MX-GP: Coppins victory pushes Yamaha 1-2 in MX1-GP

Fantastic Coppins win sees Yamaha 1-2 in MX1-GP series

Yamaha Monster Motocross Team's Josh Coppins emphatically aced his first victory of the 2008 MX1-GP World Championship with a double moto sweep at a sun-drenched and packed Talkessel circuit in Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany. The eighth round of fifteen in the series saw the Kiwi take his first spoils since Bulgaria 2007 and his first double since Mantova 14 months ago; rising to second position in the standings as a consequence. David Philippaerts was fourth and keeps the championship lead, meaning both YZ450FM riders are now 'one and two' and Yamaha head the manufacturer's table by 19 points.

The old Talkessel layout provided its usual mix of elevation changes and cambered turns. The majority of the soil of the fast course had been ripped and prepared and grew rougher in places but the grey hard-pack dirt remained slippery and stony in others. 34,000 spectators enjoyed some excellent weather.

Philippaerts and Coppins were both on the pace throughout practice. The championship leader even posting the quickest time in the second Free session. For Timed Practice the two YZ450FMs were constantly among the leading group with Coppins eventually sealing fourth place and Philippaerts in seventh, just over half a second away from the pole position time.

Coppins started well in both motos and ran in the top three in the formative stages both times. The 31 year old pursued Billy Mackenzie as the Scot broke free twice but the leader tired with after recently recovering from a shoulder injury. Coppins, who finished as runner-up at the previous round in France, bided his time to seize control in Moto1 and Moto2 and comfortably maintained his advantage once ahead. Local favourite Max Nagl was close to within two seconds in the second sprint but the former world championship runner-up was peerless; a new exhaust pipe proving a useful assistance on the speedy curves.

Philippaerts had a complicated set of races. The first moto saw an average start that meant he had to work hard to overtake riders in the bottom half of the top ten. Thanks to the mistakes of several others and his improving lap-times he arrived to third place and was pressurising Steve Ramon for second in the last two circulations. A slow start once again in Moto2 was a small handicap but the Italian also had another problem in that a damaged rib from his fall in France two weeks ago worsened and left him struggling for breath. Sixth position meant that he just missed the top three but scaled the podium for the sixth time this season to collect his red-plate. A crash and 18th place finish by Steve Ramon was also positive for the title chase.

Yamaha Van Beers' Aigar Leok scored his best result of the year with 7th position overall courtesy of 9th and 8th slots in the races.

UTag Yamaha.com's Kenneth Gundersen has begun cycling and light training after recovering from an operation on the knee injury sustained in practice for the opening round in April. The Norwegian could possibly return to action before the end of the season.

With Philippaerts leading the championship by 4 points from Coppins, and Ramon 16 points behind in third, the series now moves to Uddevalla for the Grand Prix of Sweden and round nine next week.

Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 1st:

"There is a lot of emotion for me with this win and I am very happy today. I would like to thank all the people who have supported me. The results were not what we all expected and there have been some hard times. We knuckled down to work and I knew the results would come; I promised them to the team in fact. My last double was at Mantova in 2007 but to be honest even my last victory feels like a long time ago. It is nice to get that feeling back again and it makes the training tomorrow a lot easier. The championship now looks a lot different. I think only two races ago I was 54 points behind.

The important step I made was in my training and approach; working closely with my mechanic, doing the right training at the right tracks.About today, they watered the track a lot and it was really slippery, even dangerous in fact. Billy Mackenzie went into the lead but I knew he did not have the condition after his injury to run that pace the whole time. Sebastien was there also but I thought I could deal with him. My main concern was Max, because he had not done the first moto and it was pretty hot out there; the crowd were obviously with him also. I was thinking about my own race and things went well. We had a new pipe this weekend with a bit more power, which I was happy about."

David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 4th:

"The track was difficult, certainly for passing, and it was also very hot so I am quite pleased with the result. I started the first moto too slowly but got a lot better and was riding well. I pushed hard to get Ramon but it was too tricky to overtake. I had a similar start in the second moto but after two or three laps I had a lot of pain in my rib. I think it might be a fracture or something from the crash in France. I had some discomfort before this GP but I think I made it worse in the race and need to see if I can get some treatment. Pourcel was a little too fast and I settled for the points because I knew I could not increase my speed. Josh is now up to second in the championship and feeling 100%. He will be very competitive now but we still have a lot of races and points to go. It is great for Yamaha and the team that we are both up there. I really like the bike and for sure it is one of the best out there because it is so easy to ride it fast. Yamaha have helped me so much and I feel very happy where I am right now."

Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager:

"A great win for Josh this weekend and of course to be first and second in the championship is fantastic for the team, we don't mind which order for either Josh or David but we are happy to be there! Josh continued his improvement from France and I am really happy for him because he has continued to work really hard. David struggled in the beginning to pass other riders because it was not easy but then he made the best lap-time and to finish third was very good. In the second moto he had another start that was not the best and he felt a little tired and had some pain in his rib. The result was not bad and he still leads the championship. We tried a new pipe this weekend to give more power and the response from the riders was positive."

Race 1 - 18 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 39'32.337

2, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'3.070

3, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'6.896

4, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'11.101

5, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'14.773

6, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'25.707

7, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'41.215

8, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'43.714

9, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'47.859

10, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 0'53.196

11, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 0'55.972

12, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 0'59.697

13, Luis Correira, Yamaha, POR, 1'1.435

14, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 1'10.148

15, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 1'11.334

16, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 1'18.406

17, Cedric Melotte, Aprilia, BEL, 1'22.257

18, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'24.362

19, Loic Leonce, Yamaha, FRA, 1'38.600

20, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'52.977

Race 2 - 18 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 40'27.188

2, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 0'7.806

3, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0'10.916

4, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'18.247

5, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'28.423

6, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'31.971

7, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0'37.039

8, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 0'44.990

9, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'51.781

10, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 1'1.592

11, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 1'10.237

12, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 1'16.744

13, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'21.679

14, Bradley Anderson, Suzuki, GBR, 1'26.075

15, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 1'35.770

16, Scott Columb, Suzuki, NZL, 1'39.564

17, Lauris Freibergs, Yamaha, LVA, 1'42.011

18, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 1'46.550

19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'56.662

20, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'59.599

Rider Standings 29/06/2008

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points

1, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 266

2, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 262

3, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 250

4, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 240

5, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 231

6, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 192

7, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 186

8, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 179

9, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 176

10, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 156

11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 134

12, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 129

13, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 107

14, Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 106

15, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 106

16, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 85

17, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 77

18, James Noble, KTM, GBR, 65

19, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 43

20, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, 37

23, Carlos Campano, Yamaha, ESP, 30

Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, Yamaha, 319

2, Suzuki, 300

3, Kawasaki, 292

4, KTM, 269

5, Honda, 247

6, TM, 31

7, Aprilia, 5

MX2 RACE REPORT - 29/06/2008

Cairoli runner-up at German Grand Prix

With a moto victory and second position in front of 34,000 spectators and under hot sunshine at Teutschenthal, Antonio Cairoli took the same points as the winner of the MX2-GP Grand Prix of Germany but walked away from round eight of fifteen in the world championship as runner-up due to the second moto ranking.

The fast and hard Talkessel circuit benefitted from bright conditions and warm temperatures as the biggest crowd for more than ten years at the venue close to the city of Halle filled the grassy banks.

Cairoli earned his sixth pole position of the season on Saturday after chasing and then easing past Rui Goncalves for victory in the first qualification heat. The Red Bull De Carli rider looked back to his dominant best in the first GP moto as he hunted down early leader Goncalves and proceeded to establish a comfortable distance over Tyla Rattray; it was his sixth chequered flag of the year.

The Sicilian entered the gate for the second outing hoping to repeat his double moto victory of 2007 but a mediocre start and some curious lethargy in the first three laps meant that Rattray had long-gone at the front of the field by the time the 22 year old arrived to second place. The South African clinched his second success of 2008 while Cairoli gained some precious points on his other title rival Tommy Searle who finished fifth overall.

Still third in the championship standings the world champion is now just 16 points from Rattray at the peak of the table and 5 behind Searle.

One week after winning the Italian MX2 Championship Manuel Monni posted good results of 8th and 10th to finish 9th overall and was the second best YZ250F pilot on the day. Yamaha Van Beers' Evgeny Bobryshev was 15th overall, and with 11 points registered his second highest haul of the season so far.

Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nico Aubin had a forgettable weekend. The Frenchman had to qualify through the Last Chance session on Saturday after two crashes in the Heat race. Down in 26th position he could not find a good rhythm across the dry and hard German mud and was only able to score points in one moto, finishing 20th overall. He has now slipped to sixth in the championship and is 21 points from his former standing of fourth.

Team-mate Davide Guarneri made his Grand Prix comeback after falling and injuring his right knee in practice for the Italian Grand Prix in May. The winner of the Spanish round was lacking confidence on the turns and took only two points in the first moto.

Matteo Bonini tried to compete after coming through qualification yesterday but had too much pain in the left hand he injured in France. Although an x-ray confirmed that there was no break, the Italian could not properly hold the bike and pulled out of the first moto. He will now go for a scan to check for possible ligament damage.

Round ten takes place next weekend at the Uddevalla circuit for the Grand Prix of Sweden.

Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 2nd:

"After three or four laps in the first moto I got the lead and found a good rhythm. I made a gap over Tyla and the rest was quite easy. In the second moto my start was not the best and after a mistake on the first lap and taking too long to pass Shaun and Steven I had lost too much time to Tyla; he was uncatchable. Tommy is a very fast rider and a good one but Tyla has more experience and I think he is the bigger threat for the title; he makes less mistakes. I lost a lot of points in France so it was important to take a good result here. It will be hard to get the red-plate back because the three of us are so close each week but we still have plenty of races to go."

Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 20th:

"Today is a real low point for me. I lost fourth place in the championship and a lot of ground. I wish I could explain why. The weekend began badly with two stupid mistakes in the qualifying heat and I was then right on the outside of the gate. I tried as hard as I could to find a good level of speed but it would not come. It has been a terrible GP and I hope I can ride better in Sweden."

Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 22nd:

"I knew it would be hard this weekend. I crashed in the qualification heat which made things even more difficult. To be honest I struggled in the right-hand corners because I don't have the confidence with my knee, even if I have been building up the muscles around the joint. I want to try again in Sweden and then make a decision about the rest of the season. If I can do well with my condition then I will continue, if not then maybe surgery is the best option."

Race 1 - 19 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 41'35.030

2, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 0'6.618

3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'28.061

4, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'32.506

5, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'40.131

6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'42.339

7, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 0'51.463

8, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'59.353

9, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, 1'7.135

10, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 1'8.823

11, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'9.320

12, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'16.561

13, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 1'19.762

14, Pascal Leuret, Suzuki, FRA, 1'22.335

15, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'26.042

16, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1'31.146

17, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'33.854

18, Dennis Verbruggen, Yamaha, BEL, 1'39.830

19, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 1'41.996

20, Nikolaj Larsen, Suzuki, DNK, 1'42.724

Race 2 - 19 Laps

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time

1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 40'17.024

2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'16.362

3, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'21.554

4, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 0'26.046

5, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 0'31.408

6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'32.562

7, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 0'41.856

8, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 0'46.653

9, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'55.759

10, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 0'58.704

11, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'0.063

12, Matti Seistola, Honda, FIN, 1'7.513

13, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'10.506

14, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 1'11.585

15, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1'13.246

16, Dennis Verbruggen, Yamaha, BEL, 1'15.379

17, Pascal Leuret, Suzuki, FRA, 1'20.441

18, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'30.940

19, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 1'35.960

20, Cedric Soubeyras, Yamaha, FRA, 1'46.760

Rider Standings 29/06/2008

Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points

1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 326

2, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 315

3, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 310

4, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 209

5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 198

6, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 188

7, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 173

8, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 157

9, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 151

10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 148

11, Anthony Boissière, KTM, FRA, 134

12, Steven Frossard, Kawasaki, FRA, 128

13, Marvin Musquin, Honda, FRA, 126

14, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 103

15, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 99

16, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 95

17, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 93

18, Gregory Aranda, Kawasaki, FRA, 83

19, Carl Nunn, Suzuki, GBR, 65

20, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 51

22, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 39

25, Matteo Bonini, Yamaha, ITA, 25

27, Alessandro Lupino, Yamaha, ITA, 19

44, Deny Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 2

Manufacturer Standings 29/06/2008

Pos., Manufacturer, Points

1, KTM, 372

2, Yamaha, 366

3, Kawasaki, 248

4, Suzuki, 214

5, Honda, 141