De Reuver back on the pace at home GP in Lierop
By TMX Archives on 2nd Sep 07
Yamaha Motocross Team were able to celebrate a decent consolation at the end of a difficult season when Marc de Reuver finished the fifteenth and final round of the FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship with second position in the sand of Lierop at his home Grand Prix of the Netherlands.
The 24 year old has struggled with injury and poor luck during his firstcampaign in MX1 but he used local advantage and his excellent capabilitiesthrough the rough and tiring sand to finish third and first in two entertainingand action-packed motos. The highlight was certainly the second sprint in whichhe fought race-long with Kevin Strijbos and Steve Ramon and eventually passedoverall victor Strijbos on the last lap to the delight of the 36,000 gatheredcrowd.
De Reuver's positive 'curtain-closer' was a pleasing way to end 2007 for theRinaldi camp. The former MX2 GP winner completed the year with fourteenthposition overall.
Sadly the forced absence of Josh Coppins meant that the Yamaha Motocross Teamlost the MX1 title for the first time since the inception of the class in 2004.Coppins' broken left shoulder from a crash at Loket in the Czech Republic nearlyfive weeks ago was simply not strong enough to cope with the technical demandsand energy-sapping nature of the Dutch sand. He trailed Ramon by fourteenpoints going into the meeting but finally had to concede, having won five GrandPrix, nine motos, taking nine podiums and led almost double the amount of lapscompared to any other rider. The 30 year old New Zealander had fronted theseries from the first moto in April until the British Grand Prix last week.Although he bravely rode to fourteenth place at Donington Park the shoulder hadnot healed sufficiently for Lierop.
Missing three Grand Prix from the last four Coppins ended his first season onthe YZ450FM in third and arguably deserved a lot more.
Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team:
"In the first heat Iwanted to go to the front desperately but I got a bit of arm-pump. I relaxed myspeed but then found a better rhythm after about twenty minutes and got back tothird. I was happy with that and thought it would be a result to build on. I wasfifth at the start of the second moto and I did not want to lose thefront-runners. I pushed really hard when I got into the lead to see if I couldbreak away but Steve stayed within five seconds all the time. I decided to lethim pass and Kevin was close so he went through too! Steve made some mistakesand then it was just Kevin and I. I knew I was quicker along the whoops sectionso I overtook there and went flat out for that last lap. People went nuts on thetrack and I have never seen Dutch fans so wild so that made me happy. In thesand I can always do a bit more and I am known as a good sand rider but both myGP wins were on hard-pack."
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Motocross Team:
"I am obviously verydisappointed but there is not much I can do about the situation and now it istime to move on. I want to thank the team, my mechanic Fabio and those allaround me who have lent their support and sent kind messages. I hope to knownext week if I will be able to race at the Nations or not, at least now I canget total rest and let the injury heal."
Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team:
"In the sandwe knew that Marc would be one of, if not the, fastest rider. Our big questionmark was if he could last both motos because lately the motivation has beenlacking to train. Anyway he could manage with great technique to make two verygood races and at least we have this good consolation to finish the year."
2007 GP of Lierop, Netherlands 02/09/2007
Race 1 - 17 Laps
Pos.Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 40'12.396
2Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'11.238
3 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 0'19.430
4Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'39.931
5 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'52.146
6 Manuel Priem TM BEL 0'58.104
7 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 1'6.551
8David Philippaerts KTM ITA 1'14.334
9 Sbastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA1'16.102
10 James Noble Honda GBR 1'20.447
11 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL1'27.959
12 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 2'1.069
13 Lauris Freibergs Yamaha LVA2'3.478
14 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 2'6.061
15 Mike Brown Honda USA2'8.744
16 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 2'10.626
17 Clement Desalle SuzukiBEL 2'12.368
18 Cedric Melotte Aprilia BEL 2'16.361
19 Mark JonesKawasaki GBR -1 Laps
20 Alessio Chiodi Aprilia ITA -1 Laps
Race 2- 17 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Marc De Reuver YamahaNED 41'27.025
2 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 0'5.705
3 Steve Ramon SuzukiBEL 0'49.502
4 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 1'2.256
5 Billy MacKenzieKawasaki GBR 1'5.169
6 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'27.380
7 Tanel LeokKawasaki EST 1'28.693
8 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'29.439
9 MaximilianNagl KTM GER 2'6.241
10 Mike Brown Honda USA 2'12.382
11 Aigar LeokYamaha EST 2'33.824
12 Cedric Melotte Aprilia BEL -1 Laps
13 James NobleHonda GBR -1 Laps
14 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1 Laps
15 LaurisFreibergs Yamaha LVA -1 Laps
16 Alex Salvini Yamaha ITA -1 Laps
17 DannyTheybers Suzuki BEL -1 Laps
18 Mark Jones Kawasaki GBR -1 Laps
19 DennisSchroter Suzuki GER -2 Laps
20 Alessio Chiodi Aprilia ITA -2 Laps
Rider Standings 02/09/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 508
2. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 475
3. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 452
4. Sbastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 439
5. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 421
6. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 419
7.Mike Brown Honda USA 361
8. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 355
9. BillyMacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 351
10. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 347
11. JamesNoble Honda GBR 270
12. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 215
13. Manuel Priem TMBEL 204
14. Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 201
15. Julien Bill Honda CHE 199
16. Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 187
17. Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 157
18. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 133
19. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 119
20.Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 112
24. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 47
49.Kenneth Gundersen Yamaha NOR 2
Manufacturer Standings 02/09/2007
Pos. Manufacturer Points
1. Suzuki 618
2. Yamaha 587
3.Kawasaki 557
4. KTM 540
5. Honda 539
6. TM 204
7. Aprilia 50
8. WRM 15