MXGP RACE REPORT 03/08/2008
Coppins 7th through tough Belgian sand
The Yamaha Monster Motocross Team endured one of their hardest
and most dramatic days of the 2008 FIM MX1-GP world championship
as Josh Coppins finished 7th and David Philippaerts 10th through
the notoriously heavy and difficult sand of the Lommel circuit
for the Grand Prix of Belgium and the eleventh round of fifteen
in the current campaign.
Arguably one of the toughest tests for man and machine on
the GP calendar, the rough and absorbing sand in central Belgium
was suitably demanding, and the racing conditions were not
helped by occasional light showers. 27,000 spectators saw
two action-packed MX1 motos in which constant position changes
took place thanks to varying race speed across the bumps and
crashes and mistakes due to fatigue and miscalculation.
It was not a good day for series leader David Philippaerts
who took 15th and 6th and described the track as the hardest
he has ridden. A racing incident with Ken de Dycker led to
the Italian falling to the floor on the first lap and the
YZ450FM also being clipped from his hands from a passing rider
when he was trying to restart. Philippaerts regained ground
to fifteenth place before another error ruined his work. Google-less,
he made his way back to fifteenth and lost the red plate to
Steve Ramon for the first time since round three in Portugal
by just one point.
In the second moto he fought with title rival Ramon - both
riders falling in the latter stages as tiredness took hold
- and crossed the finish line behind the Belgian, meaning
that he trails the world champion by two points with four
Grand Prix and eight motos remaining.
The team's best placed rider was Coppins but the Kiwi was
unsatisfied with his results of 5th and 8th. The 31 year old
was sick entering the weekend and felt unprepared for the
test ahead. He started around the top ten in the opening race
and pulled through in strongly and typical style by the end.
Like many riders he struggled in the second moto and lost
any chance of a top five overall finish after colliding with
Billy Mackenzie and falling.
Yamaha Van Beers Aigar Leok took his sixth top ten finish
of the season with 9th place in the second moto and was 11th
overall.
In the championship standings Yamaha still head the manufacturers
table by 7 points. Philippaerts has a slender deficit to Ramon
while Coppins is only 17 points away in 3rd.
The Yamaha Monster Motocross Team will only have a few days
to recover from their exertions in Belgium with the Grand
Prix of Czech Republic at the Loket circuit, round twelve
of fifteen, due to occur next weekend.
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 7th:
"I had Flu coming into the weekend and it was a bit
frustrating knowing I was approaching the hardest race of
the year not in the best shape. Overall it was a pretty average
GP in terms of riding and fitness but in terms of the championship
points it was not the end of the world. To try and be champion
I have to be better than this. One is example is the move
I tried to make on Billy in the second moto. I went for it
but ended up taking him down. It was a bit silly and because
I was so tired I miscalculated; so sorry to him. The first
moto was OK and I came through a bit at the end but in the
second I felt I could only go at ¾. I wasn't surprised
by how much of a hard test this track would be. Normally my
strength is one of my positive points but this GP I could
not keep at my maximum. We go to Loket next and I am looking
forward to a hard-pack start. Right now I just want to ride
better and hopefully feel 100% going into the race."
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team,
10th:
"What a hard day. I crashed too much and this track
was unbelievable. For me it was the hardest track of them
all. In the first moto I changed my line in the corner and
De Dycker came across and hit my front wheel. There was no
time to react. I was so tired in the second that I could not
save the bike when the front wheel started to go. I am second
in the championship but it is more or less the same and there
are four GPs to go. A lot of riders made mistakes today and
when you go down in the sand it is hard to recover."
Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager, Yamaha Monster Motocross
Team:
"We knew this weekend would be difficult! Josh was pretty
good in the first moto except that his speed was so-so in
the first moments of the race but his pace was like the leaders
by the end. In the second he was around seventh and doing
OK but then came together with Billy when he tried to overtake.
He had been really ill during the week so honestly I am happy
with what he did today; especially because he took some points
away from first position in the championship. David was unlucky
with the first moto crash and it was always going to be a
very hard and difficult way back from that. We have seen him
make some very good recoveries but this was a different scenario.
15th was not good for the championship but it was not a complete
disaster with the amount of races we still have. Both Ramon
and David exchanged mistakes in the second moto but the result
insured that he is not far away at all even if the red plate
is gone for the moment. It was a complicated weekend for the
bikes as well and we did not have any problems, which was
great, and the mechanics and the team worked really hard."
Crowd: 27,000
Weather: Cloudy
2008 GP of Belgium, Lommel 03/08/2008
Race 1 - 18 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Marc De Reuver Honda NED 41'40.370
2 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'9.075
3 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 0'12.520
4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'13.904
5 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'15.320
6 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'15.422
7 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'54.062
8 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'55.888
9 Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 0'57.210
10 Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 0'58.543
11 Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 0'59.584
12 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'33.677
13 Patrick Roos KTM NED 1'42.554
14 Cedric Melotte Aprilia BEL 1'51.555
15 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 1'59.985
16 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 2'17.298
17 William Saris Yamaha NED 2'30.997
18 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST -1 Laps
19 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER -1 Laps
20 Bradley Anderson Suzuki GBR -1 Laps
Race 2 - 18 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 40'19.697
2 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'2.470
3 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 0'31.172
4 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'39.137
5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'40.906
6 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'42.976
7 Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 0'43.557
8 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'57.923
9 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'59.150
10 Marc De Reuver Honda NED 1'16.595
11 Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 1'21.356
12 Bradley Anderson Suzuki GBR 1'23.764
13 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'30.584
14 Julien Bill Honda CHE 1'33.928
15 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'47.989
16 Patrick Roos KTM NED 1'55.287
17 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 2'13.299
18 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 2'16.552
19 Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 2'19.833
20 Loic Leonce Yamaha FRA -1 Laps
Rider Standings 03/08/2008
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 362
2. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 360
3. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 345
4. Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 336
5. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 331
6. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 306
7. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 290
8. Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 257
9. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 245
10. Marc De Reuver Honda NED 214
11. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 190
12. Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 173
13. Julien Bill Honda CHE 148
14. Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 139
15. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 118
16. Mike Brown Honda USA 107
17. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 97
18. James Noble KTM GBR 93
19. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 72
20. Steve Boniface Honda FRA 63
21. Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 42
Manufacturer Standings 03/08/2008
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Yamaha 426
2. Suzuki 419
3. KTM 411
4. Kawasaki 382
5. Honda 350
6. TM 31
7. Aprilia 12
RACE REPORT 03/08/2008
Aubin 7th overall at Lommel but continues progress
Nico Aubin now holds Yamaha's main hopes for places of honour
upon the YZ250F in the MX2-GP World Championship after the
unfortunate injury sustained by reigning number one Antonio
Cairoli two weeks ago in South Africa, and the Frenchman responded
to his new role with a good showing to 7th position overall
and a second moto finish of 2nd place through the demanding
sand of Lommel.
The eleventh round of fifteen saw the Yamaha Ricci Racing
rider tackle the punishing bumps and ruts of the deep sandy
circuit for the Grand Prix of Belgium. Aubin fought hard in
the first moto under changeable skies and occasional light
rain and made a valiant attempt to steal 6th position on the
final lap but his last-gasp effort did not pay off and he
fell, losing ground to 12th.
An excellent start and holeshot in the second sprint saw him
lead briefly before settling into a decent and lonely second
place behind surprise winner Gert Krestinov. Aubin finished
as runner-up and was content with his speed. If his gamble
in the opening race would have worked, then he would have
claimed overall victory.
Team-mate Davide Guarneri was pleased with 10th place in
the final classification and handled the physically and technically
difficult conditions well considering the weakness of his
right knee that misses a ligament. The Italian scored 9th
and 13th and is contemplating surgery on the joint after the
Grand Prix of Czech Republic next week.
An impressive Grand Prix debut was had by America's Zach Osborne.
The 18 year old made his first world championship turn for
the Utag Yamaha.com squad and could not have picked a harder
venue for his baptism! Osborne acquitted himself well though
and was holding a top ten position on the YZ250F in the first
moto until a mechanical problem ended his participation. In
the second race he resumed his speed and gave the team their
best finish of the season with a decent 8th spot.
World Champion Cairoli was in attendance at Lommel as the
Sicilian has an apartment only a few kilometres from the circuit.
Still on crutches the 22 year old visited the Grand Prix and
was in good spirits, commenting that he hopes to start cycling
in the next two weeks.
The De Carli team were solely represented by Alessandro Lupino
with Matteo Bonini still not recovered from his hand injury.
The teenager grabbed two points for 19th place in Moto2.
Although out of action Cairoli is still 3rd in the world
championship standings and 45 points ahead of fourth position.
Aubin is 6th and 5 points away from further promotion. Guarneri
is 14th.
Round twelve of fifteen (meaning the first of just eight
motos remaining) will take place at the Loket circuit next
weekend for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic.
Nico Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing,7th:
"I am quite happy with this week because I made two
good starts and physically I felt good; so I am coming back
to a level that I want step-by-step. The crash in the first
moto means that I have to be a bit disappointed with this
GP overall, because I rode well in the second race and the
podium would have been possible. Still this is something good
to build on."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 10th:
"This was a really hard track, sometimes it felt like
Enduro! There was obviously an advantage for the Benelux riders
here, and for me it was hard but then again not so bad; I
finished both races and had a good ride in the first moto.
I had to take it easy in the second moto because I am not
100% with my knee. Still this is one of my best results in
the sand. I will hear from my doctor this week so Loket could
be my last race as I want to have surgery and get a good winter
of training done ready for 2009."
Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 14th:
"I just did my best today. The track was almost indescribable
as to how deep, rough and hard it is to ride on. I have never
experienced anything like that or fought so hard for a race
position. I wanted to put in a good finish for the team because
they have been working so hard to get things right for me
and I wanted to give them something back for it. I did not
know what to expect here but people tell me that the circuit
in Loket should be a bit more regular. The set-up is so professional
at the world championship and everyone wants such a good image
for the sport. I think this is definitely the premier motocross
racing series in the world."
Crowd: 27,000
Weather: Cloudy
2008 GP of Belgium, Lommel 03/08/2008
Race 1 - 18 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 41'33.589
2 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'21.537
3 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'34.953
4 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 0'35.986
5 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 0'41.914
6 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'46.263
7 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 1'20.468
8 Gert Krestinov KTM EST 1'23.275
9 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'50.064
10 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'58.396
11 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 2'0.154
12 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 2'6.038
13 Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 2'19.383
14 Francisco Jose Millan KTM ESP 2'22.476
15 Anthony Boissière KTM FRA -1 Laps
16 Herjan Brakke Honda NED -1 Laps
17 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR -1 Laps
18 Jordi Dominguez Honda NED -1 Laps
19 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR -1 Laps
20 Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA -1 Laps
Race 2 - 18 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Gert Krestinov KTM EST 40'41.049
2 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'25.053
3 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'26.226
4 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 0'27.149
5 Joel Roelants KTM BEL 0'45.602
6 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'52.680
7 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'55.224
8 Zach Osborne Yamaha USA 1'3.425
9 Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 1'6.393
10 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 1'16.197
11 Anthony Boissière KTM FRA 1'23.800
12 Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 1'36.446
13 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'38.574
14 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'40.468
15 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'41.873
16 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 2'1.046
17 Rob van Vijfeijken Yamaha NED 2'1.451
18 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR 2'13.075
19 Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA -1 Laps
20 Herjan Brakke Honda NED -1 Laps
Rider Standings 03/08/2008
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 452
2. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 432
3. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 357
4. Shaun Simpson KTM GBR 312
5. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 279
6. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 274
7. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 232
8. Xavier Boog Suzuki FRA 224
9. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 215
10. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 203
11. Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 178
12. Anthony Boissière KTM FRA 174
13. Marvin Musquin Honda FRA 173
14. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 153
15. Jeremy Tarroux KTM FRA 140
16. Joel Roelants KTM BEL 133
17. Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 101
18. Gautier Paulin Kawasaki FRA 95
19. Carl Nunn Suzuki GBR 73
20. Gert Krestinov KTM EST 73
24. Evgeny Bobryshev Yamaha RUS 42
27. Alessandro Lupino Yamaha ITA 32
28. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 25
43. Deny Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 7
Manufacturer Standings 03/08/2008
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. KTM 519
2. Yamaha 485
3. Kawasaki 335
4. Suzuki 275
5. Honda 219
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