GP of Portugal Report

Among the fire-red dirt and across the plunging undulations of Agueda for the Grand Prix of Portugal and the fifth round of the fifteen in the FIM World Championship, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli rider Antonio Cairoli not only extended his phenomenal run of success at the venue but also – with his second double moto set of the season and second overall victory – stamped his name on the betting slip as the firm favourite for the ‘09 MX1 title.

The Sicilian, a former twice MX2 world champion and arguably the most talented and high profile rider on the GP scene today, has only six MX1 appearances to his name but already boasts a 50% win ratio and has adapted to the premier class and the demands of the 450 without pause or hesitation. His eighth and ninth moto triumphs from the last ten in Agueda were taken with convincing authority, not even a sizeable lead by Teka Suzuki’s Ken De Dycker in Moto2 or a collision with world champion and friend David Philippaerts in the same sprint could deter his conquering pace.

The two weeks between the Grand Prix of Benelux in the sand of Valkenswaard and the trip to Portugal had been costly and full of unwelcome news. Injuries to protagonists such as Kevin Strijbos, Marc De Reuver, Sebastien Pourcel, Steve Ramon and Shaun Simpson left vacancies in the factory teams of Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and KTM. De Reuver’s hip dislocation and broken three vertebrae after a practice spill means that the charismatic but unpredictable Dutchman’s career hangs in the balance. Strijbos’ broken scaphoid (with a six-week recovery period) caused the luckless Italian Martin crew to be left high and dry. The desperate search for capable talent (and not only by Honda) has led to some transatlantic phone calls and, perhaps more interestingly for GP audiences, contact with former Martin pilot and double world champion Mickael Pichon, who could possibly compete from semi-retirement and run the bike inside the top ten at several rounds.

To compound Honda’s misery Billy Mackenzie, the only works representative (CAS team-mate Cedric Melotte was absent with a back ailment), wrenched his right thumb in a tumble negotiating a fast lap on Saturday and pulled out of the GP.

The threat of rain hung in the clouds and finally arrived for the second MX1 moto on Sunday. The reams of bumps, rippled and kickers in the hard red dirt combined to create a vicious test.

Cairoli was absolute across the slippery terrain and headed the podium from De Dycker and – much to Honda’s relief – Clement Desalle, whose Belgian team’s CRF450R was up to the task of two advantageous getaways from the line.

Cairoli’s prang with Philippaerts while disputing second-place in Moto 2 with Desalle for company was a talking point, and the Yamaha rider’s failure to hold the inside line and rut on a descent, thus hitting the world champion, railing the outside, down and out (and later diagnosed with a broken left index finger), provoked an apology from the victor afterwards and instigated ill-feeling from Philippaerts, who felt aggrieved and knew the DNF would be costly. Among the rest of strong Yamaha fleet Josh Coppins was consistent to ride to fourth overall and Tanel Leok was also close.

Grand Prix of Benelux winner a fortnight ago, Jonathan Barragan, could only take 9th on his factory KTM after wrenching shoulder ligaments in a training crash during the week and became yet another of the multitude seeking medical assistance.

Cairoli can now afford not to finish a moto and still sit at the top of the standings. His 25-point gap over De Dycker is the first blocks from which the flamboyant rider can assemble his title-grasping strategy at the first time of asking.
The MX2 class saw KTM’s Rui Goncalves notch a second win in succession after a pair of holeshots and 2-1 scores. The home GP spectacle for Stefan Everts’ star pupil suitably buoyed the biggest crowd seen yet at Agueda and perhaps did a fitting job in pushing the sport’s profile in the country.

Pole sitter Steven Frossard was second for Kawasaki, ahead of Honda’s Marvin Musquin, the latter Frenchman producing one of the performances of the weekend to recover from a Saturday prang, almost the last slot in the gate, a near-crash on the straight in Moto 1 and finally a rip through the pack to catch and pass Goncalves for his second chequered flag of the season. A broken water hose stopped series front-runner Gautier Paulin from improving his ranking of sixth and allowed Musquin to draw closer in the points list.