Yamaha wins in MX1 but looses grip on championship at British GP

Yamaha Motocross Team's Josh Coppins made a brave comeback to the FIM Motocross World Championship despite sustaining a two inch break to his left shoulder only four weeks ago but could not prevent his lead in the standings being lost to rival Steve Ramon. Meanwhile MX1 debutant Antonio Cairoli marked a new highlight in a truly wonderful season of success as the MX2 world champ won his first ever outing in the premier class with a 2008 production YZ450F in front of 28,000 spectators.

Coppins was back in action for the first time in two Grand Prix but completed few fast laps and took things easy on Saturday. The New Zealander commented that he was fighting pain in the joint but had medical attention and took to the line on Sunday to attempt to defend the 12 points he held in defiance of Ramon. The many jumps and rough ruts of the track were not ideal for the Kiwi.

The first moto at the new track inside the Donington Park MotoGP complex started perfectly as the 30 year old holeshotted on the YZ450FM. However he was unable to keep pace with the leaders and tried his best to remain as high in the classification as possible but was swamped by a group in the final laps and took fourteenth.

With the gap down from 12 to 4 points for the second race, Coppins tried again to fight his corner but had to pull into the pits after one lap as the former championship runner-up had no strength in his upper limb and could not control the bike properly.

His eighteenth position overall means that he lost the red plate for the first time this year to Ramon and now faces a tough job at Lierop to regain his status. The deserving champion and winner of five Grand Prix this year will need to obtain 14 points or more over Ramon (who is racing with a small fracture in his scaphoid) to claim his first world title.

Marc de Reuver was unable to make an impact on proceedings. The Dutchman retired from the first race and did not feel comfortable on the bike or the track. He did not take to the gate for the second moto.

2007 MX2 World Champion Antonio Cairoli could not have done a better job in the MX1 class to give Coppins support and also assist Yamaha's effort to retain the manufacturer's title. The Italian admitted that riding the production 2008 YZ450F after steering his YZ250F to nine Grand Prix victories this year was 'different' and placed more demands on his muscle groups. but still managed an incredible debut triumph by taking second and first positions in the two motos in his usual flamboyant style. He walked the top step with hardly any preparation to riding the 450 and leaving the factory bikes of Kevin Strijbos and Ken de Dycker behind on his production machine.

The World Championship will now face a tense and exciting conclusion. The final round of fifteen will take place next week in the deep and rough sand of Lierop for the Grand Prix of the Netherlands.