Team KTM UK - Twelfth and thirteenth for Simpson and Noble in Portugal

The third round from fifteen in the 2008 FIM Motocross World Championship was a tale of two stories for both riders of the KTM UK team as Shaun Simpson missed the points from one of the MX2 motos to finish twelfth overall while James Noble continued to gather race speed in his second international outing for the British crew and was thirteenth in his highest overall standing to-date.

After the swampy conditions in Spain last weekend the Grand Prix of Portugal at the immaculately presented Agueda circuit started with hot sunshine and temperatures over thirty degrees, in other words the complete opposite! The decent climate continued throughout Sunday and contributed to a dry, rippling and technical layout that saw many racers circulating with similar lap-times.

Simpson had an interesting qualification heat on Saturday. The young Scot was holding a comfortable third position before a mistake and crash dropped him out of the top twenty. He worked his way back into the first twelve (the cut-off point for qualifying) but then slipped off the KTM again and had an entertaining tussle with a group of six riders to finally capture tenth (meaning 19th gate pick on Sunday). Noble meanwhile was a reasonable 17th in MX1, less than three seconds away from the pole position time as the class was closely matched.

For Simpson Saturday was a prelude to a messy first moto in which he tasted the dark red soil again on Sunday leaving him far behind the pack in last place. Fighting back to almost break into the top-twenty, his hopes were scuppered by another spill and his first ‘0’ of the season. The 20 year old – arguably the most improved rider this season in the MX2 category - made amends with a steady and fault-free outing in Moto2 to take eighth; his fourth top ten finish from six.

“What can I say? I made a total mess of the first race,” he reflected. “My start was not that bad and I was around 12th or 13th and I should have just taken my time instead of trying to charge ahead and win the race in the first three laps. I was way behind but caught up and almost made a points-scoring position but made a mess of it again. At the very least the moto was a bit of training! I started well in the second moto and was fourth going up the hill but the wide line was not the best choice. I lost a few positions and from then on rode a steady race. Everyone was more or less staying the same pace with not much passing. It was one of those kinds of tracks, very dry and bumpy with only a few smooth lines. Onto the British Championship next and we will be trying to beat Swordy but we have plenty of time to make up some points.”

Noble was 15th in the first moto after spending a large chunk of the race fighting for places outside of the top ten. The Briton then found himself in the company of works riders Ken de Dycker and Max Nagl in the second sprint as he pushed up to 14th and continued his recovery of fitness and confidence after suffering with pneumonia.

“It is slowly coming back,” he commented. “I have always been a fan of this track. I got some good training done during the week and it is another Grand Prix that I have managed to come through quite reasonably. I struggled a bit with my starts but I am quite happy. I was fighting with De Dycker and Nagl in the second race and that is not such bad company. I am just trying to get my fitness back now and I think by the time we get to Bulgaria, after we have been to Lyng, I should be a bit sharper and the results will be better.”

Simpson is ninth in the world championship and 21 points from the top five. Noble has crept onto the radar and is nineteenth.

The team travel back to the UK this week and their racing programme will not let-up. The fourth round of eight in the Maxxis British Championship at Lyng in Norfolk will take place next week and Simpson, currently second in the series, will be looking to close the 16 point margin to first place. The Grand Prix of Bulgaria at Sevlievo will then occur the following weekend.

www.ktmmxuk.com

 

MX1 Moto1:

1. David Philippaerts (Yam); 2. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 3. Jonathan Barragan (KTM); 4. Billy Mackenzie (Hon); 5. Josh Coppins (Yam); 6. Steve Ramon (Suz); 7. Marc de Reuver (Hon); 8. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 9. Mike Brown (Hon); 10. Clement Desalle (Suz); 11. Julien Bill (Hon); 12. Max Nagl (KTM); 13. Marcus Schiffer (KTM); 14. Ken de Dycker (Suz); 15. James Noble (KTM); 16. Alex Salvini (Suz); 17. Manuel Priem (Kaw); 18. Kornel Nemeth (KTM); 19. Alessio Chiodo (TM); 20. Pierre Renet (Suz);

MX1 Moto2:

1. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 2. David Philippaerts (Yam); 3. Josh Coppins (Yam); 4. Steve Ramon (Suz);5. Mike Brown (Hon); 6. Billy Mackenzie (Hon); 7. Jonathan Barragan (KTM); 8. Marc de Reuver (Hon); 9. Kornel Nemeth (KTM); 10. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 11. Clement Desalle (Suz); 12. Max Nagl (KTM); 13. Carlos Campano (Yam) 14. James Noble (KTM); 15. Pierre Renet (Suz); 16. Marcus Schiffer (KTM); 17. Paulo Goncalves (Hon); 18. Alex Salvini (Suz); 19. Marvin Van Daele (Suz); 20. Manuel Priem (Kaw);

MX1 Overall Result:

1. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 2. David Philippaerts (Yam); 3. Josh Coppins (Yam); 4. Jonathan Barragan (KTM); 5. Steve Ramon (Suz); 6. Billy Mackenzie (Hon); 7. Mike Brown (Hon); 8. Marc de Reuver (Hon);9. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 10. Clement Desalle (Suz); 11. Max Nagl (KTM); 12. Kornel Nemeth (KTM); 13. James Noble (KTM); 14. Marcus Schiffer (KTM); 15. Julien Bill (Hon);16. Carlos Campano (Yam);17. Alex Salvini (Suz); 18. Pierre Renet (Suz); 19. Ken de Dycker (Suz); 20. Manuel Priem (Kaw);

MX1 World Championship standings (after round 3 of 15):

1. David Philippaerts (102); 2. Steve Ramon (96); 3. Josh Coppins (83); 4. Billy Mackenzie (79); 5. Ken de Dycker (77); 6. Max Nagl (58); 7. Jonathan Barragan (54); 8. Sebastien Pourcel (52); 9. Tanel Leok (50); 10. Kornel Nemeth (48); 11. Clement Desalle (43); 12. Mike Brown (42); 13. Manuel Priem (40); 14. Marc de Reuver (40); 15. Kevin Strijbos (36); 16. Marcus Schiffer (27); 17. Tom Church (20); 18. Aigar Leok (20); 19. James Noble (20); 20. Alex Salvini (19);

MX2 Moto1:

1. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 2. Tommy Searle (KTM); 3. Tyla Rattray (KTM); 4. Stephen Sword (Kaw); 5. Davide Guarneri (Yam); 6. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 7. Steven Frossard (Kaw); 8. Nicolas Aubin (Yam);9. Gautier Paulin (Kaw); 10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (KTM); 11. Xavier Boog (Suz); 12. Wyatt Avis (Hon); 13. Anthony Boissiere (KTM); 14. Marvin Musquin (Hon); 15. Carl Nunn (Suz); 16. Joel Roelants (KTM); 17. Elliot Banks-Browne (Suz); 18. Greg Aranda (Kaw); 19. Alessandro Lupino (Yam); 20. Shannon Terreblance (Suz);

MX2 Moto2:

1. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 2. Tyla Rattray (KTM); 3. Tommy Searle (KTM); 4. Nicolas Aubin (Yam); 5. Stephen Sword (Kaw); 6. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 7. Carl Nunn (Suz); 8. Shaun Simpson (KTM); 9. Manuel Monni (Yam); 10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (KTM); 11. Gautier Paulin (Kaw); 12. Davide Guarneri (Yam);13. Jeremy Tarroux (KTM); 14. Shannon Terreblance (Suz); 15. Greg Aranda (Kaw); 16. Anthony Boissiere (KTM); 17. Julien Vanni (KTM); 18. Elliot Banks-Browne (Suz); 19. Gert Krestinov (KTM); 20. Joel Roelants (KTM);

MX2 Overall Result:

1. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 2. Tyla Rattray (KTM); 3. Tommy Searle (KTM); 4. Stephen Sword (Kaw); 5. Nicolas Aubin (Yam); 6. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 7. Davide Guarneri (Yam); 8. Jeremy Van Horebeek (KTM); 9. Gautier Paulin (Kaw); 10. Carl Nunn (Suz); 11. Steven Frossard (Kaw); 12. Shaun Simpson (KTM); 13. Anthony Boissiere (KTM); 14. Manuel Monni (Yam); 15. Xavier Boog (Suz); 16. Greg Aranda (Kaw); 17. Wyatt Avis (Hon); 18. Jeremy Tarroux (KTM); 19. Shannon Terreblance (Suz); 20. Elliot Banks-Browne (Suz);

MX2 World Championship standings (after round 3 of 15):

1. Antonio Cairoli (126); 2. Tyla Rattray (121); 3. Tommy Searle (102); 4. Davide Guarneri (86); 5. Rui Goncalves (81); 6. Stephen Sword (80); 7. Nicolas Aubin (78); 8. Manuel Monni (60); 9. Shaun Simpson (60); 10. Jeremy Van Horebeek (57); 11. Xavier Boog (55); 12. Joel Roelants (49); 13. Gautier Paulin (48);14. Erik Eggens (38); 15. Jeremy Tarroux (34); 16. Carl Nunn (27); 17. Steven Frossard (23); 18. Marvin Musquin (23); 19. Gert Krestinov (23); 20. Anthony Boissiere (22);

By: Roger Magee - KTM UK, Photos: Paul McCready