It was go, go, go in Japan
By TMX Archives on 1st Jun 07
AnTONI Cairoli inked a three year deal with Yamaha Europe in Japan at the weekend, but the Sicilian will remain with the De Carli team for at least one and probably the first two years.
He will again race MX2 next year, but the team will start to prepare MX1 machinery for a switch of classes in 2009. Cairoli admitted privately that he expects to go to America in 2010 to race both outdoors and supercross.
nJOSH Coppins announced on Friday that he may quit the GP scene at the end of his current contract after the 2008 season.
''This is my 14th year in Europe, and I need to start looking at life after motocross. My contract with Yamaha runs to the end of 2008, and perhaps I will then return home to New Zealand and race in Australia. I could do that at the same time as I set myself up in New Zealand, and the money is good in Australia. It's still possible that I could hang another year of GPs on, but if I do then it will be with Yamaha, no-one else.''
nTHE MSMA met at the weekend and rejected unanimously the AMA/ FIM proposal to reduce the MX1 class to 350cc.
Plan inistigator Steve Whitlock had already been told by the US outlets of all major factories that they would boycott the AMA SX series if any attempt was made to reduce the capacity limit or turn it into another MX2 class.
A top Japanese engineer, Yamaha's MX1 project leader Todd Taisuke, reckoned last week that a 350cc machine would produce the same horse power as a 450-within six months-and that a 350 would have snappy power like a 250. It actually sounds more difficult to ride than the current 450cc models.
And, as all leading european team managers have pointed out during the last month, racing in the MX1 GPs has never been better with ten podium candidates and a full complement of riders capable of genuinely racing the 450.
For full story and pictures see T+MX NEWS, Friday, June 1, 2007.