Monster Energy Yamaha saw two of their riders classify in the top ten of the MX1-GP standings at a windy and changeable Glen Helen for the Monster Energy U.S.GP and the third round of fifteen in the FIM Motocross World Championship. David Philippaerts was able to score 6th position overall on the factory YZ450FM while Anthony Boissiere marked a career-best MX1 finish with 9th. Series leader coming across the Atlantic, Steven Frossard, suffered crashes in both races and was 18th.
The Californian circuit had undergone some changes for 2011 and the second edition of the American event this century. New corners and an attempt to slow the average speed of the longest layout on the calendar mattered little with the heavy rainfall of Sunday morning. The mud was thick and slippery. Strong winds however managed to change the climate by the afternoon and the terrain was soon dry and bumpy.
The team had been testing the week before coming to the USA and were able to make some small modifications to the suspension. The extra work helped as the Glen Helen bumps were physically difficult and required the riders to take risks to maintain a fierce pace.
Former world champion Philippaerts was restricted by two poor getaways from the gate. The Italian enacted one of his usual hard-charges to reach 5th in the first moto but faced a harder task across the ripples of the track in the second and crossed the line in 9th.
Boissiere ripped along the start-straight in Moto1 to seize the holeshot and then fought among the top ten to earn a well-placed 7th. In the second race the Frenchman was 12th and ended the day content with his best effort yet since climbing on the YZ450FM.
Steven Frossard was not able to keep the red plate he earned at round two in Holland. The French rookie was set for 7th in the first affair after a lacklustre start until a mistake on the last lap dropped him three more positions to 10th. A collision with Antonio Cairoli on the first lap of Moto2 meant another trawl through the pack and Frossard was looking towards a top fifteen slot until another slip and a damaged motorcycle ended his race in the closing stages.
Frossard and Philippaerts are now fourth and fifth in the standings and split by five points. Frossard trails Clement Desalle by 32. Boissiere is thirteenth.
Monster Energy Yamaha will now remain outside Europe and travel south to Indaiatuba, north of Sao Paolo, for the Grand Prix of Brazil and round four of the FIM World Championship next week.
David Philippaerts:
This was a better race for me here than last year but we had some trouble with the starts today. I pushed really hard in both motos and I had a bit more luck in the first race but was really far behind at the beginning of the second. The results I took today are not the ones I want but this was the best I could do here. The track was difficult with many jumps and bumps, even dangerous in some places. I hope for better next week.
Steven Frossard:
It wasnt my weekend. In the first heat I had a bad start and I didn’t have a good feeling. I tried to come back and reached seventh but then made a mistake on the last lap and crashed. In the second heat I couldn’t improve the start and when Cairoli made a mistake I landed on him and we both fell. I pushed really hard to recover, perhaps too much because I crashed again and the handlebar was destroyed. I then looked to take some points but it was not possible.
Anthony Boissiere:
I am very happy today with my first overall top ten finish. In the first race I made the holeshot, which was perfect and then took seventh which is my best MX1 result so far. The second moto start was not great but I came back to twelfth and that was OK. The bike was awesome and to feel that power on the start straight was crazy! We are all motivated for good results.
2011 MX1-GP United States
Glen Helen 15/05/2011 13 Laps
race I
1 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 41’30.376
2 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0’02.908
3 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0’45.473
4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0’51.224
5 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0’57.603
6 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 1’03.102
7 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 1’20.482
8 Christian Craig Honda USA 1’21.415
9 Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 1’36.743
10 Steven Frossard Yamaha FRA 1’48.422
11 Jason Dougan Yamaha GBR 1’51.204
12 Rui Goncalves Honda POR 1’56.836
13 Davide Guarneri Kawasaki ITA 1’58.930
14 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 1’59.880
15 Tanel Leok TM EST 2’01.293
18 Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP -1Laps
19 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA -1Laps
20 Herjan Brakke Yamaha NED -1Laps
race II
1 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 43’24.372
2 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0’01.561
3 Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 0’11.515
4 Rui Goncalves Honda POR 0’12.887
5 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0’20.108
6 Shaun Simpson Honda GBR 0’30.121
7 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0’34.060
8 Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 0’35.550
9 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0’52.794
10 Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 0’56.262
11 Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 0’59.793
12 Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 1’14.020
13 Christian Craig Honda USA 1’25.635
14 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 1’28.691
15 Tanel Leok TM EST 1’30.396
17 Jason Dougan Yamaha GBR 2’36.874
19 Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 2’43.992
MX1-GP World Standing
Rider Standings After Race 3 of 16
1. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 128
2. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 122
3. Antonio Cairoli KTM ITA 104
4. Steven Frossard Yamaha FRA 96
5. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 91
6. Rui Goncalves Honda POR 89
7. Evgeny Bobryshev Honda RUS 87
8. Jonathan Barragan Kawasaki ESP 78
9. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 68
10. Davide Guarneri Kawasaki ITA 58
11. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 56
12. Xavier Boog Kawasaki FRA 52
13. Anthony Boissière Yamaha FRA 51
14. Tanel Leok TM EST 48
15. Shaun Simpson Honda GBR 38
16. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 32
17. Jason Dougan Yamaha GBR 26
19. Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 16
20. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 13
28. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 2
32. Herjan Brakke Yamaha NED 1
Circuit Length:
NA
Crowd:
22,000
Weather:
Changeable
Last Years Winner:
Ben Townley
Manufacturer Standings
15/05/2011
1 KTM 129
2 Suzuki 128
3 Yamaha 117
4 Honda 99
5 Kawasaki 81
6 TM 48
Osborne 5th and three Yamahas fill U.S.GP top ten
Three YZ250F riders ended the United States Grand Prix the third round of fifteen in the FIM Motocross World Championship in the top ten of the MX2-GP standings at the Glen Helen circuit in California. Bike it Cosworth Wild Wolf Yamahas Zach Osborne placed 5th against adversity at his home event while Monster Energy Yamahas Harri Kullas was 6th and Christophe Charlier was 7th.
Sunshine through practice and qualification on Saturday let the riders discover an altered Glen Helen layout that was still heavy on the throttle and provided one of the longest laps of the series (a time of almost three minutes). Persistent rainfall through the first half of Sunday created two distinct motos as the southern Californian sunshine belatedly arrived with strong winds in the afternoon.
Osborne was the best Yamaha runner on the day but his race programme did not start well after he crashed into the slimy mud avoiding fallen world champion Marvin Musquin on the second corner. The British Champion was nursing a sore wrist from a blame-less accident on Saturday but was still able to work his way back from almost last to 9th spot. In the second moto a better start saw him tussling for positions in the top five and he gained ground to pass Max Anstie and secure 4th. The 21 year old also recaptured the Marty Moates Cup award as best American rider from both classes on the day.
The first Yamaha rider across the line in the first moto was Harri Kullas. The Finn made an excellent start and ran as high as third before being overtaken by Anstie. His 4th place was still a personal best result in only his second GP season. In Moto2 Kullas fell in the same spot where Osborne had hit the dirt earlier in the day and begun a path back to 11th for his overall ranking. Team-mate Christophe Charlier was not among the leaders out of the gate and was frustrated not to find an effective rhythm. The Frenchman was 8th on both occasions.
Gautier Paulin came to America having not ridden for several weeks due to a ruptured intercostal muscle in his back. The Frenchman was impressively fast and could take 6th in the first moto but his participation was halted with a mechanical problem early in the second. Osbornes team-mate, Arnaud Tonus, was lucky to walk away from a crash on one of the biggest and fastest jumps on the track on Saturday. The Swiss was holding third in the first moto until another fall pushed him down to 7th. After tangling with another rider exiting the first corner of the second race Tonus then had to retire after a broken front disc brake had damaged his wheel.
In the world championship Osborne is fourth and 30 points from further promotion. Tonus is sixth with Paulin seventh and Kullas eighth.
The MX2 competitors will now remain outside Europe and travel south to Indaiatuba, north of Sao Paolo for the Grand Prix of Brazil and round four of the FIM World Championship next week.
Gautier Paulin:
This was tough for me. I had bad luck in Valkenswaard when I hurt one of my intercostal muscles. I was not training for two weeks and was a bit worried and afraid how I would feel physically on Sunday morning. Thankfully I was able to ride without any medication. I had a good start in the first moto but someone pushed me wide in the first corner. I was in eleventh and came back to sixth and had some fun racing hard with Searle. I was at the front of the second moto and hitting the ruts smoothly but then we had the problem with the bike. We havent had any good fortune but we will keep working and keep our heads high.
Zach Osborne:
I had a tough day today. I crashed yesterday and my wrist is painful. I had a scan and nothing is broken but it was still sore. It was actually a late decision about whether I would ride or not. In the first race Marvin went down in the second turn and I tried to go around him but I fell down when I turned. I came back to ninth from almost last and did a lot of risky passes that perhaps I shouldnt have made to get up there. In the second race I had a decent start and worked forward the whole race. I felt a lot better on the bike. I didnt have anything for the front three today but my fitness is good and I just need to pick up my starts a little bit because you cant win a GP if you getaway in eighth. I wanted to win my home GP but in the circumstances Im happy. Im also really happy with winning the Moates Cup as best American for the second year.
Harri Kullas:
I was third at the beginning of the first race and tried to look at the lines of the others and meet the speed of the first two. Things were going well and I couldnt catch Anstie but I kept Searle behind me. I was really happy with fourth. In the second moto I was in the pack and couldnt complete the first jump and hit someone. I picked up the bike but then a guy hit me and we both went down. I then charged as hard as I could even though my leg was hurting a bit. I was not so happy with the second race but will remember the first from here.
2011 MX2-GP United States
Glen Helen 15/05/2011 13 Laps
race I
1 Ken Roczen KTM GER 43’17.168
2 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 0’13.326
3 Max Anstie Kawasaki GBR 0’48.382
4 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 1’01.455
5 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1’07.684
6 Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 1’10.785
7 Arnaud Tonus Yamaha CHE 1’52.840
8 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 1’56.851
9 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 2’16.194
10 Travis Baker Honda USA 2’27.808
11 Petar Petrov Yamaha BGR 3’10.745
12 Nicolas Aubin KTM FRA 3’16.403
13 Jordi Tixier KTM FRA 3’22.646
14 Joel Roelants KTM BEL -1Laps
15 Alessandro Lupino Husqvarna ITA -1Laps
race II
1 Ken Roczen KTM GER 42’56.413
2 Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 0’36.739
3 Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 1’01.005
4 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 1’22.834
5 Max Anstie Kawasaki GBR 1’27.540
6 Marvin Musquin KTM FRA 1’40.946
7 Nicolas Aubin KTM FRA 2’07.188
8 Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 2’12.593
9 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 2’13.327
10 Jordi Tixier KTM FRA 2’29.423
11 Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 2’34.598
12 Scott Champion Honda USA -1Laps
13 Pascal Rauchenecker KTM AUT -1Laps
14 Alessandro Lupino Husqvarna ITA -1Laps
15 Nikolai Larsen KTM DNK -1Laps
18 Petar Petrov Yamaha BGR -1Laps
MX2-GP World Standing
Rider Standings After Race 3 of 16
1. Ken Roczen KTM GER 144
2. Jeffrey Herlings KTM NED 130
3. Tommy Searle Kawasaki GBR 120
4. Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 90
5. Max Anstie Kawasaki GBR 87
6. Arnaud Tonus Yamaha CHE 81
7. Gautier Paulin Yamaha FRA 80
8. Harri Kullas Yamaha FIN 74
9. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 67
10. Christophe Charlier Yamaha FRA 62
11. Nicolas Aubin KTM FRA 59
12. Jordi Tixier KTM FRA 39
13. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 31
14. Glenn Coldenhoff Yamaha NED 31
15. Nikolai Larsen KTM DNK 30
16. Alessandro Lupino Husqvarna ITA 27
17. Petar Petrov Yamaha BGR 26
Circuit Length:
NA
Crowd:
22,000
Weather:
Changeable
Last Years Winner:
Marvin Musquin
Manufacturer Standings
15/05/2011
1 KTM 150
2 Kawasaki 124
3 Yamaha 110
4 Honda 37
5 Husqvarna 27
6 Suzuki 2
