WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: EVERTS EXTENDS WIN STREAK; PHILIPPAERTS TAKES 250Fs



Yamaha’s Stefan Everts won his11th event in succession at a hot and humid Loket, Czech Republic, circuit. The reigning 450 (MX1) World Champion now needs to score just one point at next week’s Namur race to claim a record tenth World Championship.
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Everts triumphed in both Czech motos in front of 23,000 spectators and has now reached a total of 19 consecutive moto victories with the YZ450 as well as a career tally of 98 overall Grand Prix wins.
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Jonathan Barragan (7) put the electric start KTM 450 on the podium.

The hillside circuit located 70 miles west of Prague had been slightly altered over 2005 with a new pit-lane setting giving the riders more time to see their pit-boards and a tight set of corners behind the technical area. The terrain was loose and littered with small stones that made the mud slippery in places and the layout tended to favour sheer speed over technical ability.

David Philippaerts (19) won the 250F class.

Everts was denied his fifth consecutive pole position by just two hundreds of a second by Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos but it mattered little as the Belgian made a decent jump out of the gate and was just pipped to the holeshot by Josh Coppins. By the end of the first lap Everts had placed his YZ450F ahead of the pack and proceeded to show the CAS Honda rider the fastest route around the steep course. For two thirds of the duration the pair were not separated by more than two seconds but approaching the final ten minutes Everts broke his opponent’s resistance and claimed his eighteenth moto in succession.
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Marc De Reuver leads the field in Czecho.


The second race was a more curious affair as a bump on the first turn meant the 33-year-old Everts had to chip away at a lead held first by KTM’s Jonathan Barragan and then Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos. Everts soon hit the front and was able to remain aloof for further domination.

Round twelve of fifteen will occur in just seven days time at the ‘Enduro-esque’ setting of Namur. With a 149 point lead and just 200 left, Everts needs to leave his home race with just one point more than Kevin Strijbos to be World Champion for the tenth time and the sixth successive occasion in a row with Yamaha since 2001 in 500cc, MXGP and 450 (MX1) categories. He will also remain the sole winner of the 450 (MX1) class since the series’ inception in 2004.

Steve Ramon went 4-5 in the Czech Republic.


Stefan Everts said about Loket, “It has been a hard GP for me. The track was not that difficult in the layout and you could see that by how fast everyone was going. The next few tracks will be more technical and better for me. Josh was riding well in that first moto. There were a few places on the track where I did not have such good lines and he was closing the gap but it is hard to know the full situation when you are in front. In the end I figured out a few places where I could improve and I think he must have made a mistake but it was quite easy to win that moto finally. My start wasn’t that good in the second race and for a few laps I was in third position with Jonathan and Kevin having a small lead. I had to try hard to pass them both and it was tough, but it was also nice not having to always be working from first position. The new section around the back of the pits was very difficult and it was a place where you could make or lose some ground.

If Stefan Everts gets one point more than Kevin Stijbos (24), Everts will clinch the title.

“That is eleven races in a row now but I am not trying to focus on records and take each weekend as it comes. It is the chance of a lifetime to become Champion at the Citadelle; it is something that I never dared to dream of and now it might come true. I have been working hard throughout my career for a moment like that and I have many people to thank so that I am in a position like this.”

Strijbos check the timing sheets to discover that he won the pole.

IN THE 250F CLASS

The first MX2 moto looked like a KTM commerical as four 250 SXFs ran in line and the quartet did not drop out of the top five for most of the race. Marc de Reuver grabbed the holeshot and was pursued and eventually passed by Tyla Rattray. David Philippaerts made a mistake that saw him lose fourth to Alessio Chiodi (after earlier crashing on the first lap and damaging his front brake), but then he rallied in the second half of the sprint to pass Carl Nunn for second spot after De Reuver had fallen with less than five minutes to go.

With KTMs filling the first three positions in moto one, the stage was set for a KTM sweep. Surprisingly, it was Rattray who would not be a part of the ceremony after the South African crashed out of the top five and a heavy impact bent the right side of his handlebars beyond repair. De Reuver again led for the first third of the race but could not match the pace set by his pursuers who eventually dropped the Dutchman to fourth. Philippaerts earned overall victory with third and survived some close skirmishes with Christophe Pourcel and second moto winner Antonio Cairoli, while Carl Nunn rode to a lonely fifth place, which was enough to gain the Briton his second podium in as many Grand Prix.ÿ

The 250F Championship standings reveal that Philippaerts is third (11 points from Cairoli in second). Pourcel leads the 250F class.

CZECH 450 GP RESULTS: MOTO ONE
1. Stefan Everts, Yamaha
2. Joshua Coppins, Honda
3. Jonathan Barragan, KTM
4. Steve Ramon, Suzuki
5. Ken De Dycker, Honda
6. Kevin Strijbos, Suzuki
7. James Noble, Honda
8. Tanel Leok, Kawasaki
9. Pascal Leuret, Honda
10. Wyatt Avis, KTM

CZECH 450 GP RESULTS: MOTO ONE
1. Stefan Everts, Yamaha
2. Kevin Strijbos, Suzuki
3. Joshua Coppins, Honda
4. Jonathan Barragan, KTM
5. Steve Ramon, Suzuki
6. Ken De Dycker, Honda
7. Gordon Crockard, Honda
8. Cedric Melotte, Yamaha
9. Tanel Leok, Kawasaki
10. Manuel Priem, Yamaha


CZECH 250F GP RESULTS: MOTO ONE
1. Tyla Rattray, KTM
2. David Philippaerts, KTM
3. Carl Nunn, KTM
4. Alessio Chiodi, Yamaha
5. Tommy Searle, Kawasaki
6. Christophe Pourcel, Kawasaki
7. Gareth Swanepoel, Kawasaki
8. Patrick Caps, Honda
9. Marc De Reuver, KTM
10. Matti Seistola, Honda

CZECH 250F GP RESULTS: MOTO TWO
1. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha
2. Christophe Pourcel, Kawasaki
3. David Philippaerts, KTM
4. Marc De Reuver, KTM
5. Carl Nunn, KTM
6. Billy MacKenzie, Yamaha
7. Tommy Searle, Kawasaki
8. S??bastien Pourcel, Kawasaki
9. Gareth Swanepoel, Kawasaki
10. Manuel Monni, KTM

450 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDING
(After 11 of 15 races)
1. Stefan Everts………………..542
2. Kevin Strijbos……………….393
3. Steve Ramon……………….368
4. Tanel Leok……………………355
5. Ken De Dycker……………..353
6. Jonathan Barragan………..273
7. Pascal Leuret……………….202
8. Cedric Melotte………………190
9. Manuel Priem……………….189
10. Javier Garcia Vico……….172

250F WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDING
(After 11 of 15 races)
1. Christophe Pourcel…………416
2. Antonio Cairoli……………….382
3. David Philippaerts…………..371
4. Tyla Rattray……………………330
5. Marc De Reuver…………… 314
6. Carl Nunn………………………277
7. Tommy Searle………………254
8. Billy MacKenzie……………..246
9. Gareth Swanepoel…………236
10. S??bastien Pourcel………..225

PHOTO CREDIT:
KTM photos by Ray Archer








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