Van Den Bosch and Gozzini Win Hot Sardinian Thriller

OLBIA (ITALY), 13 July 2008 (courtesy Youthstream)

The Sardinian Grand Prix at Olbia was close to be a wet one after some mid morning rain but a bright sun turned out before the heats.

The World Championship series saw Thierry Van Den Bosch (S1) and Davide Gozzini (S2) come back to victory after a tough stop in Spain, where both lost the red plate. Ivan Lazzarini and red plate holder Bernd Hiemer completed the S1 podium with S2 leader Adrien Chareyre and Massimo Beltrami rounding off the S2 podium.

In the UEM series Olivier Scheen won his second consecutive S3 round while Baptiste Rheims took his maiden Open class overall win.

S1
DRC SuperMoto Aprilia Factory team mates Thierry Van Den Bosch and Ivan Lazzarini starred a real thriller, winning one moto each and taking the top two spots of the podium after two exciting wrestles. VDB won the overall from Lazzarini as red plate holder Bernd Hiemer rounded off the rostrum after a difficult weekend. KTM Robinsons’ Matthew Winstanley and TM Factory Racing’s Boris Chambon rounded off the top five.

Top five overall: 1. Thierry van den Bosch (FRA, Aprilia), 47 points; 2. Ivan Lazzarini (ITA, Aprilia), 47 p.; 3. Bernd Hiemer (GER, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Matthew Winstanley (GBR, KTM), 32 p.; 5. Boris Chambon (FRA, TM), 29 p.

S1 RACE 1
Lazzarini won his first S1 GP heat at home in Italy after 18 thrilling laps, with runner up Van Den Bosch being extremely close for the entire moto. As the leading duo ran away from the rest of the field, a quick Chareyre tried to close the gap after having moved up to third. Though the Frenchman crashed and so did Seel later on, while the Belgian was on route to his first season’s top three finish. The fight for third remained in between Hiemer and Chambon, with the German leading the Frenchman and Winstanley rounding off the top five.

Top five: 1. Ivan Lazzarini (ITA, Aprilia), 19:50.119; ; 2. Thierry van den Bosch (FRA, Aprilia), +0:01.886; 3. Bernd Hiemer (GER, KTM), +0:19.804; 4. Boris Chambon (FRA, TM), +0:20.269; 5. Matthew Winstanley (GBR, KTM), +0:24.545

S1 RACE 2
After Lazzarini dominated moto one, VDB took the holeshot and led all laps of the final heat, wrapping up the overall result from Lazzarini and Hiemer who tried to snatch the victory. Towards the end of the heat Lazzarini was the only one at VDB’s tail as he tried several overtaking moves until the chequered flag which he crossed in second. Hiemer brought the bike home in third from a distant Chareyre and Winstanley.

Top five: 1. Thierry van den Bosch (FRA, Aprilia), 19:44.831; ; 2. Ivan Lazzarini (ITA, Aprilia), +0:00.592; 3. Bernd Hiemer (GER, KTM), +0:12.895; 4. Thomas Chareyre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:24.136; 5. Matthew Winstanley (GBR, KTM), +0:28.973

S2
TM Factory Racing’s Davide Gozzini definitely put the Spanish disappointment far behind his shoulder, as the Italian took both motos and cut six points off the gap between himself and Husqvarna CH Racing’s Adrien Chareyre. The latter took second in both heats and was second overall from DRC SuperMoto Aprilia Factory’s Massimo Beltrami, whose last podium appearance dated back at Pleven 2007. Husqvarna CH Racing’s Gerald Delepine and PMR H2O Aprilia Off Road’s Luca Minutilli were fourth and fifth respectively ahead of Attilio Pignotti.

Top five overall: 1. Davide Gozzini (ITA, TM), 50 points; 2. Adrien Chareyre (FRA, Husqvarna), 44 p.; 3. Massimo Beltrami (ITA, Aprilia), 36 p.; 4. Gérald Delepine (BEL, Husqvarna), 36 p.; 5. Luca Minutilli (ITA, Aprilia), 34 p.

S2 RACE 1
Chareyre led the group into turn one with Gozzini following from very close. The duo run away from the rest of the field and battled tooth and nail for the top spot; Gozzini moved past and won courtesy of an incredible manoeuvre with Chareyre ending second. Beltrami lost the third spot as he crashed and handed it to Mariani, who had a technical problem and did not finish heat one. Minutilli was an eventual third as Delepine let him go by because of a technical problem. The Belgian was fourth ahead of Beltrami and Pignotti.

Top five: 1. Davide Gozzini (ITA, TM), 19:57.788; ; 2. Adrien Chareyre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:03.605; 3. Luca Minutilli (ITA, Aprilia), +0:28.112; 4. Gérald Delepine (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:33.496; 5. Massimo Beltrami (ITA, Aprilia), +0:35.522

S2 RACE 2
Gozzini dominated from the start to the flag and tasted success again while Chareyre had to work his way up after a couple of unexpected mistakes. Beltrami was a solid third as he was the one to work the most to defend the overall result. Beltrami had Delepine and Mariani chasing after him for the third spot, with the Belgian representing the biggest danger as Mariani dnf’d in heat one. Beltrami was an eventual third from Delepine and Mariani, with Pignotti and Minutilli taking sixth and seventh.

Top five: 1. Davide Gozzini (ITA, TM), 20:05.976; ; 2. Adrien Chareyre (FRA, Husqvarna), +0:03.304; 3. Massimo Beltrami (ITA, Aprilia), +0:04.850; 4. Gérald Delepine (BEL, Husqvarna), +0:07.352; 5. Lorenzo Mariani (ITA, TM), +0:08.663

IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS
With Hiemer and VDB still holding the top two places, Lazzarini worked his way up to third as he overtook Chareyre and Winstanley.

Top ten: 1. Bernd Hiemer (GER, KTM), 176 points; 2. Thierry van den Bosch (FRA, Aprilia), 169 p.; 3. Ivan Lazzarini (ITA, Aprilia), 133 p.; 4. Thomas Chareyre (FRA, Husqvarna), 132 p.; 5. Matthew Winstanley (GBR, KTM), 126 p.; 6. Boris Chambon (FRA, TM), 110 p.; 7. Sylvain Bidart (FRA, Husqvarna), 98 p.; 8. Eddy Seel (BEL, Suzuki), 82 p.; 9. Fabio Balducci (ITA, Suzuki), 77 p.; 10. Petr Vorlicek (CZE, Suzuki), 76 p.

Chareyre defended his Championship lead but runner up Gozzini chipped away at the gap; Delepine and Pignotti swapped places as they are now third and fourth respectively with Minutilli fifth.

Top ten: 1. Adrien Chareyre (FRA, Husqvarna), 184 points; 2. Davide Gozzini (ITA, TM), 177 p.; 3. Gérald Delepine (BEL, Husqvarna), 133 p.; 4. Attilio Pignotti (ITA, KTM), 133 p.; 5. Luca Minutilli (ITA, Aprilia), 128 p.; 6. Massimo Beltrami (ITA, Aprilia), 127 p.; 7. Lorenzo Mariani (ITA, TM), 100 p.; 8. Emanuele Giovanelli (ITA, Husaberg), 89 p.; 9. Paolo Gaspardone (ITA, Husaberg), 79 p.; 10. Michael Paul (BEL, Yamaha), 77 p.

UEM EUROPEAN SUPERMOTO CHAMPIONSHIP
After winning the final heat, Olivier Scheen took his second consecutive win after his maiden success from Spain but the Belgian is still second in the Championship. Series leader Oliver Pope took a close third today, just one point behind the leading duo which was completed by Kevin Wuerterle. The German took the second podium spot –level in points with Scheen- at his first outing in the Championship and even won the opening heat. Alessandro Asnicar and Janina Wuerterle rounded off the top five.

Top five overall: 1. Olivier Scheen (BEL, Suzuki), 45 points; 2. Kevin Wuerterle (GER, KTM), 45 p.; 3. Oliver Pope (GBR, KTM), 44 p.; 4. Alessandro Asnicar (ITA, Yamaha), 36 p.; 5. Janina Wuerterle (GER, KTM), 32 p.

Aprilia fellow riders Baptiste Rheims and Alex Tognaccini dominated the fourth round of the series with 2007 S3 European Champion Rheims wrapping up the overall courtesy of his second moto win. The Frenchman was second behind Tognaccini in heat one, with the latter finishing second in the final heat and currently being a close second in the Championship. Luca D’Addato rounded off a positive weekend by taking third overall ahead of series leader Heino Meusburger. Edgardo Borella completed the top five.

Top five overall: 1. Baptiste Rheims (FRA, Aprilia), 47 points; 2. Alessandro Tognaccini (ITA, Aprilia), 47 p.; 3. Luca D'Addato (ITA, Honda), 38 p.; 4. Heino Meusburger (AUT, Yamaha), 34 p.; 5. Edgardo Borella (ITA, KTM), 33 p.

WHAT’S NEXT
The series will take some time off for vacation and will be back for the final part of the season starting in Greinbach, Austria, on August 24.