TROYAN (BULGARIA), 14 June 2009 – Sixth event for the FIM MX3 World Championship in Bulgaria brought big success to Italian Honda Team MB, who took two positions on the podium. Julien Vanni (France) won, Husqvarna rider Alex Salvini (Italy) was second and Matevz Irt (Slovenia) third.
Bulgarian event was one of the most exciting this year. The weather was hot all the weekend. There were big battles on the track. In the first race both Honda Team MB riders Julien Vanni and Matevz Irt started in front and made a big team success. Vanni won, Irt was second. Alex Salvini did not start in front. Then he was continuing very fast and finished third. Salvini made the fastest lap of the first race. Also Portugese rider Hugo Basaula started fast, he did not hold out the pressure of faster rivals and finished ninth.
The second race has also started with Vanni and Irt in front. This time their leadership did not last till the end as in the first race. Alex Salvini passed both already in the first part of the race. Vanni was trying to pass him back. He almost succed when Salvini made a mistake in one of last laps. But despite of mistake Salvini won and left Vanni on the second position. Irt who started second, crashed two times and finished sixth. This was one of the best races for Russian rider Sergey Astaykin from the team JM Racing. He finished third. Spanish Yamaha rider Alvaro Lozano from the team Yamaha Ausio started fast but finished fourth. Pierre Alexandre Renet, the second MX3 rider before that event had a bad luck. He crashed at the end of the race meanwhile he was riding third and lost the podium.
Julien Vanni took the overall victory. Alex Salvini still continues with top results, he finished second. Matevz Irt supplemented the success of his teammate Vanni with the third place. Alvaro Lozano was fourth and Sergey Astaykin fifth. After six events Vanni is at the top of the MX3 World Championsip Classification. Salvini and Renet changed their positions. Salvini is on the second position and has twenty points of advantage in front of Renet, who lost the second place.
Next event for the FIM MX3 World Championship will be next weekend in Markelo, Netherlands.
RIDER
1st JULIEN VANNI (FRANCE): »I am happy to win again. In my opinion the track was selective. It was watery and I did not want to risk too much, but I was still pushing to finish first. I am satisfied with the preparation of the bike, the team made a great job as already many times in the season and the result is here. We got the podium together with Matevz Irt, what is great for our Team MB.«
2nd ALEX SALVINI (ITALY): »Yesterday I had a good feeling on the track and today the track was even better. I had a bad first start, then I crashed but I was continuing fast and I finished third. Second start was better but I was not satisfied with the third position. I tryed to pass two riders in front of me and I made it, I won the second race. The bike was perfect and reliable again.«
3rd MATEVZ IRT (SLOVENIA): »I like the track although it was fast. I was satisfied already yesterday when I finished second in the Qualifying Practice. Today was perfect again, I finished on podium. In the first race I was competing with Vanni for the first position. In the second race I crashed two times and was only sixth. So I am even more happy to finish on podium. I was competing for the first time here in Troyan. I expected the hot weather.«
RESULTS
1st Race: 1. Julien Vanni, Honda (France), 2. Matevz Irt, Honda (Slovenia), 3. Alex Salvini, Husqvarna (Italy), 4. Pierre Alexandre Renet, Suzuki (France), 5. Alvaro Lozano, Yamaha (Spain), 6. Christophe Martin, Husqvarna (France), 7. Pablo Quintanilla, Honda (Chile), 8. Sergey Astaykin, KTM (Russia), 9. Hugo Basaula, Suzuki (Portugal), 10. Martin Zerava, Honda (Czech Republic)
2nd Race: 1. Alex Salvini, Husqvarna (Italy), 2. Julien Vanni, Honda (Italy), 3. Sergey Astaykin, KTM (Russia), 4. Alvaro Lozano, KTM (Spain), 5. Martin Zerava, Honda (Czech Republic), 6. Matevz Irt, Honda (Slovenia), 7. Pablo Quintanilla, Honda (Chile), 8. Hugo Basaula, Suzuki (Portugal), 9. Christophe Martin, Husqvarna (France), 10. Antti Pyrhonen, Honda (Finland)
Overall: 1. Julien Vanni, Honda (France), 2. Alex Salvini, Husqvarna (Italy), 3. Matevz Irt, Honda (Slovenia), 4. Alvaro Lozano, Yamaha (Spain), 5. Sergey Astaykin, KTM (Russia), 6. Pablo Quintanilla, Honda (Chile), 7. Martin Zerava, Honda (Czech Republic), 8. Christophe Martin, Husqvarna (France), 9. Hugo Basaula, Suzuki (Portugal), 10. Antti Pyrhonen, Honda (Finland)
Complete results available at www.motocrossmx1.com/reslists.aspx