Coppins Victorious in Bulgaria

For the second year in succession Yamaha have conquered the Grand Prix of Bulgaria. Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross Team's Josh Coppins has won the second round of the FIM MX1-GP World Championship at a sunny Sevlievo to celebrate his first success since the 2008 German Grand Prix and place the YZ450FM on the top step of the podium in Eastern Europe for the second time in a row after David Philippaerts' victory twelve months ago.

After the mud-bath that opened the series last weekend in Italy the teams and riders encountered vastly different weather conditions with sunshine and warm temperatures baking the Bulgarian hard-pack. The circuit offered a fast layout with bumps and ruts being carved into the terrain as the motos wore on through the weekend.

New Zealander Coppins scored two runner-up positions through two entertaining and tense motos. The 31 year old chased Ken De Dycker hard in the first race and although he stayed within two seconds of the Belgian for most of the duration he could not get close enough to force a pass. In Moto2 he pushed ahead and led a Grand Prix for the first time since Teutschenthal last June but was powerless to resist Jonathan Barragan's superior speed as the Spaniard burst through for the chequered flag. Coppins rode well and consistently, fighting off the close attention of team-mate David Philippaerts and Yamaha Red Bull De Carli's Antonio Cairoli in the final two laps.

World Champion Philippaerts missed a gear on the exit of the gate in Moto1 and rallied to fifth position by the finish. The Italian made no such mistake at the beginning of the next race and pushed ahead to challenge Coppins, and at the same time fend off Cairoli, to seal third. The 25 year old was 4th overall.

Cairoli rode superbly after being knocked from his YZ450F on the first lap of the opening race. The Sicilian forged an effective rhythm to return to sixth. Later in the day he again showed excellent ability to overtake in tight situations - further signs that he is mastering the intricacies of the MX1 machine - and recorded a season-best result of fourth for sixth position overall.

Just behind, in seventh, was Italian Grand Prix winner and De Carli team-mate Tanel Leok. The Estonian was still not fully fit after struggling through the last ten days with tonsillitis and an ear infection. He posted results of sixth place both times for his final ranking.

The MX1-GP standings now show Coppins just one point behind leader Ken De Dycker with Philippaerts in sixth and 12 points adrift of first place. Yamaha are in control of the manufacturer's standings by 7 points.

The World Championship continues its intense opening spell and the third GP in as many weeks will take place for the first time ever in the history of the series in Istanbul for the Grand Prix of Turkey next weekend.

Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 1st:

"This is still sinking in but to be honest I thought I had it in me; I have been riding well at both GPs, in the practices and the races. I am a bit relieved I guess, because there hasn't been a whole lot of talk about me coming into this season and I believed in myself and I always like to prove people wrong! I broke away at the start of the second race but I could not maintain it but this track tends to see people hitting different speeds. I am happy for myself, the team and the people that believed in me. The Yamaha was great today and I know we have more to come from it with some upgrades soon; the team have worked hard to give me what I asked for over the winter and it shows."

David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Energy MX Team, 4th:

"This was a hard weekend for me. I wasn't happy with a few things on Saturday and was not riding well. However I found that every time I went out on the track I got better. In the first moto I missed a gear at the start and this meant I had a lot of work to do to make positions. It was much better in the second moto and Josh and I were right together. It was a good fight and a nice end to the GP. I am quite pleased with today because I wanted as many points as I could get and my approach to the championship is still going to plan. Next week is a new track which should be interesting."

Antonio Cairoli, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 6th:

"I think I chose a wrong tyre for the first moto because I just span out of the gate. I was down in twentieth position but then had contact with Desalle when he tried a hard move up the inside and we both crashed; some riders think they can win on the first lap. I was last but my speed was really good and I just tried to get as many points as possible. I was around tenth in the second moto but could follow David. We were together for the whole race and passed a lot of guys. My condition was good and I was pleased with the race; if I had a bit more time I am sure I could have tried to overtake David and Josh. I am seventh in the championship now and I am looking forward to improving both my riding and the bike each GP."

Tanel Leok, Yamaha Red Bull De Carli, 7th:

"It wasn't such a bad day. I felt OK in the first race but couldn't get past Philippaerts but I felt tired in the second and need to work on that. I had been suffering with an ear infection and Tonsillitus before Faenza and I don't think I shook it off totally this week, especially after racing in all that rain and mud."

Circuit Length: 1530
Temp: 22
Crowd: 28,000
Weather: Sunny
Last Years Winner: Bradley Anderson
2009 GP of Bulgaria, Sevlievo 05/04/2009