Previous | All articles | Next

Tony Cairoli shows why he is The Tiger

In front of 35.000 spectators, World Championship leader Antonio Cairoli has showed a lot of heart. The Donjoy and Compex – rider got run over in the start of the Saturday qualifying race. In that crash he injured his wrist by getting caught between the chain and sprocket of his Yamaha and the foot peg of another bike got planted in his back. Cairoli was in a lot of pain and had to pull out of the qualifying race. It didn’t look like the double World Champ would be able to ride in Sunday’s Grand Prix. But an intensive treatment with Compex reduced the pain and stiffness and it gave the Italian a shot at defending his points lead.

Although he had to start from the last position due to his not riding the qualifying race on Saturday and having a lot of pain during the races, Cairoli finished 10th and 8th in the races and showed everybody why he is nicknamed ‘Tony The Tiger’. He still has a solid 34 points lead in the World Championship.

“This wasn’t the best weekend for me”, he said with a painful smile on his face. “I was still a bit sore from my crash last week. And on Saturday evening i thought I’d never be able to ride. But Compex’ Heiko Van Vliet treated me well, a big thanks to him for that. I used the device as much as I could on Sunday before the race. And in the end I was able to ride. I had a lot of pain and I’m sure i will still have trouble this week. But I managed 2 not too bad results. I didn’t like the track. It was too easy and there was only 1 good line. It was impossible to make up a lot of places because everybody could go fast here. In the end David Philippaerts won, so it was still and Italian and a Yamaha rider that took the victory. So I’m happy for that. I hope to be at full strength next weekend in France.”

Previous | All articles | Next