World Superbike
Yamaha racers off World Cup tips
Summertime can be a busy period for the sporting calendar, especially when major competitions like the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, the Ryder Cup and tournaments like Wimbledon all make a grab for the ...
Published: Jul 3, 2010, 2:24 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Summertime can be a busy period for the sporting calendar, especially when major competitions like the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup, UEFA European Championship, the Ryder Cup and tournaments like Wimbledon all make a grab for the headlines.
At the Grand Prix of Latvia for the ninth round of fifteen in the 2010 FIM MX-GP World Championship various riders, teams and paddock people were slightly distracted by that big football fiesta occurring in South Africa. In Misano for round eight of World Superbike the theme of football was also high on the agenda.
As the World Cup moved into its knock-out stages and prepared to break the hearts of millions, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team riders David Philippaerts (Italy) and Gautier Paulin (France) along with Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team's Cal Crutchlow and James Toseland were able to offer their punditry skills on the 'Beautiful Game'.
David Philippaerts
"I think Argentina will win," said Philippaerts, who lives near Milan. "I watched their games and from what I have seen these are the strongest two teams. They pass the ball really well and I think Messi is doing something special for his country."
"I don't really follow football all that much but the World Cup is different," said Paulin, who resides in the south of France. "Many people were looking towards Spain before the tournament and I still think they will do it. The team had a bad patch and I think this help remove the heavy tag of being 'favourites'. Of course I wanted the French team to do well. I am a professional athlete and I can appreciate some of the pressures and I think there was too much attention on them."
Having both shown their blind patriotism in choosing England as their choice for World Cup success (the 1966 winners went out at the first knockout stage) Crutchlow and Toseland then had to revise their opinions.
Cal Crutchlow
"I reckon its Germany's," said Crutchlow, who then revealed that he can swerve a freekick or two. "I loved going to the stadium in South Africa when we were there for the Kyalami round to see the preparation for the World Cup before it started; they are putting on a real show. I used to play for Coventry reserves so if I wasn't racing I would have been aiming to be at the World Cup playing this year!"
James Toseland
"I'll plump for Brazil," offered Toseland as his second choice. "I like watching the football, but prefer playing! My brother signed for Sheffield Wednesday when he was younger and we used to play together a bit."
-source: yamaha
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Series Imola test report day 2
Next article Brno: Warmup times
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Cal Crutchlow
Cal Crutchlow heaps praise on Pedrosa-like Ai Ogura in MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
San Marino GP
Cal Crutchlow heaps praise on Pedrosa-like Ai Ogura in MotoGP
Cal Crutchlow to ride through shoulder injury in “challenging” Balaton Park weekend
MotoGP
MotoGP
Hungarian GP
Cal Crutchlow to ride through shoulder injury in “challenging” Balaton Park weekend
Cal Crutchlow reveals shoulder problem that forced early retirement from Italian GP
MotoGP
MotoGP
Italian GP
Cal Crutchlow reveals shoulder problem that forced early retirement from Italian GP
Latest news
Carlos Ezpeleta: Qatar GP “noise” left MotoGP unnecessarily exposed
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
Carlos Ezpeleta: Qatar GP “noise” left MotoGP unnecessarily exposed
Oscar Piastri splits from Mark Webber management
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
23 min
Oscar Piastri splits from Mark Webber management
WEC drivers question lack of full-course yellow after heavy Monza crash
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
2 h
WEC drivers question lack of full-course yellow after heavy Monza crash
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe