The 2009 MX1-GP World Championship belongs to Yamaha Red Bull De Carli’s Tony Cairoli as the Sicilian took 6th position in the sand of Lierop and the Grand Prix of the Netherlands and confirmed his status as champion for the first time in the category. The 23 year old celebrated with his Italian team as he converted twelve of fourteen rounds as the ‘red plate’ holder into a maiden title success, becoming the youngest MX1-GP number one and, with his third career championship, also the first to claim crowns in both classes.
Yamaha were able to celebrate the Manufacturer’s title as the YZ450F again made the podium for the fourteenth time this season, a 100% record, thanks to Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team’s Josh Coppins who was 2nd overall for his third rostrum appearance of the campaign.
Watched by 18,000 spectators under bright sunny skies at Lierop the Grand Prix of the Netherlands represented the penultimate round of the series and reactivation of the calendar after a small three week break. The Lierop sand moved and shifted with each lap and the waves and ripples demanded a different technique from the riders. The physical demands were increased and the course represented a completely altered challenge compared to the hard-pack and simple layout in the Czech Republic several weeks ago.
Cairoli came into the meeting with discomfort in his left knee as a consequence of a meniscus problem. He tentatively rode to 12th place in the qualification heat while main rival Max Nagl was 3rd. In the first race a conservative pace brought him up to 5th, three places ahead of the German after the latter had crashed. A tense second moto took place later in the afternoon as Cairoli gave chase to Nagl, requiring just two points and an overtaking move to mathematically begin celebrations. The four-time GP winner in ‘09 made light work of his pass and rode comfortably to 4th confirming the championship with one round remaining.
Lierop is one of Josh Coppins’ preferred tracks and the New Zealander shook off the destabilising affects of two small slips in the second moto to add a strong 2nd place to his 4th obtained earlier in the day. Team-mate and outgoing world champion David Philippaerts was the picture of fault-free riding in Moto1 and expertly denied Cairoli’s stable-mate Tanel Leok on the last lap to score 2nd spot. The Italian suffered a crash on the second corner at the start of Moto2 and had to work hard to return to 8th, for 5th in the final classification of the Grand Prix. Leok was a decent 4th overall and tied on points for the last podium step. The Estonian was the victim of a first corner tumble with other riders at the beginning of Moto2 and had his hands full trying to fly back from the second half of the pack with a buckled front disc brake. He made it to 6th.
Although Cairoli and the YZ450F has been victorious Yamaha can still count on decent positions in the championship standings for the rest of their MX1-GP elite. Philippaerts is currently 3rd, Coppins is 6th and can still break into the top five while Leok is confirmed in 7th. The Manufacturer’s title has been won by a 68 point advantage.
The Grand Prix of Brazil will be the fifteenth and final round of the championship and visits the Canelinha circuit for the first time in two weeks.
Tony Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli:
“This means so much to me and I am a little lost for words at the moment. I did not expect this in my first season and was already a bit surprised to have the red plate by the third round, and then keep it until the end. If you look at most of the MX2 riders who move up to MX1 they need a season or two to establish themselves so this is a big achievement for us and I am very proud. In the second moto here my goal was just to pass Max and push as much as I could to get away. I could not walk well on Friday so I was full of a lot of doubt for this GP; I just took it steady, when the track got rougher I could push a little bit more. I want to say thanks to everybody, all my team, my family; I am so happy.”
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