Press Release

Coppins Dominates With Spanish Double

Date: 15 April 2007
MX GP Round 2, Bellpuig, Spain


 

THOR racer, Josh Coppins, has handed his Factory Yamaha Rinaldi team their first double victory of the season and second consecutive overall at a muddy Spanish GP.

The New Zealander was untouchable in both MX1 motos stamping his authority on the MX1 points lead.

Team-mate Marc de Reuver was less fortunate and suffered from first turn muddy mayhem, having to fight his way through the pack on the one-lined Bellpuig circuit.  The effervescent Dutchman was disappointed with his performance but his speed showed that with a good start a podium finish is definitely within reach.

South African Gareth Swanepoel was also plagued by bad starts which saw the Molson Kawasaki rider’s grip on 3rd spot in the MX2 championship slip through his fingers.  ‘Swanie’ played catch up in both moto’s and his hopes of redeeming his first moto points loss were dashed  when he collided with a fallen rider over the notorious Bellpuig step-up. Unscathed, ‘Swanie’ still picked up his machine and managed to salvage a few points.  


 

Josh Coppins: “I’m really happy with the result today. After Valkenswaard we worked on a whole bunch of little things and these have definitely helped.  The Yamaha has been really awesome on the hard circuits so I came into this race with a lot of confidence and a good feeling. The weather made the track conditions difficult and one-lined and I knew it was important to get a good start.  I need to stay focused and take this momentum through to Portugal next weekend”

Marc De Reuver:  “Things did not work out very well for me today. My starts were not great. I touched Nagl on the start-straight of the first moto and that put me right at the back. I tried to get some rhythm going and passing was difficult but it was hard and I felt tired on the bike. I just want to look ahead to next week now.”

Gareth Swanepoel: “Spain just doesn’t seem to be good to me. The track was quite tough but is was my starts that let me down.  Times were good but coming from behind in these conditions is nearly impossible.  This GP has been a setback but I’m not going to change my preparations because of it.   I need to carry on working hard and obviously I’ll be focusing on my weaknesses before Portugal.”

Race results:

MX1 Race 1:
1          Coppins, Joshua       NZL     Yamaha (THOR)
2        Strijbos, Kevin          BEL     Suzuki
3        Ramon, Steve BEL     Suzuki
4        Barragan, Jonathan   ESP     KTM
5        Nagl, Maximilian        GER     KTM
6        de Dycker, Ken         BEL     Honda
7        Nemeth, Kornel         HUN    Suzuki
8        Philippaerts, David     ITA     KTM
9        Leok, Tanel    EST    Kawasaki
10      Noble, James  GBR     Honda
11      Pourcel, Sebastien    FRA     Kawasaki
12      Brown, Mike   USA    Honda
13      Coulon, Cyrille FRA     Honda
14        de Reuver, Marc       NED     Yamaha (THOR)
15      Allier, Thomas FRA     Kawasaki

MX1 Race 2
1          Coppins, Joshua       NZL     Yamaha (THOR)
2        Nagl, Maximilian        GER     KTM
3        Strijbos, Kevin          BEL     Suzuki
4        Pourcel, Sebastien    FRA     Kawasaki
5        Mackenzie, Billy        GBR     Kawasaki
6        Barragan, Jonathan   ESP     KTM
7        Leok, Tanel    EST    Kawasaki
8        Philippaerts, David     ITA     KTM
9        de Dycker, Ken         BEL     Honda
10        de Reuver, Marc       NED     Yamaha (THOR)
11      Allier, Thomas FRA     Kawasaki
12      Priem, Manuel BEL     TM
13      Brown, Mike   USA    Honda
14      Leok, Aigar     EST    Yamaha
15      Ramon, Steve BEL     Suzuki

MX1 World championship standings:
1          Coppins, J.    NZL     97 (THOR)
2        Strijbos, K.     BEL     78
3        Barragan, J.   ESP     74
4        Nagl, M.        GER     63
5        Ramon, Steve BEL     63
6        de Dycker, Ken         BEL     61
7        de Reuver, M. NED    53
8        Leok, Tanel    EST    43
9        Noble, James  GBR     40
10      Brown, Mike   USA    36
11      Pourcel, S.     FRA     36
12      Mackenzie, B. GBR     29
13      Priem, Manuel BEL     28
14      Nemeth, Kornel         HUN    27
15      Philippaerts, D.         ITA     26

For more information on why Thor is the gear of choice for champions like Josh Coppins, check out www.thormx.com

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