Top six finishes for YMMT pair
By TMX Archives on 7th Apr 08
The opening Grand Prix of the 2008 FIM MX1-GP World Championship has been a busy but positive outing for the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team as David Philippaerts and Josh Coppins took fifth and sixth positions respectively through the deep, dark and technically challenging sand at the Eurocircuit in Valkenswaard today.
After unveiling the new all-black liveries for the YZ450FMs in front of anextravagant fire display on Friday evening for a group of international media,Philippaerts and Coppins encountered cold, rainy conditions and negotiated aflooded and heavily rutted track on Saturday. After working their way throughtwo free practice sessions the Italian was able to set the third fastest timewhile Coppins - using padding in his boot to protect his damaged toes andfeeling somewhat unprepared after spending more than two weeks inactive - wascontent with eighth place in the gate.
Sunshine blessed the Grand Prix ofthe Netherlands, the first round of fifteen in the 2008 campaign, but a coldwind was also present and the terrain provided a very physical test over the two35 minute and 2 lap motos.
In the first race Philippaerts started welland was running as high as second before he survived a big 'moment' that causedhim to drop to fourth behind Coppins who was steadily making consistent laps andproducing an excellent performance in the conditions. The two team-matescirculated together on the works YZ450FMs for several laps until Philippaertstried an audacious manoeuvre to grab third and clipped the side of Coppins inthe process, causing the Kiwi to briefly fall to sixth. Philippaerts' moto wasnot quite finished as he was slowed by a backmarker on the last two laps andSteve Ramon was able to pounce and obtain third.
The eventful first racewas followed by calmer set of laps for Moto2 as Ken de Dycker won once more andCoppins and Philippaerts were again together for a long periods. Towards the endof the duration the 24 year old moved past to take sixth leaving a satisfiedCoppins in seventh.
The overall standing also formulates the earlychampionship table and Philippaerts lies just 5 points from second while Coppinsis 21 points from leader De Dycker.
Utag Yamaha.com's Kenneth Gundersenwas dealt a hard blow on Saturday after an awkward landing on the sand causedthe Norwegian to damage his left knee. The 26 year old flew back to Scandinaviaon Sunday for further examination on a suspected ruptured ligament. An initialx-ray at the track revealed a chipped piece of bone in the joint but it is stillnot clear whether it is the rear or frontal ligament at this stage.
VanBeers Yamaha's Aigar Leok was eleventh overall on the YZ450F with finishes oftwelfth and tenth.
The world championship will head south through Europeto the Bellpuig circuit in Catalunya for the Grand Prix of Spain in two weekstime.
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 5th:
"I have to say that I am happy. For my first GP I had good speed and also anice feeling on the bike. The first moto was not great because I made some smallmistakes and was quite nervous but I was glad to see that I could go at thefront. In one corner I almost crashed and was completely off the side of thebike; that caused me to lose a lot of time. I pushed hard again but had aproblem with my goggles and that was a hassle with the sand. It was because ofthis I hit with Josh. I wanted to go on the outside but I ran out of room. Itwas not something I meant to do and just one of those racing incidents. I wantedthird position but Pyrhonen blocked me and I lost speed, so Ramon passed mestarting the last lap. I was frustrated by this but after I calmed down I wasactually content because my goal had been top five and I had taken fourth. Inthe second heat I started well but lost a lot of positions by getting blocked inthe second corner. I came up behind Josh and it took a lot of energy to passhim. I was being extra careful because I did not want to touch again. When I gotthrough I was physically finished. I am happy with the points I took thisweekend. I am not far from second place and the championship has started quitewell for me."
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 6th:
"I did not feel comfortable coming to this GP. I pride myself on being one ofthe best prepared and hardest working riders out there and the difficult partfor me was arriving to this race knowing that I wasn't ready and hadn't done thework; for me that was unacceptable but I had no choice because of the injury. Ifyou had told me at the team launch if I could have sixth position overall onSunday then I would have taken that result with both hands, especially here inthe sand. You know that if you are sitting looking at the bones sticking out ofyour feet then you have something serious, so to be able to be here and havethose finishes is great.
I was disappointed after the collision with David in the first moto. I didnot have the energy to recover from that. I saw Mackenzie, David and Naglfighting ahead and I thought 'you just get on with it!'. I was riding my ownpace and staying out of trouble. I lost five points there, but anyway, you haveto accept these things. Spain should be easier in two weeks and by the time weget to Portugal I should be near the level I want to be."
Massimo Raspanti, Team Manager:
"For Josh I am really happy, until one week ago we did not know if he wouldrace or not. He could have had third and the collision with David was anunfortunate incident. The second moto was also positive for him and to be honestit is a little bit like a win because he has hardly ridden in the last threeweeks. David was quite nervous in the first moto and seemed to tire when hepassed Josh but it was not a bad GP for him. I think the next few tracks will bebetter for both riders and we will be looking at the top three in Spain."
Kenneth Gundersen, UTag Yamaha.com:
"Obviously I am so disappointed but I have experienced things like thisbefore to know that it is part of racing and you have to accept it. I did noteven crash, I just landed at an angle but I knew straight away that somethingwas wrong. The x-ray shows some damage but I don't know how bad it is yet. If itis only the back ligament then this will not be such a disaster."
2008 GP of Netherlands, Valkenswaard 06/04/2008
Race 1 - 17 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 40'34.767
2 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'7.745
3 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'38.467
4 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'38.772
5 Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 0'55.614
6 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'57.506
7 Kevin Strijbos Kawasaki BEL 0'58.590
8 Marc De Reuver Honda NED 1'22.566
9 Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 1'31.608
10 Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 1'40.716
11 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 1'45.295
12 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'56.711
13 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED -1 Laps
14 Marvin Van Daele Suzuki BEL -1 Laps
15 Mike Brown Honda USA -1 Laps
16 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA -1 Laps
17 Antti Pyrhonen Suzuki FIN -1 Laps
18 Pierre A. Renet Suzuki FRA -1 Laps
19 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER -1 Laps
20 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA -1 Laps
Race 2 - 17 Laps
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 40'21.042
2 Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 0'8.194
3 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'17.689
4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'26.506
5 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'30.358
6 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'57.488
7 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 1'5.791
8 Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 1'16.539
9 Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 1'28.810
10 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'36.497
11 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 1'44.295
12 Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 2'1.241
13 Mike Brown Honda USA 2'24.816
14 Kevin Strijbos Kawasaki BEL -1 Laps
15 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR -1 Laps
16 Lauris Freibergs Yamaha LVA -1 Laps
17 Antti Pyrhonen Suzuki FIN -1 Laps
18 Alessio Chiodi TM ITA -1 Laps
19 Marvin Van Daele Suzuki BEL -1 Laps
20 Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED -1 Laps
Rider Standings 06/04/2008
1. Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 50
2. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 38
3. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 38
4. Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 33
5. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 33
6. Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 29
7. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 29
8. Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 24
9. Kevin Strijbos Kawasaki BEL 21
10. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 20
11. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 20
12. Mike Brown Honda USA 14
13. Marc De Reuver Honda NED 13
14. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 11
15. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 10
16. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 10
17. Bas Verhoeven Kawasaki NED 9
18. Marvin Van Daele Suzuki BEL 9
19. Antti Pyrhonen Suzuki FIN 8
20. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 6
Manufacturer Standings 06/04/2008
1. Suzuki 50
2. KTM 42
3. Honda 35
4. Yamaha 33
5. Kawasaki 29
6. TM 3