Near perfect weekend for Yamaha in Germany

Yamaha Motocross Team's Josh Coppins continued his 100% podium record with third place overall in the German GP held at the 'Talkessel' circuit of Teutschenthal. His teammate Marc de Reuver enjoyed his best moto result to date in a MX1 GP race, finishing second to Coppins in the first heat. A crash in the second moto unfortunately destroyed Marc's chance for his first GP victory. 

Coppins gained his first pole position on the YZ450FM during an initially wet Timed Practice on Saturday. High winds on Friday meant that the practice schedule had to be cut in order to complete the set-up of the circuit, Nevertheless the Yamaha Motocross Team had a decent day of preparation enjoying a pleasing one-two for both of their riders as Marc de Reuver flew to a lap-time just four thousandths of a second slower than Coppins. Despite the adverse conditions at the start of the weekend (Saturday was windy, cloudy and with occasional showers) Sunday dawned sunny and slightly breezy. With its climbs, drops, banked curves and undulations Talkessel still has a flowing layout even though a new sandy loop had been installed. The hard terrain had also been mixed with sand in many places with a view to generating more lines which was partially successful. The speed remained fairly high and the course was not the most technically difficult of the calendar; therefore the gaps between riders remained constant and tricky to cut down.    The first MX1 moto saw an excellent start for the Italian crew as Coppins pulled away from de Reuver and the pair kept a comfortable distance over Steve Ramon. A repeat result looked as though it might happen later in the afternoon but the three second lead diligently created by Coppins vanished when the 30 year old hit neutral and crashed in the sand. He remounted in eighth and then joined in a thrilling five rider fight for the lead.

In theory it should have been de Reuver's race and Grand Prix. Riding at the venue where he won his first Grand Prix in 2003 the Dutchman looked comfortable when he inherited Coppins' position but then slipped off his 450 in a surprising crash. Devastated by his mistake he then could do no better than eighth place, which gave him fourth overall; still his best finish so far this year. Coppins meanwhile had re-launched an offensive and climbed into the top four but he then clipped his right foot on a bank after exiting a corner a little too fast and twisted his ankle, nullifying his speed somewhat. He confirmed sixth to seal the third step of the podium. Coppins' lead in the standings has increased by seven points over Kevin Strijbos, who could only take fifth, and now reaches 43 for almost a full Grand Prix advantage.

Josh Coppins, Yamaha Motocross Team: "I was riding well in the second moto and passed Brown for the lead. I pulled a nice little advantage over the others and was happy with that but I hit a neutral going through the sand and crashed. I restarted around sixth or seventh and was riding quite good again, passing a few guys, although I then hit the bank with my foot with five or six laps to go and took it a bit easy after that. The first moto win was good because this track is so fast and the racing is so close that a couple of seconds lead is a lot here compared to other circuits. I was comfortable and able to control the race. The second moto was frustrating. I made a mistake that I am disappointed about because I was in a good position. It was a so so day but on the bright side I was able to extend my lead in the championship."    Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team: "Even in my junior motocross races did I not give away a race like that! I went into the corner and my right hand slipped off the grip. I don't know why because I always took the same rut. The bike was still running and I picked it up straightaway. I lost only two places and thought that the moto was still there for me but then Ramon pushed me over the berm and just into the fence and everyone in that group went through. I have nothing more to say except that I am sick of this. I should have won it easily, with 'two fingers in my nose' even. I was riding so smoothly and it was just a stupid thing."

Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team: "It could easily have been a one-two for the team. The first moto was easy for them both and it looked as though the second race was going to be the same, even when Josh crashed because Marc had the lead and Josh could have made second overall. It turned around very quickly though because Marc made the mistake and Josh twisted his ankle. Marc was so angry and disappointed. He lost a lot of time and speed. The second half of the second moto was hard for us!"   Circuit Length: 1780 Temp: 20 Crowd: 32000 Weather: Showers     2007 GP of Teutschenthal, Germany 13/05/2007 Race 1 - 19 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 41'33.823 2 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 0'6.946 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'11.243 4 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'13.949 5 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'14.865 6 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'17.440 7 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 0'26.508 8 James Noble Honda GBR 0'29.096 9 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'34.254 10 Manuel Priem TM BEL 0'45.676 11 Bradley Anderson Yamaha GBR 0'46.596 12 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'49.656 13 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'51.164 14 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'53.206 15 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'1.365 16 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 1'5.529 17 Alex Salvini Yamaha ITA 1'7.947 18 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 1'9.753 19 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'13.081 20 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'31.115

Race 2 - 19 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 David Philippaerts KTM ITA 39'49.343 2 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'2.008 3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'3.729 4 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'4.221 5 Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 0'7.718 6 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'11.974 7 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'24.821 8 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 0'29.354 9 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'31.323 10 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'34.459 11 Mike Brown Honda USA 0'36.376 12 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 0'40.458 13 Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 0'50.129 14 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'53.742 15 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'55.388 16 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'56.356 17 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 0'57.910 18 Julien Vanni Honda FRA 0'58.589 19 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 1'1.208 20 Bradley Anderson Yamaha GBR 1'5.050

Rider Standings 13/05/2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 234 2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 191 3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 156 4. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 131 5. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 130 6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 121 7. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 115 8. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 115 9. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 112 10. James Noble Honda GBR 104 11. Mike Brown Honda USA 100 12. Manuel Priem TM BEL 81 13. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 80 14. Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 73 15. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 66 16. Gordon Crockard Honda IRL 62 17. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 57 18. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 49 19. Thomas Allier Kawasaki FRA 43 20. Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 38

Manufacturer Standings 13/05/2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 234 2. Suzuki 205 3. KTM 181 4. Honda 163 5. Kawasaki 157 6. TM 81 7. Aprilia 2

RACE REPORT 13/05/2007 Cairoli unstoppable in Teutschenthal    The phenomenon that is Antonio Cairoli's form in the MX2 Motocross World Championship showed no signs of fading today as the flamboyant Sicilian won the Grand Prix of Germany for the fifth round of fifteen in the series. It was the Yamaha De Carli representative's fifth consecutive success (sixth stretching back to 2006) and his fourth double moto triumph of the year.   Antonio Cairoli has now won nine MX2 motos from the ten contested this season. His worst result is still the second position he took in the first race of the Spanish Grand Prix. Enjoying ruthless speed on the YZ250F and combined with an excellent physical condition, not to mention a large dose of confidence, the 21 year old is currently unstoppable. The 2005 World Champ and 2006 runner-up gained his third consecutive pole position as the MX2 qualification heats were scraped with the change of timetable and replaced by an MX1 Timed Practice chrono.    "Tony" hole-shotted both motos and lead from the first corners until the last. The first race was processional and only lively in the final three laps when defending number one Christophe Pourcel closed down the gap to the red-plated '222' machine to set up an exciting climax. Cairoli however showed the extent of his control to register his fastest lap of the race in the final minutes to ensure his chequered flag. The second moto presented a clearer run on a rougher track. Cairoli stretched his lead over Pourcel and Tyla Rattray in the first half of the 18 laps and had the trophy in his pocket from that stage. Cairoli, who waved to the crowd on the last circulations, dedicated his win to 'all the mothers' in recognition of mothering Sunday in Germany. The Italian's good mood was further buoyed by enlarging his lead in the MX2 championship by six points over Pourcel. His advantage now stands at a hefty 66, almost three full motos.    Yamaha Ricci Racing's Davide Guarneri came back to form in only his second Grand Prix of the year. The friendly Italian won his first (and only so far) moto at Teutschenthal in 2005. He made two decent jumps from the gate and finished fifth in both races for the same classification in the final table.

Team-mate Kenneth Gundersen took the next highest moto placing behind Cairoli with third position in the first race. The Norwegian did not make any mistakes despite pressure from Tyla Rattray. He suffered a bad start in the second moto however and could only work his way back to fourteenth. Gundersen, who has bittersweet memories of Teutschenthal (he won the 250cc GP here in 2002 but then also crashed hard and sustained the painful knee injury that kept him out of the series for well over a year in 2004) was seventh overall and one place behind Nicolas Aubin who did not get away from the gate well in either sprint and couldn't find a good rhythm in Motoone but collected ninth and sixth after two hard rides. His tussle with Tommy Searle was particularly entertaining from which he managed to emerge victorious.

Yamaha's motocross crew next race will be the home Grand Prix for Yamaha held at the popular Sugo circuit in two weeks time. Yamaha are undefeated on their Japanese territory with MX1 and MX2 victory in the previous two years. The third incarnation of the Grand Prix of Japan represents round six of the World Championship and the only non-European meeting this season. A special preview, with comments from Yamaha's main protagonists, will be issued next week.

Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha De Carli: "I am happy to give this win to all the mothers as it is mother's day and I love mine very much! This was an important victory as I have never finished on the podium here and for the championship it was very positive. The track was a bit more difficult than before, rougher even, and I prefer this because when it is too easy everybody goes so fast. In the first moto I had the holeshot and went hard on the first lap to make a gap over Gundersen. I could see that Christophe was coming fast but I was able to control the race. He came close at the end but I made two strong laps at the end and he couldn't pass me. The second moto was a little easier. The track was more technical. I took a lead of six or seven seconds over Christophe and it was not as stressful. On the last lap I said 'Ciao' to the crowd."

Kenneth Gundersen, Yamaha Team Ricci: "Even with a bit of arm-pump in the first race I could keep third and that was a good result but in the second I made a bad start and couldn't get my rhythm. I was struggling against the bike and the track and couldn't get any speed. To be honest I was riding really badly and that was disappointing because a good overall finish was wasted."

Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Team Ricci: "I love this track and I felt quite good today. I had a problem on the left turns because my ankle is still a bit weak but I had two good starts and my speed was also good. Two fifth positions is a great result because this is only my second race of the year and I hope in the next few GPs I can do even better."   Circuit Length: 1780 Temp: 20 Crowd: 32000 Weather: Showers     2007 GP of Teutschenthal, Germany 13/05/2007 Race 1 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'32.155 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'2.695 3 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 0'46.329 4 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'47.786 5 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 0'52.944 6 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 1'3.364 7 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 1'15.902 8 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'19.038 9 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 1'19.801 10 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'34.835 11 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'36.225 12 Gautier Paulin Honda FRA 1'38.275 13 Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 1'40.741 14 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'41.345 15 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 1'42.596 16 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'43.701 17 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 1'50.893 18 Jason Dougan Suzuki GBR 1'53.369 19 Avis Wyatt KTM RSA 1'54.673 20 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 2'4.369

Race 2 - 18 Laps Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time 1 Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 39'29.074 2 Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'2.511 3 Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 0'43.072 4 Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 0'50.695 5 Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 1'0.381 6 Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 1'6.520 7 Tommy Searle KTM GBR 1'10.604 8 Matti Seistola Honda FIN 1'11.903 9 Avis Wyatt KTM RSA 1'14.497 10 Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 1'15.371 11 Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 1'16.450 12 Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 1'22.141 13 Jeremy Van Horebeek KTM BEL 1'25.861 14 Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 1'28.738 15 Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 1'30.724 16 Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 1'42.208 17 Rui Goncalves KTM POR 1'45.505 18 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'46.453 19 Sean Hamblin Suzuki USA 1'47.569 20 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 2'2.330

Rider Standings 13/05/2007

Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 247 2. Christophe Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 181 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 180 4. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 143 5. Tommy Searle KTM GBR 137 6. Nicolas Aubin Yamaha FRA 121 7. Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 118 8. Gareth Swanepoel Kawasaki RSA 113 9. Matti Seistola Honda FIN 104 10. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 85 11. Anthony Boissière Kawasaki FRA 67 12. Steven Frossard Kawasaki FRA 58 13. Manuel Monni Yamaha ITA 55 14. Erik Eggens Suzuki NED 54 15. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 53 16. Carl Nunn Yamaha GBR 53 17. Dennis Verbruggen Yamaha BEL 47 18. Xavier Boog Yamaha FRA 46 19. Matteo Bonini Yamaha ITA 42 20. Shaun Simpson Kawasaki GBR 42 23. Davide Guarneri Yamaha ITA 40

Manufacturer Standings 13/05/2007

Pos. Manufacturer Points 1. Yamaha 247 2. Kawasaki 209 3. KTM 199 4. Honda 148 5. Suzuki 88