Cairoli continues winning while Coppins secures fifth in Sweden

Yamaha Motocross Team Josh Coppins missed the podium for the first time in the 2007 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship as the New Zealander finished fifth overall at a cloudy and cool Uddevalla, 100kms north of Gothenburg, for the Grand Prix of Sweden. The ninth round of fifteen in the GP series was however noticeable for Antonio Cairoli's eighth success in the MX2 class and a quite remarkable performance from the De Carli Yamaha rider in the opening moto.   The circuit several kilometres outside the town of Uddevalla has been a World Championship regular since the start of the century - in fact one of only two venues to remain ever-present on the FIM calendar from the turn of the millennium. The layout had been reversed from the 2006 edition and a new start and first corner, along with a repositioned pit-lane, was in place for the '07 event. The track offered its usual winding and tight test and the terrain was softer thanks to large amounts of sand being mixed with the mud and incessant rainfall in the build-up to the Grand Prix. The giant rocky hill overlooking the facility gave ample viewing opportunities to the 28,900 crowd who scaled the inclines.

Coppins had taken sixth position in Timed Practice on Saturday and did not push for a fast lap and risk a crash on a surface that was far wetter and slipperier than the races on Sunday. The New Zealander made a safe first moto by obtaining a slot inside the top five and setting a reel of consistent laps to plant himself in the front group. He was strong at the end to pass title rival Steve Ramon for fourth place. The 30 year old, who had been suffering with flu during the week, again struggled to hit the same lap-times as the leaders in the second outing and dropped to eighth at one stage before rallying back to sixth position. The day was an exercise of caution for the championship pace-setter on the YZ450FM and his fifth place overall was a steady result on a track that was hard for overtaking.

Coppins still holds an impressive 89 point lead over Ramon who was runner-up to debut winner Ken de Dycker. Josh's advantage constitutes more than three motos and almost two Grand Prix with just six rounds remaining. He had five wins, one second position and two third places prior to Sweden.

Marc de Reuver's weekend was curtailed on Saturday when the Dutchman crashed in the free practice and injured his left arm, received a blow to the head and was also winded. The luckless 24 year old needed to be taken to the medical centre but bravely tried to qualify later in the afternoon. However he was forced to park the YZ450-FM after attempting one lap in Timed Practice and was in no condition to continue. De Reuver is fourteenth in the standings

The Yamaha Motocross Team will now look ahead to their second home Grand Prix of the season as round ten of the series heads to the Faenza circuit near Riminy, Italy in two weeks time. July's schedule also sees a trip to the Czech Republic at the end of the month.

Josh Coppins, Yamaha Motocross Team: "It wasn't a good day; in fact it was a bad day at the office. I just did not 'feel it' out there, and in the end just had to do the best that I could. I knew from Saturday that I did not have the speed. No excuses today, I was not able to go with the leaders and I know I have some work to do. I wanted to keep on the podium all year and I knew that would be tough but we will come back strong for Faenza."    Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team: "There is not much to say. I had a crash in practice and caught my arm and it is pretty badly bruised. I wanted to have a go at qualifying for the GP but I did one lap and could not handle the bike like I wanted and making any fast laps would have been impossible. It is another disappointment and I can only hope my luck changes very soon."

Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team: "It was a disappointing weekend. Marc had a very bad crash in the first few laps of practice. Luckily it was nothing serious but the effects meant that he could not ride. He tried in the qualifying but the pain was too much. Tomorrow (Monday) we will make a check-up with him but things seem to be OK. Josh just had a bad day. Physically he was not perfect because of some flu a few days ago and this race was quite tough. He couldn't do any better. However I think losing sometimes can have a positive effect."   Circuit Length: 1750 Temp: 20 Crowd: 28900 Weather: Dry     2007 GP of Uddevalla, Sweden 01/07/2007 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 38'46.205 2 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'6.373 3 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'8.022 4 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'10.482 5 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'11.402 6 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'32.766 7 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'42.135 8 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'43.561 9 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'44.659 10 James Noble Honda GBR 0'58.917 11 Mike Brown Honda USA 1'1.365 12 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'2.552 13 Julien Bill Honda CHE 1'12.998 14 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'21.006 15 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 1'21.692 16 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 1'42.173 17 Manuel Priem TM BEL -1 Laps 18 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST -1 Laps 19 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 20 Alex Salvini Yamaha ITA -1 Laps

Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 39'17.093 2 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'5.236 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'7.610 4 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'11.930 5 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'12.878 6 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'26.948 7 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'35.137 8 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'41.722 9 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 0'44.900 10 James Noble Honda GBR 0'59.937 11 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'2.213 12 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 1'3.631 13 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 1'27.710 14 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'48.860 15 Alex Salvini Yamaha ITA -1 Laps 16 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL -1 Laps 17 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 18 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 19 Loic Leonce Yamaha FRA -1 Laps 20 Alessio Chiodi Aprilia ITA -1 Laps

Rider Standings 01/07/2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 401 2. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 312 3. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 257 4. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 240 5. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 235 6. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 235 7. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 225 8. Mike Brown Honda USA 219 9. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 217 10. Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 186 11. James Noble Honda GBR 175 12. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 141 13. Manuel Priem TM BEL 139 14. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 136 15. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 107 16. Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 100 17. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 77 18. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 76 19. Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 61 20. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 61

Manufacturer Standings 01/07/2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 401 2. Suzuki 359 3. KTM 319 4. Kawasaki 303 5. Honda 293 6. TM 139 7. Aprilia 8

RACE REPORT 01/07/2007 Sensational Cairoli wins in Sweden    De Carli Yamaha's Antonio Cairoli again displayed his phenomenal level of confidence and speed in the 2007 FIM MX2 World Championship by taking pole position with his eighth qualification heat win on Saturday, followed with second and first for his fifteenth moto victory of the season from eighteen and eighth overall GP success, not to mention a pair of fastest laps on Sunday. The Grand Prix of Sweden at a cloudy but warm Uddevalla circuit was the ninth round of the series and belonged to the Sicilian after an impressive show.   In the wake of scoring a double victory at the fast and hard-pack Sevlievo track two weeks ago Cairoli again proved his versatility and excellent form on the softer and more technical Swedish mud. The Sicilian participated in one of the closest climaxes in modern times when he finished second to David Philippaerts in the first moto by just 100th of a second in 2006 and almost repeated the result with the best performance of the day in the opening race today. The 21 year old surprisingly hit the ground on the first corner alongside Tyla Rattray and had to restart in last position. The following thirty minutes witnessed a comprehensive demonstration of aggressive riding as Cairoli used all his talent and ability to switch lines and find overtaking places that nobody else had seen. He rose to second position entering the last ten minutes of the moto and closed down a gap of nearly ten seconds to leader Searle to get close by the last lap. He just ran out of time to draw alongside the British rider but his flight through the MX2 collective won the De Carli Yamaha racer yet even more admirers.

Uddevalla was again using a reversed format for the second year in succession and although overtaking was far from easy on the undulating terrain the course was altogether slower and demanded more precision from the riders compared to the last outings in France and Bulgaria. Cairoli made amends for the drama of Moto1 by grabbing the lead on the first circulation and drawing away from his pursuers after lunch. He then controlled the race and kept Christophe Pourcel and Rattray at a safe distance. Searle was second overall and German Marcus Schiffer made a debut appearance on the podium with third place. With Pourcel only classifying in fourth Cairoli was able to extend his lead in the championship to more than 100 points for the first time this season. His margin of 102 now means an advantage of more than two Grand Prix with just six left to run.

Yamaha Ricci Racing's Kenneth Gundersen returned to the leader's circle after a hefty absence and he had his many Norwegian fans in the crowd animated by fronting the first half of Moto1. Although he could not stretch his pace until the chequered flag - losing positions to Searle and Cairoli - the 25 year old could nevertheless equalled his best finish of the season with third place. Sadly the former 125cc and 250cc GP winner was unable to start the second moto. He had endured a virus during the week that caused severe stomach upsets and was vomiting continuously in the break between the races. He had to go to the medical centre where he was attached to a drip and was unable to make the start line for Moto2.

Team-mate Davide Guarneri was the second highest Yamaha rider with fifth position even though the Italian also had stomach cramps in the second moto. Guarneri led the first qualification heat and should have won if it wasn't for a small crash that relegated him to sixth. He obtained sixth and tenth in the two GP motos and continues to get faster and fitter with each passing meeting after recovering from an ankle injury.  

Bike it Yamaha Dixon's Carl Nunn was tenth overall with thirteenth and eighth positions. The British Champion was as high as fourth in the second moto but is missing an extra edge to his smooth riding to break the top five.

Nicolas Aubin was at a disadvantage after a spill in his qualification heat meant that he had to enter the gate down in 25th and through the Last Chance session. The French youngster could not get comfortable on the track and admitted that a crash while practicing on an MX1 machine before the Bulgarian GP gave him continued problems with a stiff back and shoulders. He was twentieth and thirteenth for nineteenth overall and fell off in Moto1.

Cairoli's team-mate Matteo Bonini was unable to attend the Grand Prix in the wake of the ankle ailment he sustained prior to the round in Bulgaria two weeks ago. The Italian is hoping to be fit for his second home event in a fortnight. Stylish third member of the team Alessandro Lupino could not make the qualification cut on a technically difficult track on Saturday. Bike it Yamaha Dixon's Carlos Campano was another non-qualified rider after a fall on Saturday ripped the seven stitches from his elbow; a wound picked up in Bulgaria. Antonio Cairoli, De Carli Yamaha: "I had a bad start in the first moto and my line was closed off on the inside. I think I touched with Tyla and lost the front wheel. It is difficult to overtake here but I managed to pass fifteen riders on the first lap and it is a bit strange but I don't remember much of that now! I think I just went as hard and as fast as I could until I had some space in front of me. It then took me a bit of time to get through on Leuret and I just went for the next rider in front after that. I thought I could catch Tommy for the win but two laps before the end I made a small mistake. It was probably my best moto of the year though because that was the first time that I had a bad start and I was very satisfied with how I got on. It was not really that fun because I had to take a lot of risks! In the second one I passed Seistola on the first lap and could do my race. I am still working heat by heat and GP by GP. I am far ahead of Christophe now but I am just focussing on myself."

Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Ricci Racing: "I am so disappointed that I could not make a podium today. I felt good and fast on the track. I knew I could be up there with Cairoli and Tyla but I have been suffering with my stomach and some kind of virus because I had diarrhoea for four days. I did all I could in that first moto and then could not stop being sick in the break. I have been told to take a complete rest for ten days now and I will make some blood tests tomorrow to see what the problem is."

Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing: "When I had to stop for the injury I lost some speed and race fitness and now I am training a lot for this in Italy. I am getting quite consistent and every race I am finishing in the top ten. I felt good yesterday but crashed on the last lap. In the first moto I started badly but pushed hard and had a really good pace, close to the times of the top three apart from Cairoli. I had some stomach pain like Kenneth before the second moto so I am happy that I could finish the race in the top ten again. I am progressing every week and I feel that the podium could soon be a possibility."

Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing: "I am disappointed because this is my worst race of the season. I have been struggling with sore shoulders and my bad position on the gate did not help me today. I did not start well and was not able to find good lines or a rhythm. I crashed after the whoops in the first moto and the second was not much better. I just want to forget this GP and move onwards."

Carl Nunn, Bike it Yamaha Dixon Racing: "Something is not happening. I think I am riding well, but obviously I am not and that means there is a problem somewhere. It is not physical because I don't feel tired so it must be mental. Each week I keep thinking the results are going to get better but they don't. I am not moving any further forward and it is disappointing really. Last weekend when I won in the British championship it was good but not the same feeling as I have had in the past."   Circuit Length: 1750 Temp: 23 Crowd: 28900 Weather: Dry     2007 GP of Uddevalla, Sweden 01/07/2007 Race 1 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 39'12.533 2 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 0'2.840 3 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'30.446 4 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'50.850 5 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 0'54.071 6 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 0'54.926 7 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 0'55.809 8 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'4.261 9 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'5.570 10 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'11.889 11 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'13.440 12 Avis Wyatt KTM RSA 1'14.713 13 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'16.022 14 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'19.363 15 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'26.450 16 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 1'37.272 17 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'41.038 18 Tom Soderstrom Yamaha SWE -1 Laps 19 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR -1 Laps 20 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA -1 Laps

Race 2 - 21 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'26.334 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'23.434 3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'35.693 4 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'38.502 5 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'44.576 6 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 0'52.409 7 Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 0'55.133 8 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'56.943 9 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 0'58.578 10 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'5.478 11 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'8.499 12 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'9.741 13 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 1'22.699 14 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'27.069 15 Avis Wyatt KTM RSA 1'28.254 16 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'30.972 17 Shannon Terreblanche KTM RSA -1 Laps 18 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL -1 Laps 19 Jake Nicholls Suzuki GBR -1 Laps 20 Rob van Vijfeijken KTM NED -1 Laps

Rider Standings 01/07/2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 439 2. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 337 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 318 4. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 285 5. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 270 6. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 224 7. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 197 8. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 188 9. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 160 10. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 146 11. Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 131 12. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 128 13. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 121 14. Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 99 15. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 94 16. Rui Goncalves KTM POR 81 17. Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 76 18. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 70 19. Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 67 20. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 67 21. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 60

Manufacturer Standings 01/07/2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 439 2. KTM 364 3. Kawasaki 354 4. Honda 276 5. Suzuki 156