LIEBER TAKES ANOTHER ‘BEST’ IN GERMANY

2012-09-23 23:36
On the weekend where Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe were able to outline some of their plans for the 2013 racing season by announcing the promising signature of British rider Max Anstie, Julien Lieber completed his brief positive spell with the factory-backed squad by taking the works RM-Z250 to eighth position in the first moto at Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany.

The home event for the team was a busy one with 40,000 spectators surrounding the Talkessel circuit under some sunny skies. The demanding hard-pack - littered with closed corners and hefty jumps - offered its usual quick and swirling test.

Lieber finished his fourth appearance on the RM-Z250 with a contrasting set of motos: In the first race he started reasonably well and was soon setting a decent rhythm and tussling with Arnaud Tonus for sixth place. The Belgian was pushed down to eighth by the chequered flag but his result still represented another personal-best in his second season of GP racing. Any hopes of another top 10 were dashed early in the second moto when he tangled with Jose Butron. Another crash left '#33' far behind the pack and despite a good effort to catch up he just missed the points by ending the 35 minutes and 2 lap race distance with 21st; meaning 15th overall.

Larissa Papenmeier made a guest return slot for the team in the final round of the FIM Women's Motocross World Championship at Teutschenthal and went 3-2 in the motos on her RM-Z250 to scale the podium as runner-up at the venue where the German had memorably tasted success in the past.

In an unlucky and injury-cursed campaign, Harri Kullas and Petar Petrov classified in the top 29 of the series despite missing the last seven rounds. Jeremy Seewer and Lieber were both able to post significant results with Jorge Zaragoza taking a 125cc European podium finish and Brian Hsu winning the FIM 85cc World Championship.

Julien Lieber:

"The first race was really good. I had a bad start but passed Butron and Tonkov to start a big battle with Arnaud Tonus. It was pretty good but I was frustrated that Febvre passed me right at the end; I wasn't happy with that even if the position was my best this year. My start was similar in the second moto and Butron made a block-pass on me in a corner and made me crash. I tried to come back but had another fall. I lost a lot of time and finished outside the points. The last few GPs have been great for me. The bike is unbelievable and the team also and I've made some of my best races yet since I joined this place. I want to give big thanks to them for doing such a good job."


High-Resolution images from German MX2: CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS


MX2 Moto 1: 1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 41:00.578; 2. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:03.344; 3. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:20.997; 4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:25.850; 5. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:30.966; 6. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:34.382; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +0:35.401; 8. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), +0:36.349; 9. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda), +0:45.887; 10. Alessandro Lupino (ITA, Husqvarna), +0:57.672.

MX2 Moto2: 1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 39:26.109; 2. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), +0:03.491; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), +0:25.175; 4. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), +0:32.372; 5. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:37.332; 6. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:44.191; 7. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), +0:49.395; 8. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), +0:56.916; 9. Elliott Banks-Browne (GBR, KTM), +0:58.846; 10. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), +0:59.409. 21. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), +2:02.983.

MX2 Overall result: 1. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 50 points; 2. Zachary Osborne (USA, Yamaha), 40 p.; 3. Arnaud Tonus (SUI, Yamaha), 35 p.; 4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 34 p.; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 33 p.; 6. Valentin Teillet (FRA, Kawasaki), 31 p.; 7. Romain Febvre (FRA, KTM), 25 p.; 8. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 22 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 22 p.; 10. Alexander Tonkov (RUS, Honda). 22 p.; 15. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 13 p.

MX2 Final World Championship Standings: 1. Jeffrey Herlings (NED, KTM), 694 points; 2. Tommy Searle (GBR, Kawasaki), 651 p.; 3. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 559 p.; 4. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), 443 p.; 5. Jordi Tixier (FRA, KTM), 434 p.; 6. Joel Roelants (BEL, Kawasaki), 367 p.; 7. Max Anstie (GBR, Honda), 333 p.; 8. Jose Butron (ESP, KTM), 291 p.; 9. Glenn Coldenhoff (NED, KTM), 273 p.; 10. Dylan Ferrandis (FRA, Kawasaki), 272 p. 18. Harri Kullas (FIN, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 132 p. 20. Petar Petrov (BUL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 131 p. 22. Julien Lieber (BEL, Rockstar Energy Suzuki Europe), 115 p.

Source: Team Suzuki Press Office

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