Yamaha's emphatic presence in the MX1 and MX2 World Championship continues as Yamaha Motocross Team's Josh Coppins won his third Grand Prix of the year and Yamaha De Carli's Antonio Cairoli maintained a 100% record with his fourth consecutive success at a sunny and warm Mantova circuit for the Italian round and the fourth meeting of fifteen in the FIM competition. The Mantova layout had been altered slightly from the course that opened the off-road racing calendar in February. The track, with its rough, sandy terrain and many jumps, won praise from most of the riders for the challenge it offered. The facility is unique in the way it is compacted in a squared 'stadium' setting, allowing wide views of most of the circuit.
The first MX1 moto was a collection of incidents. Marc De Reuver started brightly and held fourth position behind Coppins in the early stages. On a surge of confidence the Dutchman took off to challenge David Philippaerts for the lead but the pair collided in a tight left-hander and both went down. Ken de Dycker moved through to head a four rider group but Coppins attacked right away and the duo swapped positions for several laps until De Dycker faded. For the last third of the race Coppins was not overtaken, although Tanel Leok kept him close company; the 30 year old rode comfortably to his fifth triumph from seven motos. De Reuver re-started outside of the top ten and eventually took the chequered flag in a humble twenty-third and out of the points.
Coppins again faced the threat of De Dycker in the second sprint. The former team-mates tangled before the New Zealander backed off to observe his rival. After four laps he was able to regain ground on the Belgian and swiftly relegated the 22 year old to second spot. The Rinaldi squad were naturally thrilled with victory at their home Grand Prix and Coppins cited the triumph as the best of his career after battling some set-up problems on Saturday. Further good news lay in store when De Reuver (sporting a close-cut hairstyle instead of his traditional lengthy locks) crossed the line in third spot for his second top three MX1 moto finish with Yamaha.
Tanel Leok in second place and Sebastien Pourcel in third both made their first appearances on the podium, Coppins was able to extend his lead in the MX1 series by 17 points over Kevin Strijbos (who was fourth overall) and now enjoys a 36 point advantage. De Reuver's efforts leave him tenth.
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Motocross Team:"I'm pretty happy. It is no secret that I don't like this track and it looked obvious yesterday but we worked hard with the team, and Yamaha were really smart and made some good decisions for me. We really improved the bike over the two days. I knew my race pace was good but I could not go that little bit extra for a flying lap. Today I had to be a little bit clever and head-strong and fight to the end. The first moto was crazy because a lot of guys were trying to win the race in the first ten minutes. I let them do their own thing. I almost got caught up with Marc when he fell and that was a near miss. I started to ride better after that and gave my best. I had a pretty good idea that I could pass Ken again in the second moto. He had a couple of better lines so I let him go but I wondered how much energy he had left and when he started to slow I was confident I could lead again. I think this is the best win ever for me simply because I have never done well at this track and today went much better than I expected."
Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team:"I felt really good from the first practice and I really thought this was going to be my weekend. I got the first corners right in the first moto and moved into fifth. I found it really easy to overtake from there and got up to second place. I then got a bit over-excited when I wanted to pass Philippaerts. It was not totally my fault. It was just a racing accident. It took a while before we got untangled and I was at the back and really disappointed. In the second race my start was good and I wanted to follow Josh because it is easy to blow yourself up on this track if you go crazy. We both moved past Mike Brown, but Ken de Dycker came through. At the end he tired and I thought I might be able to get him but I made some mistakes and decided to have a safe finish. Third is not so bad and lifts my results and points in the right direction again."
Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team:"It has been a very good home GP and I am very happy mainly because the weekend did not start in the best way. Josh did not feel very comfortable on this track and we struggled on Saturday to get him running well with the bike, so we were not expecting such a good race. Josh showed one of his very positive characteristics though and reacted strongly. With good starts he had the patience to wait for the right moment to attack and won both motos. About Marc, I am pleased because physically he is getting better and speed-wise he is there, but I was disappointed when he crashed in the first moto and threw away a big chance for the race win. He proved that he was ready to win, but maybe he wasn't patient enough and that's a pity. He made up for it with a consistent race in the second moto and third place was very good for him because he needs the points."
Temp: 26
Crowd: 29000
Weather: Sunny
Race 1 - 19 Laps - GP of Mantova, Italy 06/05/2007:1. Joshua Coppins - Yamaha - NZL 40'20.318
2. Tanel Leok - Kawasaki - EST 0'10.494
3. Kevin Strijbos - Suzuki - BEL 0'16.085
4. Sébastien Pourcel - Kawasaki - FRA 0'29.880
5. James Noble - Honda - GBR 0'34.911
6. Billy MacKenzie - Kawasaki - GBR 0'38.195
7. Steve Ramon - Suzuki - BEL 0'42.294
8. Gordon Crockard - Honda - IRL 0'46.664
9. David Philippaerts - KTM - ITA 0'49.336
10. Kornel Nemeth - Suzuki - HUN 0'55.145
11. Clement Desalle - Suzuki - BEL 1'10.513
12. Manuel Priem - TM - BEL 1'15.256
13. Aigar Leok - Yamaha - EST 1'28.505
14. Mike Brown - Honda - USA 1'31.926
15. Julien Bill - Kawasaki - CHE 1'32.921
16. Alex Salvini - Yamaha - ITA 1'34.455
17. Christian Beggi - Honda - ITA 1'43.475
18. Antti Pyrhonen - Kawasaki - FIN 1'48.314
19. Marko Kovalainen - Honda - FIN 1'52.786
20. Christian Stevanini - -Yamaha - ITA 1'56.134
Race 2 - 19 Laps:1. Joshua Coppins - Yamaha - NZL 40'56.507
2. Ken De Dycker - Honda - BEL 0'5.757
3. Marc De Reuver - Yamaha - NED 0'10.669
4. Sébastien Pourcel - Kawasaki -FRA 0'13.407
5. Steve Ramon - Suzuki - BEL 0'15.793
6. Tanel Leok - Kawasaki - EST 0'19.242
7. James Noble - Honda - GBR 0'28.599
8. Kevin Strijbos - Suzuki - BEL 0'39.096
9. Mike Brown - Honda - USA 0'49.588
10. Jonathan Barragan - KTM - ESP 0'59.306
11. Marvin Van Daele - Honda - BEL 1'3.127
12. Gordon Crockard -Honda - IRL 1'6.985
13. Aigar Leok - Yamaha - EST 1'21.234
14. Pierre A. Renet - Honda - FRA 1'25.998
15. Antti Pyrhonen - Kawasaki - FIN 1'43.079
16. Marko Kovalainen - Honda - FIN 1'45.801
17. Thomas Allier - Kawasaki - FRA 1'57.507
18. Christian Beggi - Honda - ITA 2'28.389
19. Julien Bill - Kawasaki - CHE -1 Laps
20. Scott Columb - Suzuki - NZL -1 Laps
Rider Standings:1. Joshua Coppins - Yamaha - NZL 194
2. Kevin Strijbos - Suzuki - BEL 158
3. Steve Ramon - Suzuki - BEL 116
4. Ken De Dycker - Honda - BEL 106
5. Sébastien Pourcel - Kawasaki - FRA 103
6. Jonathan Barragan - KTM - ESP 100
7. Tanel Leok - Kawasaki - EST 98
8. James Noble - Honda - GBR 91
9. Mike Brown - Honda - USA 81
10. Marc De Reuver - Yamaha - NED 80
11. David Philippaerts - KTM - ITA 74
12. Manuel Priem - TM - BEL 70
13. Maximilian Nagl - KTM - GER 63
14. Kornel Nemeth - Suzuki - HUN 62
15. Billy MacKenzie - Kawasaki - GBR 61
16. Aigar Leok - Yamaha - EST 45
17. Marvin Van Daele - Honda - BEL 45
18. Thomas Allier - Kawasaki - FRA 35
19. Gordon Crockard - Honda - IRL 32
20. Clement Desalle - Suzuki - BEL 27
Manufacturer Standings:1. Yamaha 194
2. Suzuki 165
3. KTM 140
4. Honda 129
5. Kawasaki 127
6. TM 70
7. Aprilia 2
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