Can Coppins And Cairoli Win Again In Germany?

FUNCHAL, 8 May 2007- Last weekend’s Grand Prix of Italy was a great Motocross show for the fans, who surely look forward to more action this weekend.
They will not be disappointed, as this weekend Teutschenthal will play host to the fifth round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, the Grand Prix of Germany.
Many rivals want to beat MX1 series leader Joshua Coppins on the Talkessel, but only runner up Kevin Strijbos made it so far. We will see if also German young gun Max Nagl will be fit enough to attack, because his collarbone was still broken in Mantova.
In MX2, Antonio Cairoli is so far an unbeatable rider, and no one could stop his winning strike of four GP’s. Christophe Pourcel needs to get back to shape soon if he wants to fight for the Title; he saw the podium just once, whereas Tyla Rattray looked much more solid, and is eager to win his first GP of 2007.

MX1
Josh Coppins’ experience and consistency are making him the most effective rider on the track; the Yamaha Motocross’ Kiwi performs well on any ground, and knows how to make the bike work in the two GP moto’s. 
But 21 year old Kevin Strijbos of the Suzuki team has the speed to challenge Coppins for the victory, and even beat him once, in Portugal.
Mantova did not go so well for the Belgian, but it was better for his team mate Steve Ramon, who made to climb up the points standings, where he currently lies in third place.
Kawasaki Europe’s Tanel Leok will head to Teutschenthal after his first podium of 2007, the result of a brilliant GP in Italy; the Estonian wants to make up for a slow start to the year: it will be nice for him to get another podium before the week break anticipating the Japanese Grand Prix.
There is another Kawasaki rider who is coming out of the pack, and it is GPKR’s Sebastien Pourcel. Seb finished in the top five for two events in a row, then made it to a well deserved podium last week in Italy.
The Frenchman is closing in on Ken De Dycker for fourth in the Championship, but the CAS’s Belgian had a mechanical failure in moto one last weekend. In Mantova, he had the pace to go to the podium, as he demonstrated with a hard fought second place in the following moto.
KTM Sarholz’s Max Nagl really wants to take part in his home event, but his broken collarbone was too painful for him to race in Mantova. He needs to recover soon, as he is scoring no points since the GP of Portugal, where he picked up the injury.
Also David Philippaerts of the KTM Red Bull team looks forward to this fifth round of the series; he left Italy with a lot of disappointment, as other riders forced him off the track in both moto’s.

If he will race the German GP, Max Nagl will surely not be 100% fit because of a recent collarbone injury

MX2
There is no better race for Italian fans than the two moto’s they watched last Sunday in Mantova, where Yamaha De Carli’s Antonio Cairoli clinched a flawless victory. Tony has significant Title credentials, that reflect on a rock-solid leadership in the Championship standings.
Runner up Tyla Rattray of the KTM Red Bull Racing Team knows it. This weekend he will try to avoid a Cairoli escape in the Championship by winning his first GP of the season, to chip away the 55 point gap from the Italian.
But Tyla’s team mate Tommy Searle seems to be one of his most dangerous rivals; the British collected his second consecutive podium in Mantova, and will surely not miss any future podium chances.
On the other hand, GPKR’s Christophe Pourcel missed a lot of them, and was on the podium only in Spain. The 18 year old Frenchman has the speed, but missed the consistency in this opening quartet of races. The German Grand Prix can represent his turn in luck, as the Talkessel is the venue where the defending Champion grasped his maiden GP win in 2006.
Pascal Leuret will be wearing different colours, as he just entered Team Honda Martin Racing. After his maiden podium in Agueda, Frenchman Leuret hopes to finish this season in the top spots, and so does his new Italian squad.
Molson Kawasaki’s Gareth Swanepoel showed signs of improvement in Mantova, and made up ground in the Championship. The 22 year old from Johannesburg was on the podium in round one already, and will fight for his second top three finish in Germany.
KTM Sarholz’s German Marcus Schiffer was 25th last year, but he is making up for that, as he is already in the top ten. His home GP is the occasion to give chase to the top five riders.

Can someone in the pack beat Cairoli? No one made it so far

FIM WOMEN’S MOTOCROSS WORLD CUP
The Talkessel at Teutschenthal will see the start of the 2007 FIM Women’s Motocross World Cup, that was conquered by Kiwi motocrosser Katherine Prumm last year.
With Molson Kawasaki’s support, Prumm has to defend her status from very motivated rivals, such as Stephanie Laier and Livia Lancelot.
KTM Germany’s Steffi Laier was not satisfied with second in the Cup last year; she won the series in 2005, and wants to make it again this year, thanks to KTM’s support.
As both Prumm and Laier will keep the same machine as last year, Livia Lancelot changed to Kawasaki and entered the GPKR Team. Livia broke her left collarbone in March, and she still has some pain to the shoulder.
Elin Mann was fourth last year, behind Lancelot, but the KTM mounted Swedish star is all set on a revenge this year.
It will not be an easy season though, because there are now three rounds; other than Germany, the Cup will visit Uddevalla on July 1, and Lierop on September 2, which are the same dates as the FIM Motocross World Championship rounds.
They all need to be consistent, and fight for points at least. Dutch Marianne Venstra and German Larissa Papenmeier definitely are consistent riders, and both aim at the top three for this edition of the World Cup, after they rounded off the top seven in 2006.

The podium of last year’s Cup: (from left to right) Stephanie Laier, Katherine Prumm, Livia Lancelot

TALKESSEL AND TEUTSCHENTHAL
A lot of work has been carried out on the Talkessel by the Motoclub Teutschenthal, that worked especially on the ground, to make it softer than it normally is. The hard base has been enriched with sand, that will make racing even more spectacular on Sunday. The layout features also many undulations.

Teutschenthal is a small town located in the East of Germany. It is a perfect base for a trip in the heart of the country, Berlin, as it is only 200 kilometres South from the capital. The closest main city is Leipzig, which is less than an hour drive from Teutschenthal. Leipzig has plenty of things to visit, such as the old Renaissance and Art Nouveau constructions of the venerable trade fair-city, that were restored in all of their beauty. The Alto Rathaus (city hall) and the Die Börse (the stock exchange) are two of the main buildings in the city, which is full of fascinating promenades and cafés.

THE EVENT’S SCHEDULE
The Women’s Cup will start on Saturday, May 12 at 9.15 am with the first Free Practice session. Later on, at 10.00 am, the FIM Motocross World Championship will begin with the MX2 Free Practice.

On Sunday, May 13, race one of the Women’s Cup will be held at 11.08 am, as the opening race of the MX2 class will be at 12.08 am.

Information and results on http://www.motocrossMX1.com, the official website of the FIM Motocross World Championships.

Fans worldwide can watch this and every race of the 2007 FIM Motocross & Supermoto World Championships live and on-demand exclusively on The Moto Channel on MediaZone (moto.MediaZone.com). MediaZone is a leading global online broadcaster specialized in sports, entertainment and international programming.

LINKS
FIM
Motocross Teutschenthal Talkessel