Smets claimed his second podium in a row by virtue of his 7-1 days effort, a piece of wayward tape playing havoc with the 36-year-old Belgian's rear brake which explained his first moto 7th place. "I honestly thought I might be able to finish on the podium in the first few races but not with these kinds of results. I have won two heats from four now and I did not really expect that. It is of course good for my confidence and motivation to keep on working". said Smets.
Josh Coppins missed the podium by three points and was not to happy with his result despite a holeshot in the second moto. "I have to say I‰Ûªm a bit disappointed. After my result in Zolder I really needed the win in the second race to get back into the championship. I suppose it was my own fault as I left the door open for JoÌÇl and he basically ran me into the soft dirt. My goal was to finish top five this weekend and I achieved that but it should have been different. said the CAS Honda rider.
After a crash-marred first moto, that saw the defending champion Stefan Everts (Yamaha L&M Motocross Team) thrown over the bars in the tough supercross style whoops section, he regained his composure to record a strong second to finish only 6 seconds adrift of Smets.
Pichon's second overall now sees the Frenchman go into the next round with the red plate of the championship leader, where he holds a 4 point advantage over Smets and Everts who are both tied on 80 points. Townley sits a further 4 points back in 4th.
With a third and a second position in the MX2 class, veteran Alessio Chiodi(Team Ricci Racing) won the GP with the same results as Townley in the MX1 class. Both MX2 moto's were marred by several crashes and race incidents; Andrew McFarlane (Team Ricci Racing) lost the second place in the first moto when his bike failed, while Red Bull KTM's Tyla Rattray was robbed of the GP win due to a broken chain in the second race. Winner of the first moto Antonio Cairoli crashed in the following one as did Yamaha L&M Motocross Team's Cedric Melotte.
"It‰Ûªs a strange feeling to win again", said Chiodi. "My last win was the GP of Switzerland in 1999! I had a lot of injuries and problems in the last seasons, and I‰Ûªm happy to win on this track were I succeeded twice in the past. The first race was pretty good for me, even if I had some problems to pass Guarnieri as the track was wet in the ruts; after twenty minutes I pushed and finally found a place to pass him. It was more difficult for me in the next race, as the track became hard on some places and I didn‰Ûªt felt comfortable with my front wheel. But finally I was lucky, as Tyla broke his chain and let me win this GP." he concluded.
Cairoli was content with his second overall after suffering an ankle injury at the previous round in Zolder. "The ankle injury I sustained in Zolder was a lot worse than we thought at first and I was not able to train for two weeks so to be on the podium is great". said the Italian star.
Brit Steven Sword found some of the momentum that saw him as a championship contender last year to finish two points ahead of CÌ©dric Melotte in third.
After a race crash and a broken chain, point leader going into the round Tyla Rattray was devastated with his 11th place finish. "There are almost no words to describe how disappointed I am right now," he said after the race. "I was easily the fastest out there, and even though I could not have won the second race, the overall looked secure and I would now have had a good lead in the championship. I have to work on my starts, though, to start mid pack at this stage is simply not good enough."
Australian Andrew McFarlane showed plenty of speed but his luck would once again desert him. "The end result does not reflect my riding because this weekend went really well for me" said the Queenslander. "After being ill during the week, I felt healthy coming here and I think it showed in my form. I was behind Cairoli during the first race I knew exactly where to pass him, and my speed was better than his unfortunately I than encountered this problem with my gearbox and I had to stop. In the second race I had a strong start again, but Mackenzie was just outstanding today and I could not catch him. However I'm happy for Billy and personally I leave Spain with a much better feeling than I had after the opening round, so I'm looking forward to Agueda.
Next weekend the World Championship move to Agueda (Portugal) for the third round of the series.
Main Photo: Ben Townley celebrates
Note: For full results
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