MXGP Round 11 Loket
By TMX Archives on 1st Aug 07
Misfortune strikes Coppins at Loket - 24,000 spectators witnessed Yamaha Motocross Team's Josh Coppins experience the ill-fortune that motocross racing can occasionally serve at the eleventh round of fifteen in the FIM MX1 World Championship; the Grand Prix of Czech Republic held at a chilly and showery Loket circuit.
The 30 year old New Zealander failed to pick up points in either race aftersuffering with unpredictable brake trouble. He finished twenty-second in thefirst moto after a stone jammed the rear brake pedal and locked the back endsolid, causing the Kiwi - who was running in third place at the time - to stopand lose almost a lap. In the second outing a similar strike of bad luck causedJosh to loose brake pressure because of a leaking rear brake hose that was aresult of a small collision with another competitor. With no rear braking powerhe crashed at the bottom of the steep downhill. He was forced to retired with apainful shoulder.
The extent of the shoulder injury is not completelyestablished, but luckily an x-ray proved that no bones are broken. Furthermedical examinations will need to give full reassurance that there is no otherdamage. The Yamaha Motocross Team as well as the championship leader are bothconcerned with the next Grand Prix just one week away, but nevertheless expectto race at the Namur Citadelle.
Loket has been a happy hunting ground for Yamaha in the past. The circuit islocated some 140 kilometres west of Prague and short distance outside theidyllic spa town of Karlovy Vary. The venue has held a regular slot on the worldchampionship calendar and was scene to at least two title celebrations forYamaha in the 500cc and MXGP (former incarnation of MX1) during the 2002 and2003 seasons. The course has barely altered over the years with the same steeprises and drops marking the defining features of a fast and natural layout. Themud - littered with small stones - was as slippery as always and made attackingthe corners a calculated risk for the riders. Poor weather conditions with finerain dampened race day.
Marc de Reuver, finally recovered from his injured shoulder sustained in thecrash at Sweden, was able to be competitive in the first moto and took part in amass group battle for the podium positions. The Dutchman was lacking racefitness having not completed a full distance since Bulgaria three Grand Prixago. He dropped three places in the last laps to finish tenth. In the secondsprint he started badly and had to pit and change goggles in the early stages.He could not affect the leaderboard from the latter half of the field andfinished twenty-fourth.
Coppins still has some breathing room at the top of the points table. He nowholds an advantage of 77 over Steve Ramon with 200 left to win. De Reuver hasnot contested three rounds from the eleven run so far and hovers down infourteenth.
The quick, daunting and unique three kilometre course acrossthe Citadelle in Namur will host the Belgian Grand Prix and round twelve on theworld championship next Sunday. The series will draw to a close over the nextfive weeks with trips to Ireland, England and Holland filling the rest of thecalendar after the Flemish race.
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Motocross Team:
"The first race was going OK. I wassitting comfortably in third and looking to move forward to try and win the racebut then a stone jammed in the rear brake and, well, that's part of racing andthere is not much we can do about that. In the second moto I was riding OK,nothing special, and I was trying to do a smart race. Ramon was behind me so Iknew I could recover a few more points. I knew I could not win the GP, so therewas no point in doing something silly. I had a problem off the step-down andcould not stop. I hit the banking pretty hard and now have to try and get theseinjuries sorted for Namur. To sum the day up all I can say is 'that's racing'. Ihave had good luck this season but today we had two problems that were nobody'sfault but just racing incidents. The points lead is still there but now I justwant to make sure my shoulder is OK for Namur."
Marc de Reuver, Yamaha Motocross Team:
"The first twenty minutes of thefirst heat were good and I was four or five seconds from the lead but I gottired later on. I have not done any races since Bulgaria five weeks ago so Iknew I would not have the condition to go all the way. I should have beenseventh but I let three guys past in the last two laps which should not havehappened. I had a bad start in the next moto and was roosted really bad. Thefilm across my goggles had gone so I had to stop and get some more and from thenit was over."
Carlo Rinaldi, Team Manager, Yamaha Motocross Team:
"It was a very badday, especially because we were hoping for good race from both riders and Marcwas fit again and recovered. Marc did OK for the first part of the first motobut is not fit another to finish at that same level and he had to be contentwith tenth. In the second he had a problem with the goggles and without them itwas impossible to race and he lost any chance to get points. Josh was doing welland ready to attack but a stone worked into the space between the rear brakepedal and the engine and he had to stop and lost too much time. In the second hewas also well placed but because of a rear brake hose problem he went straighton down the hill and crashed. He hurt his shoulder and we will have to wait andsee how he recovers for Namur."
2007 GP Loket, Czech Republic 29/07/2007 - Race 1 - 21 Laps
Pos.Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 39'56.279
2David Philippaerts KTM ITA 0'2.216
3 Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 0'4.589
4Julien Bill Honda CHE 0'5.780
5 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'6.730
6Sbastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'13.226
7 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR0'26.465
8 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 0'28.504
9 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL0'34.782
10 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED 0'38.782
11 Clement Desalle SuzukiBEL 0'41.280
12 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 0'44.324
13 Aigar Leok YamahaEST 0'56.782
14 James Noble Honda GBR 0'58.129
15 Mike Brown Honda USA1'7.672
16 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 1'10.125
17 Alessio Chiodi ApriliaITA 1'10.731
18 Loic Leonce Yamaha FRA 1'15.274
19 Cedric MelotteAprilia BEL 1'30.148
20 Michal Kadlecek Honda CZE 1'33.963
Race 2- 21 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Kevin Strijbos SuzukiBEL 39'9.725
2 Sbastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'19.843
3 JonathanBarragan KTM ESP 0'26.363
4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'30.461
5 Tanel LeokKawasaki EST 0'32.006
6 Billy MacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 0'33.669
7 JulienBill Honda CHE 0'36.537
8 Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 1'4.741
9 DavidPhilippaerts KTM ITA 1'9.927
10 Mike Brown Honda USA 1'11.122
11 JamesNoble Honda GBR 1'13.221
12 Manuel Priem TM BEL 1'20.486
13 Alex SalviniYamaha ITA 1'22.450
14 Marvin Van Daele Honda BEL 1'24.881
15 ClementDesalle Suzuki BEL 1'43.252
16 Alessio Chiodi Aprilia ITA 1'45.384
17Cedric Melotte Aprilia BEL 1'53.991
18 Danny Theybers Suzuki BEL 1'56.834
19 Michal Kadlecek Honda CZE 1'58.513
20 Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN -1Laps
24 Marc De Reuver Yamaha NED -1 Laps
27 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST -11Laps
29 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL -15 Laps
Rider Standings29/07/2007
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Points
1. Joshua Coppins YamahaNZL 445
2. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 368
3. Sbastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA322
4. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 312
5. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 300
6. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 292
7. Ken De Dycker Honda BEL 276
8.Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 272
9. Mike Brown Honda USA 272
10. BillyMacKenzie Kawasaki GBR 247
11. James Noble Honda GBR 212
12. ManuelPriem TM BEL 164
13. Kornel Nemeth Suzuki HUN 153
14. Marc De ReuverYamaha NED 147
15. Julien Bill Honda CHE 115
16. Marvin Van Daele HondaBEL 109
17. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 107
18. Gordon Crockard Honda IRL102
19. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 92
20. Pierre A. Renet Honda FRA 91
Manufacturer Standings 29/07/2007
Pos. ManufacturerPoints
1. Yamaha 464
2. Suzuki 435
3. KTM 393
4. Kawasaki 391
5. Honda 365
6. TM 164
7. Aprilia 18