Round 8 – World Championship –
Teutschenthal, Germany - 29 June 2008

Solid German outing pushes Simpson up to 4th in championship

Team KTM UK’s 2008 Motocross World Championship season keeps on getting better. With career landmark results in terms of qualification, moto finishes, podiums and overall Grand Prix results, Shaun Simpson has now risen to a mighty 4th place in the MX2 class after taking sixth overall under hot sunshine at Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany and the eighth round of fifteen in the series.

34,000 spectators travelled to the fast, flowing and hard-pack track close to the city of Halle, crowding the circuit for one of the best attendances in years at the venue. Pleasant weather conditions graced the weekend.

Simpson began the Grand Prix well with his best ever result in the qualification heat, securing 2nd position behind factory KTM rider Tyla Rattray. Third into the gate for the two Grand Prix motos the Scot again benefitted from some decent starts to slot into the top five in the formative stages of both sprints. Consistent speed and an error-free set of performances on what was a slippery and difficult terrain saw the 20 year old obtain 5th and 6th positions to confirm 6th overall.

With Yamaha’s Nico Aubin off-form and only filling 20th position, Simpson moved into fourth spot in the championship standings, 11 points from another works KTM rider Rui Goncalves. Outside of the trio of Antonio Cairoil, Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle closely fighting for the title Simpson is currently the best of the rest.

“As I have said all along you just have to keep plugging away, and now we are up to fourth because of it,” he remarked. “I tried not to make any mistakes this weekend and it paid off. It was one of those days where you really needed to get out of the gate well and I made things easier for myself with a good qualification. You then just needed to bomb along at your own pace because the track was so fast.”

“I had some stomach cramps at the end of the first moto and I was struggling to get a rhythm at the start of the second one but it turned out OK in the end,” he added. “Some of the French guys were loving life out there and they were really ‘on it’ today; it was one of those tracks that suited them. I hope next weekend we can do the same sort of result and try and defend this fourth place.”

James Noble had a difficult time on Saturday. The Englishman fell three times in MX1 Timed Practice and languished at the bottom half of the classification but with his final attempt at a flying lap registered his fastest effort of the weekend and went to the line on Sunday with 14th pick. The session was not without consequences however as he injured his left wrist and ultimately could not contest the races on Sunday (despite a brave attempt) due to a lack of feeling and degree of pain in the joint.

“I had a bit of a disaster in qualifying yesterday and when I came off I put my wrist down and jarred it,” he recounted. “It swelled overnight and became quite painful. I took a painkiller about half an hour before warm-up and it did not feel too bad so I went out for the first moto but I was struggling to get into the corners and really get on the gas. I was a second and a half slower than most people and dropping back all the time. It came to a moment when I knew I was not going to be in the points. It is just so fast around here that once you are that far back then you are never going to come through. I had one ‘moment’ and decided to ‘call it a day’ after that because I did not want to risk more injury. I should be OK for next week, once the swelling goes down.”

The team will have little respite before preparations begin for round nine of the series. Uddevalla, 100km north of Gothenburg, will host the Grand Prix of Sweden next weekend.

In the British Under 21 Championship at Hawkstone Park, Team KTM UK’s Alex Snow extended his Championship lead to 13points with 2nd overall at the legendry sandy circuit, with just 2 rounds remaining.