Promising debuts for Coppins and De Reuver in Mantova

The new-look Rinaldi Yamaha Team completed their first competitive outing at the Mantova Starcross International yesterday as Josh Coppins scored second position overall and Marc de Reuver placed seventh in the final MX1 classification.

The Mantova sand was divided by a stellar entry list as the cream of the Grand Prix motocross paddock cranked into life after the winter slumber.The race was the first proper introduction into a ‘new era’ with Coppins and De Reuver for the defending MX1 World Champion Team. Coppins was reasonably pleased with his maiden appearance in blue colours with third, seventh and fifth positions in the three motos. The New Zealander pushed his way back into the top ten in the second race despite running into a fallen Steve Ramon deep into the first corner. ‘Second position overall and I’m pretty happy with that,’ the 29 year old commented. ‘The team and I worked a lot and we made a lot of changes. We talked with our suspension supplier Kayaba and each time we made an adjustment there was an improvement so it was encouraging. My starts were good in all three motos, but Steve Ramon crashed in front of me in the second heat and I had to re-start from last but came through to seventh. For my first race with the Yamaha it was not too bad; there is still a long way to go until Valkenswaard.’

The circuit, north of Bologna, will also host the Italian Grand Prix, the fourth round of the World Championship in May. The next five weeks will involve further testing for team as well as more racing in France and Great Britain before the opening meeting of the FIM series in Holland.

Dutchman Marc de Reuver collected finishes of 20th, fourth and seventh in his return to representing the manufacturer he last rode for in 2002. The soon-to-be 24 year old made his MX1 debut in Italy and although he suffered with arm-pump in the initial foray he felt positive about the experience. ‘I had a lot of problems with arm-pump in the first heat and I just had to feel my way around,’ he said. ‘Things were better in the next race. I started OK and then followed Pichon for a while before passing him around two laps from the end. It wasn’t a bad heat at all, but most of the top guys had crashed so the classification was pretty different. Everyone stayed up for the third heat however and I felt strong riding with Philippaerts and Strijbos. It was a close one as we finished within two seconds of each other. It was the first race so there is only so much you can read from it, but my speed was good and everything is coming along OK.’

‘I am quite happy and I never expect anything special from the opening race because it is always strange and there is pressure on the riders,’ said Racing Manager Carlo Rinaldi. ‘The track condition was difficult in Mantova as it was soft in the sand and then hard in other parts. Our riders struggled on Saturday but we talked and worked and Sunday was much better. It was about breaking the ice in terms of the racing and both riders proved to be OK. To be honest I would prefer that they are not 100% fit at this early stage in the season because there is a long year ahead. We will keep working now and I’m positive about the direction in which we are going.’

De Carli Yamaha rider and one of the factory’s main hopes for the 2007 MX2 World Championship on the YZ 250F, Antonio Cairoli, took a decent second position behind countryman David Philippaerts in the opening race and then was third in the second moto.

Just when the 2005 World Champ – who only recently recovered from an injured shoulder - was looking at a possible overall success he went down in the first corner of moto three and finished outside of the top ten. A further four points meant third spot in the MX2 class.

‘Obviously I am a bit disappointed for my bad luck in the final moto,’ he said. ‘I could have obtained a big result and the large crowd, that cheered me on so much, would have deserved it. However I am satisfied because this was the first real comparison with our World Championship rivals and although we had a delay in our preparation because of my shoulder things went well. I want to thank the team because the bike is working well’

The next major meeting for Rinaldi Yamaha will be the International at the Valance circuit in France on February 25th. The Italian squad have won twice in the last four years at the venue close to Lyon.

MX1 overall result 1 NAGL Maximilian GER, KTM 2 COPPINS Joshua NZL,Yamaha 3 BARRAGAN Jonathan SPA, KTM 4 PHILIPPAERTS David ITA, KTM 5 STRIJBOS Kevin BEL, Suzuki 6 PICHON Mickael FRA, KTM 7 DE REUVER Marc NED, Yamaha 8 BILL Julien SWI, Kawasaki 9 LEOK Tanel EST, Kawasaki 10 RAMON Steve BEL, Suzuki

MX2 overall result 1 RATTRAY Tyla RSA, KTM 2 SEARLE Tommy GBR, KTM 3 CAIROLI Antonio ITA, Yamaha 4 MONNI Manuel ITA, Yamaha 5 TARROUX Jeremy FRA, Kawasaki 6 SWANEPOEL Gareth RSA, Kawasaki 7 MARTINI Gianluca ITA, KTM 8 PELLEGRINI Angelo ITA, KTM 9 DE BORTOLI Michele ITA, KTM 10 SIMPSON Shaun IRL, Kawasaki 16 GUNDERSEN Kenneth NOR, Yamaha