Only three rounds remain in the 2008 MX1-GP World Championship after a brilliant meeting for the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team at the Loket circuit for the Grand Prix of Czech Republic represented the twelfth meeting of fifteen on the series schedule.
David Philippaerts obtained his second victory of the season and his third moto success to regain control of the standings and snare the red plate once again for the front of his works YZ450FM. Team-mate Josh Coppins was struck by a freak moment of misfortune that contributed to his result of 9th position overall.
Under cloudy but dry skies and in front of 28,000 spectators, Loket was an extreme contrast to the rough and physically demanding depths of the Belgian sand last weekend. Hard-pack, slippery and fast, the layout was uncomplicated and offered diversity through the many changes of elevation thanks to the valley setting. The riders spent time finding effective tyre combinations through practice in search of the best traction.
The team were pleased with some technical modifications to the YZ450FMs with new engine parts adding more bottom end grunt to the potent motor. Coppins was particularly content and was holding 3rd position in Timed Practice until finally being nudged down to 4th; it was still one of his better qualification performances of the year. Philippaerts was fastest in the first free practice although was unable to get a clean lap in the official chrono and placed 11th. The top sixteen riders were split by less than two seconds.
Philippaerts' first race was incredible and saw one of his best performances of the season. More misfortune on the opening lap after a tangle with Tanel Leok witnessed the 24 year old picking up his motorcycle and re-starting outside the top twenty. He then embarked on a heart-pounding recovery with adventurous lines and overtaking manoeuvres to rapidly gain ground.
Philippaerts worked his way back, setting the fastest lap on the fifth circulation and passed his team-mate and world champion Steve Ramon to take a dazzling 3rd place. The second sprint was less frantic and he grabbed the lead on the first lap and established a race winning advantage over Sebastien Pourcel to the flag.
Coppins was a persistent rider in the battle for third position in Moto1 but his progress was limited when a rock broke his goggles on the second lap. The Czech dirt was littered with small stones so even keeping pace with his rivals and taking 4th was a remarkable achievement. In the second race the New Zealander was still suffering with blurred vision and when he touched a false neutral over a jump; he hit the ground and sacrificed a top three finish to cross the line in 10th.
One week after losing the red plate to Ramon, Philippaerts is again in charge of the MX1-GP World Championship by 7 points over the Belgian. Coppins is still third but now 35 behind. Yamaha hold a 14 point lead in the manufacturer's table.
A three week break now precedes a hard and rapid finale to the season. Three consecutive Grand Prix, in Ireland, Holland and Italy, will close the campaign by mid-September. The trip to the Fairyhouse horse racing venue for a new track just outside Dublin will represent round thirteen on August 31st.
On the podium...
David Philippaerts, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 1st:
"This is a great win for me and it has come at a good time. I pushed really hard in that first moto after a stupid crash and passed many riders. I found some good lines and just went for it. The track was very difficult but the team had worked hard in the last week to give me a bike that was perfect and I felt really happy being able to push. My goal was to at least catch Ramon but I found I could keep going and the top three was possible.
In the second moto I took one or two risks but then was able to make good lap-times when I was in the lead and had a great race. For me Loket is a very real and natural motocross track and has similarities to some places in Italy. We have three races left now and I will try hard each time to get the best position I can. We will then see if the championship is ours or not!
Josh Coppins, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team, 9th:
"If I am honest then I am happy to get out of here uninjured because it was a big crash for me in the second race and I was lucky not to get hurt. I don't seem to get on too well with Loket! Overall it was a disappointing day and nothing went right. I felt like I was riding pretty good but I was struggling with my vision in the first race after a stone whacked my goggles and broke the strap clean off. It was a freak thing.
Thankfully it did not happen again in the second race but I was suffering from the first; my eyes were watering and it was very difficult to go fast. I could not race how I wanted because I couldn't glimpse the bumps clearly and things were all blurry; it was even quite dangerous sometimes. I hit a false neutral over the jump in the second race. I went over the bars and it more or less ended the moto. I ripped my pants, broke the buckle and my kidney belt was away somewhere.
I feel pretty sore now and have some cuts and bruises. We still have some races left in this championship and the next challenge is to keep positive over this break until the next Grand Prix."
Mino Raspanti, Racing Manager, Yamaha Monster Motocross Team:
"This was a fantastic response after Lommel. David tried to pass another rider in the first lap of the first moto and the crash meant he had a lot of work to do from outside the top twenty, but wow, what a job. After two laps he had a good lap-time but was still far away and it wasn't until the halfway mark when he reached eighth and the group ahead that we realised a top three was a possibility. It was a great race.
He started OK in Moto2 but the first two corners were excellent and he passed three or four riders to lead. He then did not make any mistakes to finish a fantastic weekend. Josh was so unlucky again. To race here without goggles is very tough but he is a strong guy and pushed very hard to finish the moto.
The false neutral and the big crash probably cost him a podium. He lost some points in the championship but is still third with three GPs to go. YRRD have been working hard and were able to give us some new parts this weekend so a big thank you to them."
Circuit Length: 1630
Crowd: 28,000
Weather: Dry
2008 GP of Czech Republic, Loket 10/08/2008 Race 1 - 21 Laps
1 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 39'38.255
2 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'8.690
3 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 0'16.171
4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'19.210
5 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'20.225
6 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'20.798
7 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'23.086
8 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 0'24.745
9 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'37.346
10 Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 0'50.532
11 Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 0'54.403
12 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 0'58.941
13 Bradley Anderson Suzuki GBR 1'0.900
14 Steve Boniface Honda FRA 1'8.367
15 Marc De Reuver Honda NED 1'9.294
16 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 1'15.572
17 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 1'19.569
18 Martin Michek Honda CZE 1'20.518
19 Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 1'30.893
20 Alessio Chiodi TM ITA 1'32.081
Race 2 - 21 Laps
1 David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 40'18.466
2 Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 0'4.986
3 Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 0'6.206
4 Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 0'10.184
5 Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 0'14.943
6 Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 0'17.849
7 Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 0'24.837
8 Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 0'31.930
9 Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 0'39.030
10 Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 0'51.460
11 Gregory Aranda Kawasaki FRA 0'52.513
12 Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 0'54.687
13 Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 0'56.987
14 Alex Salvini Suzuki ITA 0'59.846
15 Bradley Anderson Suzuki GBR 1'0.810
16 Steve Boniface Honda FRA 1'11.377
17 Marc De Reuver Honda NED 1'16.289
18 Kevin Strijbos Kawasaki BEL 1'20.246
19 Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 1'24.554
20 Jiri Cepelak Yamaha CZE 1'34.332
Rider Standings 10/08/2008
1. David Philippaerts Yamaha ITA 405
2. Steve Ramon Suzuki BEL 398
3. Joshua Coppins Yamaha NZL 370
4. Ken De Dycker Suzuki BEL 369
5. Jonathan Barragan KTM ESP 369
6. Sébastien Pourcel Kawasaki FRA 344
7. Maximilian Nagl KTM GER 327
8. Tanel Leok Kawasaki EST 275
9. Billy MacKenzie Honda GBR 257
10. Marc De Reuver Honda NED 224
11. Clement Desalle Suzuki BEL 215
12. Manuel Priem Kawasaki BEL 197
13. Kornel Nemeth KTM HUN 159
14. Julien Bill Honda CHE 148
15. Aigar Leok Yamaha EST 131
16. Mike Brown Honda USA 107
17. Marcus Schiffer KTM GER 97
18. James Noble KTM GBR 93
19. Steve Boniface Honda FRA 75
20. Tom Church Kawasaki GBR 74
23. Carlos Campano Yamaha ESP 44
Manufacturer Standings 10/08/2008
1. Yamaha 471
2. Suzuki 457
3. KTM 452
4. Kawasaki 420
5. Honda 362
6. TM 32
7. Aprilia 12
- Yamaha, Amsterdam -
