Date: 13 May '07

Molson Kawasaki racer, Gareth Swanepoel, has experienced a trying German GP at the high speed Talkessel circuit. Strong winds forced organizers to cancel the MX2 qualification races with a timed practice determining start positions for Sunday’s race in which Swanepoel posted 15th time.

With a wide starting gate, Swanie missed his opportunity at a good start and was forced to push his way through the pack. His efforts were in vain when he collided with another rider on lap 3 and had to retire with a broken front wheel.

Moto 2 was not without incident when a first lap crash saw Swanepoel’s chances of redemption go out the window. He quickly rejoined the race from the back of the pack and set about catching up. Swanepoel picked off positions every lap and broke into 15th spot with 2 laps to go.

“This has definitely not been my weekend,” admitted Swanepoel with disappointment. “The first moto was cut short when I hit Jeremy Tarroux and broke the front wheel. My start was pretty good in the second moto but I went down hard on the first lap and was stone last. I made pretty good progress through the pack and finished really strong which I was happy about. I’m looking forward to Japan in two weeks and hope to get back to where I should be.”

Race results:

MX2 Race 1

1 Cairoli, Antonio ITA Yamaha

2 Pourcel, Christophe FRA Kawasaki

3 Gundersen, Kenneth NOR Yamaha

4 Rattray, Tyla RSA KTM

5 Guarneri, Davide ITA Yamaha

6 Leuret, Pascal FRA Honda

7 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM

8 Seistola, Matti FIN Honda

9 Aubin, Nicolas FRA Yamaha

10 Nunn, Carl GBR Yamaha

11 van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL KTM

12 Paulin, Gautier FRA Honda

13 Simpson, Shaun GBR Kawasaki

14 Verbruggen, Dennis BEL Yamaha

15 Searle, Tommy GBR KTM

DNF Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Kawasaki

MX Race 2

1 Cairoli, Antonio ITA Yamaha

2 Pourcel, Christophe FRA Kawasaki

3 Rattray, Tyla RSA KTM

4 Leuret, Pascal FRA Honda

5 Guarneri, Davide ITA Yamaha

6 Aubin, Nicolas FRA Yamaha

7 Searle, Tommy GBR KTM

8 Seistola, Matti FIN Honda

9 Avis, Wyatt RSA KTM

10 Nunn, Carl GBR Yamaha

11 Boissiere, Anthony FRA Kawasaki

12 Monni, Manuel ITA Yamaha

13 van Horebeek, Jeremy BEL KTM

14 Gundersen, Kenneth NOR Yamaha

15 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Kawasaki

MX2 World championship standings:

1 Cairoli, A. ITA 247

2 Pourcel, C. FRA 181

3 Rattray, Tyla RSA 180

4 Leuret, Pascal FRA 143

5 Searle, Tommy GBR 137

6 Aubin, Nicolas FRA 121

7 Gundersen, K. NOR 118

8 Swanepoel, G. RSA 113

9 Seistola, M. FIN 104

10 Schiffer, M. GER 86

11 Boissiere, A. FRA 67

12 Frossard, S. FRA 58

13 Monni, Manuel ITA 55

14 Eggens, Erik NED 54

15 Church, Tom GBR 53