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MX2 : Dominant win for Cairoli
MX1: Everts takes podium despite bad starts
Round: 10 - Grand Prix of Sweden
Circuit: Uddevalla
Date: 3 July 2005
Crowd: 21000
Temp: 23ºC
Weather: Changeable
Antonio Cairoli (Team Yamaha De Carli) sampled a perfect tonic after his disqualification last week in France by winning both motos in comprehensive fashion at Uddevalla today for the Grand Prix of Sweden, round ten of seventeen in the FIM MX2 World Championship. Cairoli has moved up to second in the standings thanks to his 50 point haul and now lies a 'moto' (25 points) behind McFarlane (Ricci Racing). He has won eight motos compared to McFarlane's two and the Swedish round represented the eighth win from ten for Yamaha in the class.
The first moto was a complete shut-out by Cairoli as the Sicilian hole-shotted and proceeded to break away from Andrew McFarlane and Carl Nunn in front of 21,000 fans. The early laps saw a lot of intense action outside of the top three with some fraught overtaking moves on the long elongated hairpins. Billy Mackenzie was a strong presence and the Scot forced his way to third unfortunately colliding with Alessio Chiodi while vying for fourth. 'Chicco' hit the ground and struggled to restart, eventually retiring after losing too much time to the disappearing pack. Mackenzie would also crash later on in the moto.
As Cairoli and McFarlane embarked on lonely but largely straightforward races (only McFarlane had a scare when he almost ran into the advertising boards guarding the fence on the first corner) Cedric Melotte, Mickael Maschio and Davide Guarneri contended the rest of the positions and ended up finishing in that order. The jostling between Melotte and Maschio at one stage formed the most entertaining section of a largely processional race.
The second moto was virtually a re-enactment of the first with Cairoli and McFarlane breaking away. The 19-year old suffered some pain with his hand because of the rougher track but was able to control the cushion over his Yamaha rival. Carl Nunn and David Philippaerts fought for third after David Guarneri crashed at the end of the first lap. Cedric Melotte was well down the order and would just break into the top ten, taking fifth overall. Maschio was fourth and looking to hound Nunn but was hit by a flying Philippaerts and went down. The Frenchman spent an age restarting the Yamaha and eventually retired. Alessio Chiodi suffered with his rhythm after his minimal participation in moto 1 but finished sixth behind Christophe Pourcel.
The eleventh round of the World Championships will take place in Sun City, South Africa on July 16th-17th.
Antonio Cairoli (Team Yamaha De Carli) - overall winner "For sure this GP is the best of the year for me. I did not have that much confidence coming here because I did not race at all last weekend. My hand is still bothering me after Matchams Park and I couldn't do any decent training this week. The track was not that difficult because there are not many jumps and I could win here easily. I started both races in first place and I could control McFarlane. I had a lot of motivation for today after last week and I really wanted to win."
Andrew McFarlane (Ricci Racing) - second overall "I am never happy unless I win but to take two second places here today is good for the Championship. I fought hard and it was a difficult race because Antonio rode well; when he gets a start like that it is hard for me! I did not make many mistakes and rode consistent lap-times in both motos and I was pleased with that. The track was tricky and had many square-edged bumps but it made for good racing. It is a long championship and the season has just entered the second half. What is important is to stay fit and injury free and try to take good points at each GP."
Alessio Chiodi (Ricci Racing) - twelfth overall "Billy came at me from the back and hit me really late into the corner. We were using two different lines and came together. He hit me hard and I crashed. I tried to restart the bike but it would not go, the clutch was also smashed. It was difficult for me in the second moto because the track was not the best and I did not have a good feeling from that first race. I am not happy today."
Cédric Melotte (L&M Yamaha Team) -fifth overall "The races were quite tough. I felt empty after France and made a blood test that showed some levels were low. I was not expecting to ride well this weekend but I think I saved some important points. I was so tired coming here so I am quite satisfied to finish both motos but the result is not good. I now need to make some more checks with the doctor."
Race classification MX2
Round: 10 - Grand Prix of Sweden
Circuit: Uddevalla
Circuit Length: 1750
Lap Record: 2' 7.107 (Marc de Reuver, 2003)
Fastest Lap Ever: 2' 7.107 (Marc de Reuver, 2003)
