Yamaha Motocross Team's Joshua Coppins closed the second third of the 2007 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship with runner-up position at a sun-soaked Monte Coralli circuit for the Grand Prix Citta di Faenza.
The 30 year old New Zealander guided his works YZ450FM to a pair of second places in front of 29,000 spectators and under the heavy weight of near-40 degree temperatures to return to the podium at the second home event of the season for his Rinaldi team.
Monte Coralli had been the subject of a dedicated facelift from the club in order to host their first premier class Grand Prix since the 1990s and the first event since the creation of the MX1 and MX2 categories in 2004. The track was dwarfed by a long and fast uphill drag from the start gate that was only interrupted by a narrow kink that made the section a perilous prospect. The course was typically Italian with rock-hard and sometimes dusty terrain constituting the fast and twisty layout.
Coppins, who was fighting fit again after feeling weak in Sweden two weeks ago after suffering with flu, started slowly in the first moto but paced himself excellently. The New Zealander pulled through to second position from the lower half of the top ten and passed former team-mate Ken de Dycker on the last lap to take the runner-up slot behind runaway victor Sebastien Pourcel. It was one of the best performances of the day.
In the second race the championship leader started better and gave chase to Pourcel. For most of the moto Coppins was alone and although he tried to close down the gap, the Frenchman was elusive. With title rival Ramon struggling down in eighth position Coppins not only participated in his ninth podium ceremony of the season but extended his advantage by 18 points over the Belgian, Ireland and the UK to complete the month of August. The final GP of the year will occur in Holland on the first weekend of September.
Marc de Reuver was unable to compete after complications from the left shoulder he hurt in the heavy practice crash at the Grand Prix of Sweden two weeks ago. The Dutchman had medical checks prior to travelling to Italy that revealed no damage to the joint but lacked strength in his arm during the first free practice session at Faenza and was in no condition to lap at speed or consider the race.
Coppins fronts the world championship by 107 points and with just five rounds and 250 points remaining. De Reuver is still fourteenth.
The eleventh round will start an intense run of four meetings in five weeks as the World Championship hurries towards it climax. The Grand Prix of Czech Republic is next on July 29th and is followed by visits to Belgium, Ireland and the UK to complete the month of August. The final GP of the year will occur in Holland on the first weekend of September.
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Motocross Team:"Every race I try to win and, like the team, I always do my best but if I cannot take the victory then I want to be on the podium and that's what I did this weekend. I didn't focus at the start of the first race and tried to do something different with my approach which was a mistake. It did not work and made it a hard race for me. I had to be patient and could not attack too hard as there was nowhere to pass, but I soon found some spots and I really pushed to get to the front. The second moto was more like normal but I had to pace myself a little bit. My worst race was Sweden two weeks ago and I lost eight points there but I recouped those and more today. For me it is all about the big picture. I still have some goals left this year and I want to win more but of course the championship is getting nearer."
Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team:"The crash from Sweden was really hard and it was not about the pain this weekend because I can handle that but on the downhills the muscle on the back of my shoulder had no power and I could not control the bike. We have made scans and everything but there was no problem. I have a plate in my neck and there is nothing wrong with that so I am a little bit lost as to where the trouble might be."
Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team:"Marc could not ride because of too much pain with his left shoulder but Josh shone today. He had a fantastic ride in the first moto after a bad start and he came back very strong to second position. He was in the first three for the second moto and tried for some laps to catch Pourcel but was not close enough for a final attack. Second overall was very good though especially because the nearest guys to us in the championship had a bad day."
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