MX1

Rd.01　04/10　Bulgaria

RACE DATA

Round: 1 - 2011 GP of Bulgaria
Circuit: Sevlievo
Circuit Length: 1530
Date: 10 Apr., 2011
Crowd: 35,000
Weather: Cloudy

REPORT

Fantastic runner-up performance by Frossard in Bulgaria

The first round of fifteen in the 2011 FIM MX1-GP World Championship was a memorable one for Monster Energy Yamaha's Steve Frossard as the factory team ‘rookie' tied on points for victory at the Grand Prix of Bulgaria, won a moto and left the cold and windy Sevlievo circuit with the runner-up position overall.

The Frenchman aced the qualification heat on Saturday to take pole position and signal his intent across the flat hard-pack. The 23 year old handled his YZ450F with deft skill; the kind of form that recently helped him claim the MX1 Italian title. A superb start on Sunday - watched by the officially-provided spectator figure of 35,000 - allowed Frossard to flick and sprint away from the pack and win the first moto of the year and his first in the class and with Yamaha.

The second race saw a similar level of speed and performance although he faced a tricky challenge from Clement Desalle that produced some close and exciting racing. Frossard was able to prevail and had a four second lead entering the closing stages of the contest when he lost traction exiting a corner and the back end of the bike spun out. Quickly remounting he jostled for the lead again with Desalle and also Jonathan Barragan. A small moment of mis-timing on the final lap prevented a last-gasp attack and Frossard had to accept second and the same ranking on the podium due to the second race classification.

While Frossard was marking the pace at the front David Philippaerts was forging a similar effort through the pack after two restrictive starts. The Italian pushed through to fourth place in Moto1 after a thorough charge. A better launch in Moto2 was ruined on the apex of the first corner when the former world champion lost balance. From the very rear of the field DP19 valiantly chased back to 14th for 10th overall.

Anthony Boissiere was another rider making his bow for Yamaha in MX1 and picked up a decent share of points for 15th and 13th and 13th at the end of the day.

With 2nd, 10th and 13th the MX1-GP collective of the Monster Energy Yamaha team are off and running. Round two will take place in two weeks on Easter Monday at Valkenswaard for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands.

RESULT Race.1

RESULT Race.2

RIDERS RANKING

CONSTRUCTORS RANKING

COMMENT

Steven Frossard (1st/2nd: 2nd)

"I feel really good on the bike and the 450 suits me better. In the first moto I made a really good start and it was easy for me to take a lead of a few seconds. In the second it was completely different because the start was not great. I passed Clement and was ahead by four seconds but made a mistake. My physical condition was really good and that helped me to come back to second and look for the win. I was pushing really hard because I wanted to win the GP and then made another error that cost me half a second. In my head I knew I was capable of this speed because we worked really hard over the winter with Yamaha."

David Philippaerts (4th/14th: 10th)

"The first moto was good but I crashed at the start of the second and made a mistake when the rear stepped out. I restarted last and pushed as hard as I could but my times were not as good as the first moto. Overall I think I was good enough for a top four finish today, which would have been OK because the track was very hard. I like this place but there were other riders who were quicker today. I'm looking forward to Valkenswaard now and we must improve the starts."

Anthony Boissiere (15th/13th: 13th)

"I crashed on the first lap of the first moto and it was difficult to come back because the track was fast and I couldn't make much difference no matter how hard I pushed. 15th was not a good result in the first race but my riding was OK. The second race was better but I felt a bit tired towards the end. I look at the results and they are not great but I have scored points and will try for more now."