Teutschenthal, Germany – 21st June 2009 – World Championship

Nicholls gives decent German run for 12th

Red Bull KTM UK came away from Teutschenthal and the Grand Prix of Germany for the ninth round of fifteen in the FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship with a best position of 12th for Jake Nicholls in one of the finest showings yet from the teenager this season.

35,400 spectators braved changeable conditions that veered from overcast light showers to afternoon sun to see the MX2 pack circulate a tricky, bumpy and contrasting mix of old-style and modern traits. Banked turns and steep up-hills and descents were mingled with large jumps and technical sections as well as a new pit-lane area.

Nicholls, who set a career-best qualification position after running to ninth place in Saturday’s Heat race, enjoyed two bright starts and more than held-his-own in the top ten of the extremely competitive MX2 division.

In the first moto he battled against former championship leader Gautier Paulin and also a host of GP winners including Nico Aubin and Davide Guarneri. His rank of 9th was his highest to-date. The youngster – who was leading the second moto of the British Championship at Hawkstone Park last week – then slotted into a similar position in the second outing across an even more demanding surface. Sadly a small crash in which he quickly remounted and re-fired his SX-F saw him lose a few places, although he rallied hard to the flag to obtain 14th.

“The weekend did not start off the best with some slow lap-times but I had a good start in the qualification heat and hung in there,” he recalled. “I knew I had the speed from last weekend and qualifying ninth helped me for the start. I made two reasonable launches and was aggressive on the first laps to get in the top ten. I was pretty happy with 9th and was in the same position in the second moto and holding off Van Horebeek but my hand slipped off the bars on an uphill. I nearly saved it but ended up dropping the bike and needing to restart. Those six or seven kicks tired me and broke my rhythm. I got back in the fight, hung in there and did not give up. I believe now that I belong in the top ten. This track is good but it is not my favourite; from now on I want more of the same.”

Stephen Sword had a contrasting experience to Nicholls on Saturday as a crash on the second corner and another fall later in the heat meant a start position of 27th. The Scot also hurt his hand and this would lead to a forgettable race-day. He fell on the third corner of the first lap of Moto1 and retired and then was unable to contest the rest of the GP.

Team Owner and Manager Roger Magee said “Jake continues to show increasing improvement each week, and with very 2 mature rides in both motos today indicates that he will soon be in a position to move into regular top 10 finishes. With the exception of a minor fall in race 2, he had a textbook weekend, starting with a good qualification race on Saturday which entitled him to a good pick on the gate resulting in good starts and, hence, good results. Swordy had a difficult weekend which started with a fall in the Saturday qualification race which meant that he had to start at the “wrong” side of the startline. Hopefully at next weekend’s new circuit in Latvia, he can demonstrate the pace that he shows in the British Championship.”

In the world championship standings Sword has dropped to 18th and is 21 points from the top fifteen. Nicholls best points haul from 2009 so far means he is 20th.

Red Bull KTM UK will now move further across the continent to Kegums for the Grand Prix of Latvia.

Results

MX2 Race 1 top ten: 1. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 40:57.005; ; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:02.491; 3. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), +0:03.912; 4. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +0:15.040; 5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:15.139; 6. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:20.955; 7. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:22.199; 8. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:27.690; 9. Jake Nicholls (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK), +0:29.468; 10. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), +0:32.396.

MX2 Race 2 top ten: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 41:06.227; ; 2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:02.188; 3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.066; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:21.994; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:30.647; 6. Anthony Boissiere (FRA, KTM), +0:40.130; 7. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), +0:46.484; 8. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:52.148; 9. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:56.944; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +1:05.750; 14. Jake Nicholls (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK)

MX2 Overall top ten: 1. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 44 points; 2. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 41 p.; 3. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 40 p.; 4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 36 p.; 5. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 32 p.; 6. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 29 p.; 7. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 26 p.; 8. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 20 p.; 10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 19 p.; 12. Jake Nicholls (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK), 19p

MX2 Championship top ten: 1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 324 points; 2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 286 p.; 3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 264 p.; 4. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 254 p.; 5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 246 p.; 6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 197 p.; 7. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 187 p.; 8. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 164 p.; 9. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 153 p.; 10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 147 p.; 18. Stephen Sword (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK), 87p; 20. Jake Nicholls (GBR, Red Bull KTM UK), 71p

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