Coppins and Cairoli Begun Their Title Hunt

VALKENSWAARD, 01 April 2007- The season opener of the FIM Motocross World Championship got underway today, on the Eurocircuit at Valkenswaard, in front of 25.000 spectators. It was a breathtaking day for the fans, who witnessed a great Josh Coppins win the MX1 Grand Prix of Benelux, and an incredibly fast Antonio Cairoli dominate the MX2 GP. The track conditions were dry, and the weather was sunny.

MX1

This was the first MX1 GP without Stefan Everts, who dominated the last six editions of the series, and finally arrived to an impressive tally of 10 World Title victories. Yamaha Motocross Josh Coppins showed both speed and consistency, and won the Grand Prix in front of KTM Red Bull’s Jonathan Barragan and Suzuki WMX GP’s Steve Ramon.

MX1 RACE 1

Josh Coppins had a great start, but poleman De Dycker passed him before the end of the opening lap. The Belgian tried to pull away with the lead, but he was caught by the Kiwi at lap seven. Ramon crashed while he was following the leaders, but he was quickly back on the bike to pass De Dycker at lap fifteen, and finally finish second behind winner Coppins. De Dycker paced himself, and finished the race in third place, ahead of countryman Strijbos, who was too far from De Dycker to aim at the top three. Barragan was fifth, ahead of a fantastic Marc De Reuver, who crashed at lap one and restarted from twentieth.

MX1 RACE 2

In a fantastic opening lap, David Philippaerts and Jonathan Barragan were leading the group, as Coppins and Ramon were battling their hardest for third place. Philippaerts lost the lead in lap four, then retired for technical problems, as his team mate Barragan lead the group until the chequered flag, showing an impressive rhythm. Coppins settled for second, and his team mate De Reuver completed the top three, after he passed Philippaerts and De Dycker. Strijbos raced a consistent moto, to finish fourth after he was eight at the end of the opening lap. Belgian Priem completed the top five, as countryman Ramon crashed and finished sixth.

MX2

Yamaha De Carli’s Antonio Cairoli dominated the first GP, as he grasped two back to back wins. KTM Red Bull’s Tyla Rattray raced two stoic motos, because he was not 100% fit after his crash in yesterday’s qualifying heat. The South African was second overall, as countryman Gareth Swanepoel of Molson Kawasaki clinched his maiden podium.

MX2 RACE 1

Nicolas Aubin was first at the start, but Avis and Swanepoel moved past him before the end of the opening lap. Avis lead the race until lap five, then he was snatched the lead by Swanepoel. Cairoli was packed in the group after the start, but he found his way to first place thanks to an impressive pace. Rattray was coming up from eight, and raced a consistent first heat to finish second  behind Cairoli. Early leaders Avis and Swanepoel had different fortunes: Avis crashed at lap ten, and finished the race in seventeenth place, and Swanepoel finished third behind countryman Rattray. Gundersen was fourth, and home rider Eggens made it to the top five by passing Aubin in the very last lap. Defending Champion Pourcel was seventh.

MX2 RACE 2

Avis lead the first couple of laps, then was passed by Pourcel and Searle. Pourcel was leading from Searle, who was passed by Cairoli. But the Frenchman crashed, and handed the first place to his Italian rival. Searle was second and Pourcel was right behind him in third, but they both crashed after a jump while landing. As Pourcel rejoined the race to finish third, Searle was out, but physically ok. Eggens was fourth, ahead of Gundersen, who raced another solid moto. Swanepoel raced a consistent moto and finished sixth, making it to the overall podium. Once again Rattray came up from behind –ninth at the end of lap one- and conquered another well deserved second place.

IN THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANGINDS

In the MX1 class, Josh Coppins is leading the points standings, confirming his title ambitions for 2007. Jonathan Barragan is second, demonstrating that he is now a solid rider and a title contender. Steve Ramon is third, with last year’s runner up Kevin Strijbos fourth and MX1 debutant marc De Reuver fifth.

In the MX2 class, Antonio Cairoli is first with 50 points. The Italian is very motivated for this GP campaign, but so is Tyla Rattray, second in the standings. Gareth Swanepoel is third, and defending Champion Christophe Pourcel and veteran Erik Eggens complete the top five.

FIM MOTOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTATION

As today’s races confirmed, the 2007 season will be one of the best in Motocross history. The season opener in Valkenswaard was fantastic, and both classes offered the huge crowd a fantastic show.
The presentation of the 2007 GP Campaign was held this morning at 11.00 am. Youthstream President Giuseppe Luongo, CMS/FIM President Dr. Wolfgang Srb, and CMI/FIM (International Medical Panel of FIM) President Hans Robert Kreutz announced their commitment for the 2007 season, and the five year agreement with the Mobile Sport Ambulanz, that will be present at each GP.

The next FIM Motocross Grand Prix will be at Bellpuig-Spain, on April 15.

Information and results on 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
Eurocircuit Valkenswaard