With strong 1-2 moto finishes, Red Bull KTM rider Tommy Searle won the Grand Prix of South Africa on Sunday, July 20, 2008 over teammate and South African native Tyla Rattray. With the Red Bull KTM duo placing first and second in South Africa, the point’s race for the 2008 MX2 World Championship has become increasingly tighter, Rattray now leading with 416 points, but young Englishman Searle closing rapidly with 395 points.

French rider Nicolas Aubin led the first nine laps of the opening MX1 moto, showing a flash of brilliance and perhaps making him a future threat in future MX2 Grands Prix. However, on lap number 10, Searle went flying by and into the lead. Searle simply rode away from everyone, winning the moto by a massive gap of eleven seconds. Aubin held onto second, while Rattray, recovering from an early race fall, raced back to third. Interestingly, Yamaha World Championship contender Antonio Cairoli, suffering from an injured knee, exited the track in pain on lap five. (In fact the second moto would be no better for the reigning World Champion as he pulled out of the race after only three laps). Has the damage been done on his 2008 World Championship title hopes? Time will soon tell.

Leading the second and final MX2 moto, Tyla Rattray gave the thousands of home nation fans something to cheer about as he took control of the lead and never relinquished it, winning the race by four seconds over Searle. Although a great rider for Rattray, the day belonged to Searle.

“It has been a good weekend,” he smiled in the press tent. “In the first race I had a good start. I was second and was able to make passes. I had a bad start in the second one but I closed the gap on Tyla. He was riding well and he made a gap on me. I always want to win and there is no reason why I can't win. The last few weeks I had some bad races, so I am glad I got through that here. It got rough in the second moto — the sun wasn't a problem — but the circuit was much rougher. Tyla is the top of the table, so the points haven't changed that much. I hope Antonio gets well soon and can start racing again.”

And said runner-up Rattray: “It was a positive day. I went down in the first moto — I slipped over in one of the turns — and I just got up and pushed hard. But the guys in front had a big lead. I knew the second moto was going to be tough. I tried to put some consistent laps in and stay cool. I just raced for myself and if Tommy was quicker than me he would have passed me. I had some good lines near the end.

“Antonio had some bad luck today,” he added. “I enjoy racing him and so does Tommy, so I hope he comes back. It is good to win a moto here. The fans were crazy in the front and I am just happy to win the first moto. This GP did a good job and I enjoyed racing here. The fans are not as big as in Europe, but for South Africa, it was good.”