Top six finishes for YMMT pair

The opening Grand Prix of the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship has been a busy but positive outing for the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team as David Philippaerts and Josh Coppins took fifth and sixth positions respectively through the deep, dark and technically challenging sand at the Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard today. After unveiling the new all-black liveries for the YZ450FMs in front of an extravagant fire display on Friday evening for a group of international media, (a gallery of images can be seen on www.yamaha-racing.com) Philippaerts and Coppins encountered cold, rainy conditions and negotiated a flooded and heavily rutted track on Saturday. After working their way through two free practice sessions the Italian was able to set the third fastest time while Coppins - using padding in his boot to protect his damaged toes and feeling somewhat unprepared after spending more than two weeks inactive - was content with eighth place in the gate. Sunshine blessed the Grand Prix of the Netherlands, the first round of fifteen in the 2008 campaign, but a cold wind was also present and the terrain provided a very physical test over the two 35 minute and 2 lap motos. In the first race Philippaerts started well and was running as high as second before he survived a big 'moment' that caused him to drop to fourth behind Coppins who was steadily making consistent laps and producing an excellent performance in the conditions. The two team-mates circulated together on the works YZ450FMs for several laps until Philippaerts tried an audacious manoeuvre to grab third and clipped the side of Coppins in the process, causing the Kiwi to briefly fall to sixth. Philippaerts' moto was not quite finished as he was slowed by a backmarker on the last two laps and Steve Ramon was able to pounce and obtain third. The eventful first race was followed by calmer set of laps for Moto2 as Ken de Dycker won once more and Coppins and Philippaerts were again together for a long periods. Towards the end of the duration the 24 year old moved past to take sixth leaving a satisfied Coppins in seventh. The overall standing also formulates the early championship table and Philippaerts lies just 5 points from second while Coppins is 21 points from leader De Dycker. Utag Yamaha.com's Kenneth Gundersen was dealt a hard blow on Saturday after an awkward landing on the sand caused the Norwegian to damage his left knee.The 26 year old flew back to Scandinavia on Sunday for further examination on a suspected ruptured ligament. An initial x-ray at the track revealed a chipped piece of bone in the joint but it is still not clear whether it is the rear or frontal ligament at this stage. Van Beers Yamaha's Aigar Leok was eleventh overall on the YZ450F with finishes of twelfth and tenth. The world championship will head south through Europe to the Bellpuig circuit in Catalunya for the Grand Prix of Spain in two weeks time. David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 5th: "I have to say that I am happy. For my first GP I had good speed and also a nice feeling on the bike. The first moto was not great because I made some small mistakes and was quite nervous but I was glad to see that I could go at the front. In one corner I almost crashed and was completely off the side of the bike; that caused me to lose a lot of time. I pushed hard again but had a problem with my goggles and that was a hassle with the sand. It was because of this I hit with Josh. I wanted to go on the outside but I ran out of room. It was not something I meant to do and just one of those racing incidents. I wanted third position but Pyrhonen blocked me and I lost speed, so Ramon passed me starting the last lap. I was frustrated by this but after I calmed down I was actually content because my goal had been top five and I had taken fourth. In the second heat I started well but lost a lot of positions by getting blocked in the second corner. I came up behind Josh and it took a lot of energy to pass him. I was being extra careful because I did not want to touch again. When I got through I was physically finished. I am happy with the points I took this weekend. I am not far from second place and the championship has started quite well for me." Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 6th: "I did not feel comfortable coming to this GP. I pride myself on being one of the best prepared and hardest working riders out there and the difficult part for me was arriving to this race knowing that I wasn't ready and hadn't done the work; for me that was unacceptable but I had no choice because of the injury. If you had told me at the team launch if I could have sixth position overall on Sunday then I would have taken that result with both hands, especially here in the sand. You know that if you are sitting looking at the bones sticking out of your feet then you have something serious, so to be able to be here and have those finishes is great. I was disappointed after the collision with David in the first moto. I did not have the energy to recover from that. I saw Mackenzie, David and Nagl fighting ahead and I thought 'you just get on with it!'. I was riding my own pace and staying out of trouble. I lost five points there, but anyway, you have to accept these things. Spain should be easier in two weeks and by the time we get to Portugal I should be near the level I want to be." Massimo Raspanti, Team Manager: "For Josh I am really happy, until one week ago we did not know if he would race or not. He could have had third and the collision with David was an unfortunate incident. The second moto was also positive for him and to be honest it is a little bit like a win because he has hardly ridden in the last three weeks. David was quite nervous in the first moto and seemed to tire when he passed Josh but it was not a bad GP for him. I think the next few tracks will be better for both riders and we will be looking at the top three in Spain." Kenneth Gundersen, UTag Yamaha.com: "Obviously I am so disappointed but I have experienced things like this before to know that it is part of racing and you have to accept it. I did not even crash, I just landed at an angle but I knew straight away that something was wrong. The x-ray shows some damage but I don't know how bad it is yet. If it is only the back ligament then this will not be such a disaster." Race 1 - 17 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 40'34.767 2, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'7.745 3, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'38.467 4, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'38.772 5, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'55.614 6, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0'57.506 7, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 0'58.590 8, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 1'22.566 9, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'31.608 10, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 1'40.716 11, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 1'45.295 12, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'56.711 13, Bas Verhoeven, Kawasaki, NED, -1 Laps 14, Marvin Van Daele, Suzuki, BEL, -1 Laps 15, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, -1 Laps 16, Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, -1 Laps 17, Antti Pyrhonen, Suzuki, FIN, -1 Laps 18, Pierre A. Renet, Suzuki, FRA, -1 Laps 19, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, -1 Laps 20, Alex Salvini, Suzuki, ITA, -1 Laps Race 2 - 17 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 40'21.042 2, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 0'8.194 3, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0'17.689 4, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0'26.506 5, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 0'30.358 6, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 0'57.488 7, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 1'5.791 8, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 1'16.539 9, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 1'28.810 10, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1'36.497 11, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 1'44.295 12, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 2'1.241 13, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 2'24.816 14, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, -1 Laps 15, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, -1 Laps 16, Lauris Freibergs, Yamaha, LVA, -1 Laps 17, Antti Pyrhonen, Suzuki, FIN, -1 Laps 18, Alessio Chiodi, TM, ITA, -1 Laps 19, Marvin Van Daele, Suzuki, BEL, -1 Laps 20, Bas Verhoeven, Kawasaki, NED, -1 Laps Rider Standings 06/04/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Ken De Dycker, Suzuki, BEL, 50 2, Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 38 3, Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 38 4, Billy MacKenzie, Honda, GBR, 33 5, David Philippaerts, Yamaha, ITA, 33 6, Manuel Priem, Kawasaki, BEL, 29 7, Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 29 8, Kornel Nemeth, KTM, HUN, 24 9, Kevin Strijbos, Kawasaki, BEL, 21 10, Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 20 11, Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 20 12, Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 14 13, Marc De Reuver, Honda, NED, 13 14, Marcus Schiffer, KTM, GER, 11 15, Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 10 16, Clement Desalle, Suzuki, BEL, 10 17, Bas Verhoeven, Kawasaki, NED, 9 18, Marvin Van Daele, Suzuki, BEL, 9 19, Antti Pyrhonen, Suzuki, FIN, 8 20, Tom Church, Kawasaki, GBR, 6 Manufacturer Standings 06/04/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, Suzuki, 50 2, KTM, 42 3, Honda, 35 4, Yamaha, 33 5, Kawasaki, 29 6, TM, 3 ---------- RACE REPORT - 06/04/2008 Cairoli launches title defence with runner-up position Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli, the defending MX2-GP World Champion, took the second step of the podium at the Grand Prix of the Netherlands on his YZ250F at a sunny but cold and breezy Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard, a short distance from Eindhoven. Watched by 26,000 spectators Cairoli duelled with title rivals Tommy Searle and eventual winner today Tyla Rattray in both motos after going to the gate in third position. The dark Dutch sand was considerably rough and penalised small mistakes. It provided a harsh physical and mental test for many riders both excited and nervous at the first round of fifteen on the six month calendar. Cairoli had to be content with two second positions today as Rattray proved to be a worthy opponent. The lead changed frequently in the early stages and the first half of the opening moto was particularly riveting as six riders tussled for control. The Sicilian was encouraged by a strong late charge in the second race as he hunted the rear wheel of Rattray on the last two laps; with just one more circulation he might have seized the lead and the GP win. Yamaha Ricci Racing's Nicolas Aubin was one of the protagonists but the Frenchman crashed in the first race when he lost control of the front-end descending one of the heavily rutted hills. He was edged off-line by Searle and fell again in the second race but results of ninth and sixth helped him to seventh overall and the second highest Yamaha representative. Team-mate Davide Guarneri had a tough time through the rutted sand and a first lap crash meant he could do no better than fifteenth in Moto1. He improved this to eleventh in the second sprint and was content to leave Holland with points as he has faced injury problems for the last two seasons. UTag Yamaha.com were unlucky on Saturday. Both Martin Barr and Carlos Campano crashed in their heat races and were not able to make the qualification cut negotiating a wetter and boggier terrain. The 2008 Grand Prix of the Netherlands was a small landmark for new Yamaha Van Beers racer Evgeny Bobryshev as the Russian scored his very first world championship point with a hard-fought twentieth place in Moto2. The next round on the 2008 schedule will take place at Bellpuig for the Grand Prix of Spain in two weeks time. Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 2nd: "I am happy with this result because we have been making a lot of tests and effort towards MX1 during the pre-season. I still need a bit more time on my 250, particularly in the sand. At the beginning of the first moto I was not so sharp and Tyla got away. He is really fast on this kind of track I just tried to be as fast as I could without making mistakes. Overall I am feeling good with the bike though and I know much better is to come, especially because I like the next few tracks in Spain, Portugal, Bulgaria and Mantova." Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 7th: "I did not race at my real level today. The bike is good and I am very happy with the engine because I took two very good starts but I could not find a good feeling on the sand. I took some good points for the championship. Tommy went past me and I did not close the gas, I touched his rear wheel and went down but it was one of those things. I like Bellpuig and I am hoping for the podium there." Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Ricci Racing, 11th: "It is not a great day but I really do not like the sand so it is not a disaster. There were so many ruts out there and I found it hard to go quickly. I tried to get good starts but my gate position was not great I took some points in the first moto after the crash. I fell again in the second race but could recover for more points. I know that on more 'normal' tracks I can do much better." Race 1 - 17 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 40'59.119 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'15.146 3, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 0'35.267 4, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 0'39.399 5, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 0'42.142 6, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 0'47.601 7, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 1'0.720 8, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'1.488 9, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'12.157 10, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 1'25.585 11, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 1'51.275 12, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 1'56.631 13, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 1'58.303 14, Rinus Van de Ven, KTM, NED, 2'1.988 15, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 2'8.903 16, Pascal Leuret, Suzuki, FRA, 2'18.796 17, Joaquim Rodrigues, KTM, POR, 2'26.404 18, Wyatt Avis, Honda, RSA, -1 Laps 19, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 20, Rob van Vijfeijken, Yamaha, NED, -1 Laps Race 2 - 17 Laps Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Total Time 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 39'49.877 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 0'1.246 3, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 1'8.488 4, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 1'9.622 5, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 1'25.853 6, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 1'26.419 7, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 1'48.366 8, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 1'55.118 9, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 2'20.438 10, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 11, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 12, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, -1 Laps 13, Mike Kras, Suzuki, NED, -1 Laps 14, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, -1 Laps 15, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, -1 Laps 16, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, -1 Laps 17, Rob van Vijfeijken, Yamaha, NED, -1 Laps 18, Rinus Van de Ven, KTM, NED, -1 Laps 19, Marcus Norlen, Suzuki, SWE, -1 Laps 20, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, -1 Laps Rider Standings 06/04/2008 Pos., Rider, Manu., Nat., Points 1, Tyla Rattray, KTM, RSA, 50 2, Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha, ITA, 44 3, Erik Eggens, Suzuki, NED, 38 4, Tommy Searle, KTM, GBR, 36 5, Rui Goncalves, KTM, POR, 33 6, Shaun Simpson, KTM, GBR, 28 7, Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha, FRA, 27 8, Xavier Boog, Suzuki, FRA, 26 9, Joel Roelants, KTM, BEL, 22 10, Jeremy Van Horebeek, KTM, BEL, 21 11, Davide Guarneri, Yamaha, ITA, 16 12, Stephen Sword, Kawasaki, GBR, 14 13, Gert Krestinov, KTM, EST, 13 14, Manuel Monni, Yamaha, ITA, 11 15, Jeremy Tarroux, KTM, FRA, 10 16, Rinus Van de Ven, KTM, NED, 10 17, Anthony Boissiere, KTM, FRA, 9 18, Mike Kras, Suzuki, NED, 8 19, Gautier Paulin, Kawasaki, FRA, 6 20, Pascal Leuret, Suzuki, FRA, 5 25, Evgeny Bobryshev, Yamaha, RUS, 1 Manufacturer Standings 06/04/2008 Pos., Manufacturer, Points 1, KTM, 50 2, Yamaha, 44 3, Suzuki, 38 4, Kawasaki, 14 5, Honda, 3