MotorSportsAlive Story
Barragan leads the Green Army - GP of Bulgaria
News Monday 05th April 2010
The Kawasaki Racing Team had three riders in the top eleven at the opening round of the FIM World MX1 Championship, to confirm that they will be a leading force in the series this year. Jonathan Barragan ended the day 7th overall after showing impressive speed in the later stages of both motos, but, coming to the GP after a string of successes in his national championship, the Spaniard had a difficult time during...
Which resulted in him starting the points-sorting races from a disadvantageous gate pick. In the closing stages of the first race Jonathan was setting lap times two seconds faster than the leaders, but had surrendered too much time in the early laps through errors and had to be content with 6th place at the finish. In race two it was a similar story, but he again forced his way through to 6th place on the very last lap as he pulled back no less than three seconds on 2008 champion David Philippaerts. Sebastien Pourcel had seemed assured of a top placing overall and joined a four rider breakaway at the front in the early stages of race one. A momentary slip on lap four need not have proved so costly, but unfortunately another rider landed on his bike and damaged the pipe and side panel, forcing the Frenchman to withdraw from the race. Bouncing back in race two Sebastien took a fine fourth place to confirm the anticipated promise. Xavier Boog, a newcomer to MX1 GP racing, repeated the composure which he has shown in the recent rounds of the French championship to twice finish amongst the top ten with 8th and 9th placed finishes.
Coming into the race Gregory Aranda had not been able to train for two weeks due to injury and illness and the Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki rider’s luck did not improve in Bulgaria. In the first race he was unable to avoid another rider who fell in his path, crashing alone later in the race as he strived to recover lost ground. A collision at the start of race two cost him the chance of the holeshot, and the after-effects of his recent illness took its toll as the race wore on to restrict the 20 year old to a mere five points from the weekend, a great disappointment after his stunning early season form.
Jonathan Barragan: ‘I crashed in the qualifying race so I only had the fifteenth gate for Sunday. That inevitably meant that I had two bad starts, and then I made many more mistakes, crashing twice in each race. It is unfortunate that I was not able to battle at the front, but I had good speed and came back to sixth in each race. You can’t compare the tracks in Spain with this one, but my feeling with the bike is getting better with each race so I’m already focused for Mantova next weekend.’
Xavier Boog: ‘I felt more and more comfortable as the weekend progressed. On Saturday evening I had not been so happy with my twelfth position in the qualifying race, but I got two good results on Sunday. I had a good start in the first race and then battled with established MX1 riders such as Ramon and Coppins. I lost two positions when De Dycker and Cairoli passed me, but they were both charging hard and I was happy with my eighth place. My start in the second race was similar to the first but I made some mistakes on the opening lap and several riders passed me. That made the race more difficult for me and a few laps later I had a small crash, but I was able to fight my way back to ninth place at the finish. It was a tough day, but my goal in my first MX1 GP was to be in the top ten and I did just that in both motos.’
Sébastien Pourcel: ‘The weekend started well when I took second place in the qualifying race on Saturday, but today I had a few problems. I had a good start in the first race and I had found a good rhythm until I hit a neutral in the waves section. I crashed, and unfortunately Cairoli jumped on my bike and damaged the pipe and the side panel. The second race was better, but still not what I was expecting as I made a couple of small mistakes and even had a small crash when I was third. I worked all winter but this was my first GP race for almost a year and I know that I have to continue to work; I think I will be back at my best level in another four to six weeks.’
Gregory Aranda: ‘I haven’t been able to practice for two weeks due to headaches after my crash in Pernes; the doctors told me to stay quiet in order to help my recovery. Then I caught bronchitis this week so I knew that this GP would be difficult, and even in the timed practice sessions the results were not so good. In the first race I crashed when Boissière fell in front of me, then I crashed again and damaged my bike after nearly coming back into the points from last place. I almost got the holeshot in the second race but another rider pushed me out, and then after a few laps I didn’t felt so well after my recent illness. It’s frustrating because the beginning of season went so well. At least I have no more pain in my ankle now, and, as I had no more headaches this weekend, I will start training hard this week to prepare for the next GP at Mantova.’
Solid rides by Kawasaki Team CLS Pro Circuit riders Steven Frossard and Jeremy Van Horebeek saw them both complete the first round of the FIM World MX2 Championship in the first six. Coming into the race Gregory Aranda had not been able to train for two weeks due to injury and illness and the Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki rider’s luck did not improve in Bulgaria. In the first race he was unable to avoid another rider who fell in his path, crashing alone later in the race as he strived to recover lost ground. A collision at the start of race two cost him the chance of the holeshot, and the after-effects of his recent illness took its toll as the race wore on to restrict the 20 year old to a mere five points from the weekend, a great disappointment after his stunning early season form.
Jonathan Barragan: ‘I crashed in the qualifying race so I only had the fifteenth gate for Sunday. That inevitably meant that I had two bad starts, and then I made many more mistakes, crashing twice in each race. It is unfortunate that I was not able to battle at the front, but I had good speed and came back to sixth in each race. You can’t compare the tracks in Spain with this one, but my feeling with the bike is getting better with each race so I’m already focused for Mantova next weekend.’
Xavier Boog: ‘I felt more and more comfortable as the weekend progressed. On Saturday evening I had not been so happy with my twelfth position in the qualifying race, but I got two good results on Sunday. I had a good start in the first race and then battled with established MX1 riders such as Ramon and Coppins. I lost two positions when De Dycker and Cairoli passed me, but they were both charging hard and I was happy with my eighth place. My start in the second race was similar to the first but I made some mistakes on the opening lap and several riders passed me. That made the race more difficult for me and a few laps later I had a small crash, but I was able to fight my way back to ninth place at the finish. It was a tough day, but my goal in my first MX1 GP was to be in the top ten and I did just that in both motos.’
Sébastien Pourcel: ‘The weekend started well when I took second place in the qualifying race on Saturday, but today I had a few problems. I had a good start in the first race and I had found a good rhythm until I hit a neutral in the waves section. I crashed, and unfortunately Cairoli jumped on my bike and damaged the pipe and the side panel. The second race was better, but still not what I was expecting as I made a couple of small mistakes and even had a small crash when I was third. I worked all winter but this was my first GP race for almost a year and I know that I have to continue to work; I think I will be back at my best level in another four to six weeks.’
Gregory Aranda: ‘I haven’t been able to practice for two weeks due to headaches after my crash in Pernes; the doctors told me to stay quiet in order to help my recovery. Then I caught bronchitis this week so I knew that this GP would be difficult, and even in the timed practice sessions the results were not so good. In the first race I crashed when Boissière fell in front of me, then I crashed again and damaged my bike after nearly coming back into the points from last place. I almost got the holeshot in the second race but another rider pushed me out, and then after a few laps I didn’t felt so well after my recent illness. It’s frustrating because the beginning of season went so well. At least I have no more pain in my ankle now, and, as I had no more headaches this weekend, I will start training hard this week to prepare for the next GP at Mantova.’
Steven Frossard confirmed that he is one of the leading contenders for the world title as he joined a three rider breakaway in race one. A couple of errors lost him contact with his two rivals, but he easily secured the third place. After another good getaway in race two Steven was looking to launch an assault on second place, but lost ground through a mistake before confirming his speed once more by charging back to fourth place, his final pass five laps from the end ensuring that he would end the day in third place overall to set the Frenchman up for his title challenge. Jeremy Van Horebeek also started well in each moto, and put in two solid rides once he had settled down, taking fifth and sixth placing in the two motos to secure sixth on the day. It was a fine start to his GP career with Kawasaki which confirmed that the Belgian should also be a factor in the title race, particularly when the series moves to his native sand tracks.
Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Nicolas Aubin continued to be dogged by misfortune. A troubled qualification race on Saturday left him with a poor choice of gate, and he was eventually restricted to just eight points for his efforts as further misfortune struck after he had battled his way forward onto the edge of the top ten in each race.
Steven Frossard: ‘It’s the first time in my career that I have finished the opening race of my championship on a podium, so I’m pretty satisfied. I made some mistakes during the races and crashed twice; that was two times too many to beat Musquin and Roczen who were both very fast on this track. I had two good starts and was watching their lines for the first few laps, but then a couple of mistakes in both races cost me any chance of the win. Being the first race of the season, I was a little tense on the bike, but now it’s over I can focus on Mantova.’
Jeremy Van Horebeek: ‘I had two good starts today, but the first few laps in both motos were really intense, and I simply made too many mistakes. Once I got into my rhythm and found the best lines I was able to ride a much smoother race. My goal was top five overall today and I was sixth, so I was not that far off. I know where I need to improve though, and I can already focus on Mantova next weekend.’
Nicolas Aubin: ‘I had the worst qualifying race of my career on Saturday, so I had an outside gate which made both starts difficult. In the first race I had come back to thirteenth position when I stalled the engine. I’ve been sick for two weeks and I started to feel tired in the second moto. I got up to eleventh at one stage but the second half of the race was difficult and I lost two positions. But we’ll continue to work hard, and I’m sure better results will come soon.
Rockstar Bud Racing Kawasaki’s Nicolas Aubin continued to be dogged by misfortune. A troubled qualification race on Saturday left him with a poor choice of gate, and he was eventually restricted to just eight points for his efforts as further misfortune struck after he had battled his way forward onto the edge of the top ten in each race.
Steven Frossard: ‘It’s the first time in my career that I have finished the opening race of my championship on a podium, so I’m pretty satisfied. I made some mistakes during the races and crashed twice; that was two times too many to beat Musquin and Roczen who were both very fast on this track. I had two good starts and was watching their lines for the first few laps, but then a couple of mistakes in both races cost me any chance of the win. Being the first race of the season, I was a little tense on the bike, but now it’s over I can focus on Mantova.’
Jeremy Van Horebeek: ‘I had two good starts today, but the first few laps in both motos were really intense, and I simply made too many mistakes. Once I got into my rhythm and found the best lines I was able to ride a much smoother race. My goal was top five overall today and I was sixth, so I was not that far off. I know where I need to improve though, and I can already focus on Mantova next weekend.’
Nicolas Aubin: ‘I had the worst qualifying race of my career on Saturday, so I had an outside gate which made both starts difficult. In the first race I had come back to thirteenth position when I stalled the engine. I’ve been sick for two weeks and I started to feel tired in the second moto. I got up to eleventh at one stage but the second half of the race was difficult and I lost two positions. But we’ll continue to work hard, and I’m sure better results will come soon.
Stanley Leroux Design
