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.
Victory at Talkessel
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."
Circuit Length: 1780
Crowd: 34,000
Weather: Sunny
2008 GP of Germany, Teutschenthal 29/06/2008
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
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."
Circuit Length: 1780
Crowd: 34,000
Weather: Sunny
2008 GP of Germany, Teutschenthal 29/06/2008
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
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