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[Andy]

The opening round of the 2010 FIM Motocross World
Championship, at Sevlievo, Bulgaria, was a tough
one for the Honda riders contesting the senior
classes of motocross racing. The highest-placed
representative on the day being LS Motors Honda
rider Davide Guarneri who finished the MX1 GP in
10th place overall on his CRF450R.

The grand prix was held in clear weather
conditions with a warm spring sun shining on the
perfectly prepared Sevlievo circuit on race day
after a little rain dampened proceedings during
practice and qualification. However, the added
moisture helped mould the track’s normally
hardpack clay surface into a tough, rough and rutted test of man and machine.

In his MX1 debut Guarneri was consistently strong
and battled hard amongst the more experienced 450
riders to take his LS Motors Honda to 10th and
12th place finishes, respectively, in the
35-minute plus two-lap motos, the first moto won
by Max Nagl (KTM) who went on to finish just
behind Alessandro Cairoli (KTM) in the second
moto to seal the overall win and establish a
six-point lead over Cairoli in the championship standings.

Guarneri’s LS Motors team-mate Tanel Leok, who
had proved devastatingly quick in pre-season
competition, suffered terrible luck throughout
the weekend after setting fastest lap time in the
opening practice session. Hampered by bad starts
the Estonian Express overcame crashes and a mild
concussion to finish the day in 14th place overall with a 12-17 scorecard.

There was also bad luck for the CAS Honda team
riders with Evgeny Bobryshev unable to complete
more than half a lap in the opening race after
getting tangled in the green netting, a feature
that borders the MX circuits, following a coming
together with another rider. The Russian returned
to the track in moto two to finish a very
respectable 15th which earned him six points and a 18th place finish overall.

Gareth Swanepoel meanwhile made a strong Honda
debut for the CAS squad with a solid 12th overall
courtesy of 11-13 finishes. The South African
star battled hard after not getting off the
starting gate too well in either moto but his
determined charge proved he’s as fit and consistent as ever.

Martin Honda fielded a pair of GP debutantes and
both acquitted themselves well against the
world’s best, and in extremely tough conditions.
MX1 rider Jimmy Albertson twisted an ankle in
practice then suffered a big crash in the warm-up
session but fought his way home in both races to
end the weekend in 18th position overall with 16-20 finishes.

Albertson’s MX2 team-mate Alessandro Battig
narrowly missed out on scoring points in his
first ever GP by finishing 23rd in moto one. The
plucky young Italian backed that up with a hard
fought for 29th place in the final encounter.

Marvin Musquin (KTM) won both MX2 motos to score
a maximum 50 points six clear of Ken Roczen
(Suzuki) second twice today at Sevlievo. Nikolaj
Larsen was the first Honda home in both races with 14-18 finishes.

All six Honda supported riders will be in action
at the second round of the FIM MX1 / MX2 World
Motocross Championship which will take place at
Mantova, Italy next Sunday, April 11.


Honda rider quotes:

Davide Guarneri – LS Motors Honda:
“For my first GP on a 450 it went pretty good. I
finished 10th and 12th for 10th overall and I was
Honda’s best rider on the day so I’m satisfied
with that. In the second moto I got a little bit
tired near the end and so I concentrated on
finishing the race without crashing because it
was important to get points. My speed is quite
good already, I will train a little bit with
Marnicq so I’m stronger for the 450 and I am
quite confident that if I get some good starts I
can fight at the front of the pack in the upcoming races.”

Tanel Leok – LS Motors Honda:
“The track was good. It was very rough and heavy
– just the way I like it. I was fastest in the
first practice session but I had some terrible
luck in the races. In the first moto I missed a
gear on the start straight and as I was coming
through the pack I hit a hay bale that had been
knocked on to the track. I had a big crash and
after that I was in a lot of pain and I had a
headache as well but I carried on and got back to
12th – I was riding well and putting in plenty of consistent lap times.
“In moto two I tangled with Monni at the start
and ended up near the back again. I had a small
problem with the adjustment of the clutch lever
and for me that’s something that is really
important and I found it quite difficult to ride
well after that. Also my head was still hurting
from the first race so things weren’t so good –
it was difficult. It just wasn’t my weekend and a
lot of things went wrong but that happens sometimes in motocross.”

Gareth Swanepoel – CAS Honda:
“The first race I got a semi good start and rode
well in the first few laps. I stiffened up in the
middle part of the race and lost a few positions
but then I got back into it a little bit and came
through strong at the end and finished 11th. In
the second race I got a better start but tangled
up with someone in the first corner and it
basically just stopped me so I was way at the
back of the pack. I managed to put my head down
and charge through and I made some really good
passes. I’m a bit disappointed with the place I
finished in but very happy with the way I rode
and the performance of the bike. It took me all
weekend to get loose but I finally got there in the end.”

Evgeny Bobryshev – CAS Honda:
“The first race was over quickly for me – I only
made it half way around the lap before it was all
over! I got a mid-pack start and had a little bit
of contact with Monni and got pushed off the
track and the green fencing wrapped around my
rear wheel. I couldn’t go any further and I
dnf’d. “The track had changed a lot before the
second race and I found it hard to find a rhythm
at first but it was going well until after about
25 minutes I started getting arm pump – after
that I lost a lot of places and ended up finishing 15th.”

Jimmy Albertson – Martin Honda:
“The first moto I got a mid-pack start and came
around about 20th. I managed to pick up some
places in the early laps and then De Reuver fell
down in a rut in front of me and I had to get off
the bike to push it out of the rut so I could
carry on. I ended up dropping back down to 16th
which is where I finished. “In the second moto I
got a better start and after a few laps I was
pretty close to running top 10 and then I came
together with another rider and went down pretty
hard. As soon as I fell I got back up and I was
thinking ‘man, this day can’t get much worse’ but
I fought through to 20th so I got at least one
point so all the effort wasn’t for nothing. “The
guys are really fast over here in the World
Championship for sure but I know that if I ride
to my full potential I can do a lot better. I’m
really looking forward to next weekend so I can show everyone what I do.”

Alessandro Battig – Martin Honda:
“I am happy. I think in the first heat it was
possible to take some points but I just came a
little bit short and then the second didn’t go so
well but it’s okay because I’m just here to
learn. I think I could do with a little bit more
speed and a little bit more aggression and then I
will do better. The bike is very good and I ride
well at Mantova so I’m really excited about racing there in the next GP.”

Roger Harvey – Honda Off-Road Manager
“It’s been a difficult opening GP for us. After
seeing Tanel Leok’s outstanding pre-season form
we were looking forward to seeing him finish
quite well up there at this race. Unfortunately
he suffered lots of bad luck and a rider he was
following flicked a hay bale up in front of him –
he had quite a big crash because of that and it
turns out he has a small concussion. He rode the
second race but after the event he had quite a
severe headache – if he says it severe then it
must be. “Davide Guarneri rode really well today
and I’m very pleased with his performance. He
lost a bit of speed towards the end of the second
moto and I think that’s probably because he’s
just stepping up from the MX2 bike.
“Jimmy Albertson came here to learn about GPs and
he hurt his ankle yesterday and then had a big
off this morning and that shook him up. He’s
taken another step though and now he knows what
these races are all about and it isn’t going to
be easy for him. Alessandro Battig is just a kid.
He was on the small bikes last year and he’s come
here and he’s just the wide eyed kid on the GP
scene. He’s here to learn and he’s gone out there
and finished two races today in his first GP – what more can we ask.
“Gareth Swanepoel was going okay today – he was
consistent and that’s what we expect from him
although we’d probably like him to be a little
bit higher. Bobryshev had a tough day and bounced
off the track in the opening moto following
contact with another rider and he got tangled in
the green fencing so he had no option but to stop
the bike completely. In the second moto he had
quite a reasonable ride and just kept pushing.”



Results Motocross

MX1 Race 1 (20 laps = 33.6km)
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time
1 / Nagl, Maximilian / GER / KTM / 40:45.442
2 / Philippaerts, David / ITA / Yamaha / 40:54.041
3 / Desalle, Clement / BEL / Suzuki / 40:58.601
4 / de Dycker, Ken / BEL / Yamaha / 41:03.559
5 / Cairoli, Antonio / ITA / KTM / 41:08.306
6 / Barragan, Jonathan / ESP / Kawasaki / 41:24.067
7 / Ramon, Steve / BEL / Suzuki / 41:30.983
8 / Boog, Xavier / FRA / Kawasaki / 41:37.651
9 / Coppins, Joshua / NZL / Aprilia / 41:44.342
10 / Guarneri, Davide / ITA / Honda / 41:51.117
11 / Swanepoel, Gareth / RSA / Honda / 41:55.167
12 / Leok, Tanel / EST / Honda / 42:03.610
13 / Monni, Manuel / ITA / Yamaha / 42:13.183
14 / de Reuver, Marc / NED / Suzuki / 42:24.817
15 / Strijbos, Kevin / BEL / Suzuki / 42:28.171

Fastest lap: NAGL, Maximilian; 1:54.286 in lap 3 with 52.92km/h

MX1 Race 2 (20 laps = 33.6km)
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time
1 / Cairoli, Antonio / ITA / KTM / 41:06.743
2 / Nagl, Maximilian / GER / KTM / 41:10.428
3 / Ramon, Steve / BEL / Suzuki / 41:13.803
4 / Pourcel, Sebastien / FRA / Kawasaki / 41:19.612
5 / Desalle, Clement / BEL / Suzuki / 41:22.222
6 / Barragan, Jonathan / ESP / Kawasaki / 41:23.184
7 / Philippaerts, David / ITA / Yamaha / 41:23.362
8 / de Dycker, Ken / BEL / Yamaha / 41:55.278
9 / Boog, Xavier / FRA / Kawasaki / 41:58.195
10 / Coppins, Joshua / NZL / Aprilia / 42:05.586
11 / Boissiere, Anthony / FRA / TM / 42:16.650
12 / Guarneri, Davide / ITA / Honda / 42:23.852
13 / Swanepoel, Gareth / RSA / Honda / 42:29.474
14 / Monni, Manuel / ITA / Yamaha / 42:39.201
15 / Bobryshev, Evgeny / RUS / Honda / 42:43.039

Fastest Lap: NAGL, Maximilian; 1:54.286 in lap 3 with 52.92km/h


MX1 World Motocross Championship Standings
Pos Rider Total
1 Nagl, M. 47, 2 Cairoli, A. 41, 3 Philippaerts,
D. 36, 4 Desalle, C. 36, 5 Ramon, Steve 34,
6 de Dycker, Ken 31, 7 Barragan, J. 30, 8 Boog, Xavier 25, 9 Coppins, J. 23,
10 Guarneri, D. 20, 11 Pourcel, S. 18, 12
Swanepoel, G. 18, 13 Monni, Manuel 15,
14 Leok, Tanel 13, 15 Boissiere, A. 10.


MX2 Race 1 (20 laps = 33.5km
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time
1 / Musquin, Marvin / FRA / KTM / 40:41.977
2 / Roczen, Ken / GER / Suzuki / 40:54.295
3 / Frossard, Steven / FRA / Kawasaki / 41:33.138
4 / Tonus, Arnaud / SUI / Suzuki / 41:39.897
5 / van Horebeek, Jeremy / BEL / Kawasaki / 41:49.244
6 / Herlings, Jeffrey / NED / KTM / 42:17.453
7 / Simpson, Shaun / GBR / KTM / 42:26.286
8 / Osborne, Zach / USA / Yamaha / 42:27.014
9 / Roelants, Joel / BEL / KTM / 42:31.633
10 / Nicholls, Jake / GBR / KTM / 42:33.860
11 / Kullas, Harri / FIN / Yamaha / 42:43.468
12 / Verbruggen, Dennis / BEL / KTM / 40:48.637
13 / Triest, Nick / BEL / KTM / 40:59.072
14 / Charlier, Christophe / FRA / Yamaha / 41:01.841
15 / Pocock, Mel / GBR / Yamaha / 41:16.534

Fastest Lap: MUSQUIN, Marvin; 1:53.341 in lap 7 with 53.33km/h


MX2 Race 2 (19 laps = 31.9km)
Pos / Rider / Nat. / Bike / Time
1 / Musquin, Marvin / FRA / KTM / 39:22.409
2 / Roczen, Ken / GER / Suzuki / 39:29.798
3 / Herlings, Jeffrey / NED / KTM / 39:41.587
4 / Frossard, Steven / FRA / Kawasaki / 39:48.734
5 / Tonus, Arnaud / SUI / Suzuki / 39:53.632
6 / van Horebeek, Jeremy / BEL / Kawasaki / 40:10.819
7 / Osborne, Zach / USA / Yamaha / 40:28.030
8 / Nicholls, Jake / GBR / KTM / 40:39.343
9 / Simpson, Shaun / GBR / KTM / 40:54.573
10 / Charlier, Christophe / FRA / Yamaha / 40:56.624
11 / Triest, Nick / BEL / KTM / 41:00.789
12 / Kullas, Harri / FIN / Yamaha / 41:05.782
13 / Aubin, Nicolas / FRA / Kawasaki / 41:10.621
14 / Larsen, Nikolaj / DEN / Honda / 41:22.396
15 / Lupino, Alessandro / ITA / Yamaha / 39:26.209

Fastest Lap: MUSQUIN, Marvin; 1:55.809 in lap 3 with 52.22km/h


MX2 World Motocross Championship Standings
Pos Rider Total
1 Musquin, M. 50, 2 Roczen, Ken 44, 3 Frossard, S. 38, 4 Herlings, J. 35,
5 Tonus, Arnaud 34, 6 van Horebeek, J. 31, 7 Osborne, Zach 27,
8 Simpson, Shaun 26, 9 Nicholls, Jake 24, 10
Kullas, Harri 19, 11 Charlier, C. 18,
12 Triest, Nick 18, 13 Roelants, Joel 12, 14
Verbruggen, D. 11, 15 Lupino, A. 11.