Sardinia hosts Grand Prix on the port this weekend

FUNCHAL (PORTUGAL), 9 July 2008  (courtesy Youthstream)

– After the Spanish Grand Prix new leaders are on top of the S1 and S2 Championships points standings. The forthcoming round in Olbia this weekend will continue what looks like a long chase for the Championships.

Bernd Hiemer is on top of the S1 standings while Adrien Chareyre is first in the S2 class. In the UEM European series Oliver Pope is first in the S3 class while Heino Meusburger heads the Open class.

S1
After scoring no points at home in Castelletto, DRC SuperMoto Aprilia Factory’s Ivan Lazzarini was on fire at Valladolid and won Superpole and both heats to take his first GP win of the season – his first since he moved to the S1 class in 2007.

With the Italian still working his way up from fifth in the points, KTM Italia Miglio’s Bernd Hiemer rode safe to his third consecutive podium and now the German leads the Championship from arch rival Thierry Van Den Bosch.

The Aprilia Off Road’s multiple World Champion had a forgettable weekend in Spain, crashing out in the Sunday morning and in the races and missing the overall podium.

Husqvarna CH Racing’s Thomas Chareyre was second on the Spanish podium and he chipped away at the gap from runner up VDB, as the Frenchman is currently third in the Championship.

Cross 2R Husqvarna’s Sylvain Bidart was another solid performer in Spain, taking fifth overall ahead of Jerome Giraudo.

On the other hand Matthew Winstanley could not repeat his podium from Castelletto as he crashed out of heat two, missing the overall result at round three and moving back to fourth in the series.

S2
Husqvarna CH Racing’s Adrien Chareyre was already a threat for the Title challengers despite this is just his maiden year in the category after he won the 2007 S1 World Title. After Spain the Frenchman consolidated his fame by winning both heats and snatching the red plate from Davide Gozzini.

TM Factory Racing’s Gozzini missed a possible podium by crashing in heat two; the fall ended in a fourth place overall but the Italian is just 13 points adrift Chareyre.

Despite riding Valladolid with a fractured left scaphoid, KTM Italia Miglio’s Attilio Pignotti took his second season’s podium after Torino and could storm to third in the Championship while last year’s Champion Gerald Delepine of Husqvarna CH Racing took his second consecutive podium.

The latter is working his way up through the field after a forgettable start to the season in Torino, where he crashed and injured his ribs, and he is currently sitting in fourth place.

DRC SuperMoto Aprilia Factory’s Massimo Beltrami was a positive fifth overall in Spain. He moved up to sixth in the Championship behind Aprilia fellow rider Luca Minutilli.

THE UEM EUROPEAN SUPERMOTO CHAMPIONSHIP
Oliver Pope and Olivier Scheen battled it out for the overall win in Spain and the challenge ended with Scheen’s maiden win in the series. Though the Belgian remained second in the Championship with a five point gap from leader Pope. Torino’s winner Alessandro Asnicar completed the Spanish podium and he is third in the standings, 16 points away from the lead. Kenneth Dekindt and Raphael Storning complete the top five.

Heino Meusburger still leads the Open class standings after taking fourth overall in Spain. Valladolid marked Edgardo Borella’s maiden overall win with Matteo Vannini and Luca D’Addato completing the podium. Alex Tognaccini is second in the Championship as he sees Borella closing in from third. Alberto Dall’Era and Luca D’Addato complete the top five.

THE RACE TRACK AND OLBIA
For the first time in history the World and European SuperMoto series head to Olbia, another new venue which makes the 2008 calendar a very interesting one. The Grand Prix of Sardegna will be held on Olbia’s industrial port, where an area of 30.000 square metres has been dedicated to the course. The race track will have a slide zone and a sky zone made of natural ground, with the latter featuring also a demanding three wave section.

The city of Olbia is in the North East of the Italian Island Sardinia and it is the key port in the Costa Smeralda area, which is one of the most beautiful coasts in Italy. Olbia has about 50000 inhabitants and it has witnessed a solid development in the latest 30 years, with the tourism being the most fruitful business in the area.

THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE
Saturday July 12: EC Open Free Practice 1 at 9:00 am; EC S3 Free Practice 1 at 9:30 am; KTM Italia Trophy Free Practice at 10:05 am; EC Open Pre Qualifying Practice at 10:30 am; EC S3 Free Practice 2 at 11:00 am; S2 Free Practice 1 at 12:00 am; S1 Free Practice 1 at 12:40 am; KTM Italia Trophy Time Practice at 3:30 pm; EC Open Qualifying Race 1 at 4:00 pm; S2 Free Practice 2 at 4:30 pm; S1 Free Practice 2 at 5:10 pm; EC Open Qualifying Race 2 at 6:00 pm; S2 Time Practice at 6:30 pm; S1 Time Practice at 7:20 pm; EC S3 Time Practice and EC Open Last Chance Qualifying Practice at 8:10 pm

Sunday July 13: EC Open Warm Up at 8:05 am; EC S3 Warm Up at 8:30 am; KTM Italia Trophy Warm Up at 9:00 am; EC Open Race 1 at 9:35 am; EC S3 Race 1 at 10:15 am; S2 Warm Up at 10:45 am with Superpole immediately after; S1 Warm Up at 11:20 am with Superpole immediately after; EC Open Race 2 at 12:05 am; EC S3 Race 2 at 12:45 am; KTM Italia Trophy Race 1 at 2:25 pm; S2 Race 1 at 3:25 pm; S1 Race 1 at 4:25 pm; KTM Italia Trophy Race 2 at 5:25 pm; S2 Race 2 at 6:25 pm; S1 Race 2 at 7:25 pm