certainly kept me back today with all the big jumps and the rough track out there. In the second heat I felt that I had been working so hard with my right leg to compensate for the other. That and the heat made it a really brutal race."
Cédric Melotte (L&M Yamaha Team) - eleventh overall "This was a very hard weekend and I felt completely drowned by the heat and humidity. I came back from a weak start in the first heat and I was behind Maschio just about to take third. I went for the pass and then I went down, I honestly can not remember what exactly happened. I hurt my neck again, after a crash during practice earlier this week. With my neck and my shoulder hurting I felt pretty worn out going into the second race. I did all I could and given the conditions it was not so bad to take fifth in the end."
For more information on how Yamaha has translated its GP winning technology into the 2006 YZ250F please go to the following link: http://www.yamaha-racing.com/mx2/headline.asp?PressID=1165
Race classification MX2
Round: 9 - Grand Prix of France
Circuit: St Jean d'Angely
