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." 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." 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