Coppins wins in Agueda to consolidate his championship lead

Yamaha Motocross Team's Josh Coppins continued his triumphant ways by winning the first moto for round three of the MX1 World Championship. He however finished runner up in the second moto and thus handing the win of Grand Prix of Portugal held at Agueda to Kevin Strijbos who finished behind Coppins in the first moto. A crowd of 18,000 gathered around the slopes of the popular layout to see Antonio Cairoli amass a healthy 44 point lead in the MX2 class standings with his third straight win and second double moto haul of the year.   Brilliant and hot sunshine created a splendid but physically demanding terrain at the venue, around 100km south of Porto. The track was quick and with various lines but became rougher and even more testing towards the end of the day. Despite a painful groin after his exertions in Spain last week Coppins qualified fourth fastest in a very close timed practice session on Saturday that saw the top eight riders divided by less than one second. Marc de Reuver was four positions behind and the last of the quickest group. 30 year old Coppins however had a small spill that left him with a sore left foot.  Series leader Coppins moved into second spot behind Kevin Strijbos in the first moto and stalked the Belgian for half of the race until picking his moment to move through. Strijbos remained with two-to-three seconds but Coppins was able to control the margin to take his third chequered flag in succession. The second heat saw a re-match as the pair clashed again. The New Zealander pushed his way past Strijbos again, but his rival was able to answer and broke away as Coppins started to feel the effects of his Saturday mishap. De Reuver struggled with a mediocre launch from the start gate in Moto one and then was working his way through the pack until reaching a limit to his stamina and losing the edge to his lap-times. He dropped back to fourteenth. The second outing saw a more positive performance from the Dutchman as he was attacking David Philippaerts for a possible fifth position when he caught his left foot in the ground and twisted his ankle, causing him to retire. Although not able to complete his hat-trick of Grand Prix wins, Coppins has nevertheless protected his lead in the World Championship standings which still stands at nineteen points ahead of Strijbos. De Reuver is currently thirteenth.

Josh Coppins, Yamaha Motocross Team: "After Spain I had a small groin injury. I did not think it was anything special but after the first session I had a lot of pain. We worked on it and got it better but I could not ride how I wanted yesterday and because of this I had a crash and hurt my foot. I struggled on the track. No excuses though, Kevin was very strong in the second heat and deserved to win. We have started the season very well, better than I expected, with the new team, new bike and everything is going smoothly. I haven't lost points to anyone in any of the moto's so far and I know we need to keep on working like this. I know that I cannot win every GP but if I can minimise any points damage then this is also good.    Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team: "In the first heat I had a good start but the first few corners didn't go so well and a few guys passed me. I came back quite strong to eighth but then I just seemed to hit a wall and went backwards. I got away good in the second heat but it was tight in the first corner and I had to change my line. I was twelfth and made some good passes on the first laps and a few guys were making mistakes. I got behind Philippaerts and was feeling very strong. I was faster than him and attacked. I did not make it and then tried again but I put my foot down and twisted my ankle. That was it. It is very painful but luckily it is not broken."

Carlo Rinaldo, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team: "We cannot win every time! Kevin was very good today and Josh was not 100%, no excuses, but his crash yesterday left him in some pain. Anyway he rode well and was just a little tired in the second moto because he had to comeback from a backward position a mediocre start. He has been smart to accept the second. Regarding Marc he is going through a bit of a difficult period because he is not fully fit. He faded a lot in the first moto but was riding better in the second until his twisted his left ankle. He was fighting hard until that point though and that is all we can ask of him."   Circuit Length: 1600 Temp: 26 Crowd: 18000 Weather: Sunny     2007 GP of Agueda, Portugal 22/04/2007 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 39'18.003 2 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'11.015 3 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'14.133 4 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'17.340 5 James Noble Honda GBR 0'40.774 6 Manuel Priem TM BEL 0'47.158 7 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'55.077 8 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'0.740 9 Mike Brown Honda USA 1'5.022 10 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'10.096 11 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 1'13.650 12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'15.311 13 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 1'43.072 14 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 1'52.308 15 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'58.513 16 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR -1 Laps 17 Julien Bill Kawasaki CHE -1 Laps 18 Julien Vanni Honda FRA -1 Laps 19 Cyrille Coulon Honda FRA -1 Laps 20 Paulo Goncalves Honda POR -1 Laps

Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 39'43.882 2 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'20.114 3 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'32.151 4 Manuel Priem TM BEL 0'38.825 5 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'45.242 6 Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 0'48.725 7 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'52.165 8 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'56.399 9 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'57.586 10 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 0'58.844 11 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'3.520 12 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 1'24.369 13 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'29.884 14 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 1'36.430 15 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 1'39.077 16 James Noble Honda GBR 1'52.062 17 Antoine Meo Honda FRA 2'4.903 18 Cyrille Coulon Honda FRA -1 Laps 19 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL -1 Laps 20 Paulo Goncalves Honda POR -1 Laps

Rider Standings 22/04/2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 144 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 125 3. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 89 4. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 86 5. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 84 6. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 67 7. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 63 8. Mike Brown Honda USA 62 9. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 62 10. Manuel Priem TM BEL 61 11. James Noble Honda GBR 61 12. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 61 13. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 60 14. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 51 15. Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 46 16. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 35 17. Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 31 18. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 29 19. Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 19 20. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 17

Manufacturer Standings 22/04/2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 144 2. Suzuki 129 3. KTM 117 4. Honda 91 5. Kawasaki 87 6. TM 61 7. Aprilia 2

RACE REPORT 22/04/2007 Cairoli achieves maximum score for the third time running  MX2 series leader Antonio Cairoli overcame a heavy crash in the second moto to convincingly win his third successive Grand Prix on the YZ250F. The Sicilian started the weekend in comfortable form by dominating the first qualification heat for pole position and first entry into the start gate. As in Spain he had to recover from a start that left him just inside the top five and then faced a six second gap to MX2 world champion Pourcel. The 21 year old chased down the Frenchman and incredibly pulled through to seize the lead with five laps remaining. He made a mistake - by running wide into softer dirt - allowing Pourcel a second chance to attack, but Cairoli quickly made another rapid lap that pulled him clear for a second moto win in a row   It was followed by a third win in Moto two. Pourcel again was leading but had a hefty fall only a few laps after Cairoli had also hit the ground. De Carli Team star rider lost control due to slight arm-pump affecting his riding. Pourcel hurt his right ankle and retired but 'Tony' remounted and quickly passed Pascal Leuret for another '25 points'. Cairoli's team-mate Matteo Bonini posted his best set of Grand Prix results to-date. The Italian was sixth and tenth for sixth overall. In the first moto he held third position for most of the 35 minutes and 2 laps distance but was relegated in the last three laps as he tired; unaccustomed to the speed of the GP leaders. With Cairoli's double win it was still a very positive weekend for Yamaha Team De Carli.    Yamaha Team Ricci's Nicolas Aubin was seventh overall behind Bonini but claimed his best ever moto finish with second position trailing Cairoli in Moto two. The Frenchman might have made the podium but a self-imposed clutch problem (an error while trying to adjust the tension) while leading the opening race in the formative stages meant that he had to enter the pits to reverse the setting. He returned to the track but could only capture three points for eighteenth spot. His team-mate Kenneth Gundersen was dogged by two bad starts but rode hard to finish fifth overall with twelfth and fifth positions, making him the fourth and final Yamaha rider in the top ten. Davide Guarneri's injured ankle prevented him from competing in Portugal but the Italian is recuperating and undergoing rehab in a hope to be fit for his home Grand Prix in two weeks.

Cairoli now heads the MX2 standings by a hefty forty-four points (six shy of a full Grand Prix) from Pourcel. Gundersen is currently sixth and Aubin seventh.    Antonio Cairoli, Team Yamaha De Carli: "I am really happy to win this race; in 2005 I won both motos here and went on to take the championship. I have a big points lead now. My strategy today was good. I waited in the first part of the race and I knew that I had more speed than the other guys and pushed hard to win in the second half of the moto. I have been training on hard ground to get my starts better and the work helped today. I had a little problem with my arms in the second moto and I crashed because of this. Pourcel was a long way ahead but I believed that I could still catch him until I crashed, and then I was just looking at second. The bike had some damage and the handlebar was a little bit bent, but when I saw Pourcel crash I pushed again for the win and got rewarded."

Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "I was 26th through the first corner of the first moto. It was a terrible start. I came through to 12th and was working hard but could not get any higher. In the second race I also had a bad start and was in between 15th and 20th but I was strong right until the end and passed many riders in the last ten minutes. I was happy with that. I know that I am fit and when I can manage proper starts I will be right there."    Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Team Ricci "I am a bit disappointed because I made a mistake with the clutch and if it hadn't have been for this then I might have had a podium. I tried to make the setting softer during the race but turned it the other way by mistake and had to come into the pits. I then pushed really hard to get back in the points. I think I must have used a lot of energy because I was right at the front in the second moto but had to slow down to find my pace and then push on again. I am pleased with the second position, it is my best yet, but I think I will fixate the clutch adjustment so that I can't fiddle with it for the next Grand Prix!"

Matteo Bonini, Team Yamaha De Carli: "In the first moto I made a good start and I tried to follow the lines and speed of Pourcel but three laps before the end I felt the pace and got tired. My season preparation has not been the best because of some problems, but today was a good moto for me which helps me to improve my championship position. In the second moto the bike wheelied off the start and I felt tired as the laps went on. Tenth was not so bad, this is the best result so far for me and I hope now it will only get better."

Yamaha's motocross stars will now have a free weekend before venturing to southern Europe and the Grand Prix of Italy at the Mantova circuit; naturally the meeting will be an important one for the Rinaldi, De Carli and Ricci crews.   Circuit Length: 1700 Temp: 27 Crowd: 18000 Weather: Sunny     2007 GP of Agueda, Portugal 22/04/2007 Race 1 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'42.522 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'3.906 3 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'34.945 4 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'36.231 5 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'37.315 6 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 0'38.439 7 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'42.175 8 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 0'44.298 9 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'55.593 10 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'5.788 11 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 1'11.558 12 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 1'15.496 13 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'17.724 14 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 1'19.864 15 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'21.090 16 Jeremy Tarroux Yamaha FRA 1'35.178 17 Xavier Hernandez Yamaha ESP 1'39.655 18 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 1'46.044 19 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 1'47.928 20 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 1'48.989

Race 2 - 20 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 40'28.619 2 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 0'5.177 3 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'11.104 4 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 0'15.720 5 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'21.245 6 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 0'29.073 7 Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 0'32.641 8 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 0'42.419 9 Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 0'45.907 10 Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 0'52.424 11 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 0'57.183 12 Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 0'59.482 13 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'6.100 14 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'11.044 15 Avis Wyatt KTM RSA 1'18.428 16 Jeremy Tarroux Yamaha FRA 1'39.575 17 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 1'41.297 18 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'44.148 19 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL -1 Laps 20 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL -2 Laps

Rider Standings 22/04/2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 147 2. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 103 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 98 4. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 87 5. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 79 6. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 75 7. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 72 8. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 69 9. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 61 10. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 57 11. Erik Eggens Suzuki NED 54 12. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 48 13. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 47 14. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 45 15. Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 41 16. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 40 17. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 33 18. Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 27 19. Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 23 20. Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 23 21. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 23

Manufacturer Standings 22/04/2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 147 2. Kawasaki 127 3. KTM 117 4. Honda 87 5. Suzuki 57