Coppins holds second in both races to capture the win.
A great Motocross show went on today with four exciting moto’s in between the MX1 and MX2 classes which were won respectively by Josh Coppins and Marvin Musquin.
Clinching two second places Coppins was back to victory after a one year absence from the top step of the podium while De Dycker took the MX1 Championship lead. Musquin sealed his and Honda’s maiden MX2 Grand Prix win courtesy of a dominant performance in heat one.
MX1
Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross’ Josh Coppins took his last GP win in Teutschenthal 2008 and this was a great comeback for the Kiwi at Sevlievo. Coppins went 2-2 battling it out with De Dycker in heat one and Barragan in heat two where he led during some laps.
Jonathan Barragan of KTM Silver Action took his personal revenge with the Sevlievo track where last year he crashed while on route to his maiden GP win. The Spaniard was strong in the final part of heat one, trying to pass Nagl several times at the last laps and eventually settling down for fourth. His last moto ended with victory as Barragan was second on the podium.
New Championship leader Ken de Dycker of Teka Suzuki WMX1 won the opening heat but a tough second moto saw him drop to the third step of the podium. The Belgian needs to defend his Championship lead already next weekend as he is just one point ahead of Coppins.
Coppins’ team mate David Philippaerts brought the factory Yamaha home in fourth overall after a strong second heat. Philippaerts moved past Nagl with two laps to go and was then followed by Cairoli, with the duo taking third and fourth.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Nagl rounded off the top five ahead of two time MX2 World Champion Cairoli, who was hampered by a crash in the first heat. Nagl took the holeshot in both races and finished with a third and a fifth place.
Previous Championship leader Tanel Leok was seventh overall and dropped down to third in the Championship.
MX1 Race 1 Results:
1. Ken de Dycker
2. Joshua Coppins
3. Maximilian Nagl
4. Jonathan Barragan
5. David Philippaerts
6. Tanel Leok
7. Antonio Cairoli
8. Steve Ramon
9. Kevin Strijbos
10. Clement Desalle
MX1 Race 2 Results:
1. Jonathan Barragan
2. Joshua Coppins
3. David Philippaerts
4. Antonio Cairoli
5. Maximilian Nagl
6. Tanel Leok
7. Steve Ramon
8. Ken de Dycker
9. Billy Mackenzie
10. Gareth Swanepoel
MX1 Overall Points:
1. Joshua Coppins - 44
2. Jonathan Barragan - 43
3. Ken de Dycker - 38
4. David Philippaerts - 36
5. Maximilian Nagl - 36
6. Antonio Cairoli - 32
7. Tanel Leok - 30
8. Steve Ramon - 27
9. David Vuillemin - 20
10. Clement Desalle - 17
Courtesy of Honda Motorsports
Strijbos works his way in to the top-10 in the first race but falls short in Race 2.
The MX1 class was won by Josh Coppins from Jonathan Barragan and Ken De Dycker, who now leads the points standings by one point from Coppins. Honda’s best performer at Sevlievo today was Clement Desalle in 10th place.
Away from the rainfall that debilitated the Grand Prix of Italy last weekend the skies over Sevlievo remained blue and sunny. The track has been nicely graded and presented its usual mix of wide, fast corners, many jumps and bumps and steep up and downhill sections. Overtaking was still tricky and importance was place on the effectiveness of the start.
A day of misfortune befell Honda’s representatives in the MX1 class as Josh Coppins won the Grand Prix with two runner-up finishes.
Clement Desalle, LS Motors Honda, was 10th and 15th just one week after his first rostrum appearance in Italy. The Belgian was four places ahead of CAS Honda’s Billy Mackenzie. The Scot started the first race brightly and was challenging for the top three before he started to drop back with an engine problem that finally forced him into the pits. In Moto2 he raced to a top ten finish with 9th .
Martin Honda’s Kevin Strijbos was 15th overall with just one race finish of 9th, from Moto1. The Belgian sustained a twisted knee in Faenza and was unable to ride or train during the week. He managed to keep a consistent pace but it was not enough to trouble the leaders. In Moto2 he crashed over the finish-line jump and took a blow to the head. Team-mate Marc de Reuver placed 17th. The Dutchman slipped off in the qualification heat meaning that he faced a tall order from the start gate. He was unable to do better than 12th in the first moto and then failed to score in the second outing, complaining of a lack of energy.
Melotte could not participate in the second race after re-aggravating an old injury in Race 1.
Cedric Melotte suffered a compression to his back in Moto1 that ended his participation for the day. The Belgian re-aggravated an old injury and could not take to the line for the second outing.
In the world championship standings Desalle holds 8th position while Strijbos and De Reuver are lower down in 14th and 15th.
The series rolls onto round three and the first ever Grand Prix of Turkey at Istanbul next weekend.
Marvin Musquin, NGS Honda:
“I think being on the inside and having pole position was a big advantage for me today. I started well in the first moto and apart from a crash on the corner past the pits, when the bike stepped out of a rut and threw me off, I was able to go on and win my first moto. It was a big thrill and I was feeling nervous leading the race to be honest! In the second race my start was not as good and I had to fight back from fifteenth.
When I got to third place I felt pretty tired because of the heat and the pace. Near the end I ran wide and caught the fence in my wheel meaning that I had no rear brake, so from then I just settled and made sure of the GP win.”
Kevin Strijbos, Martin Honda:
“I am still trying to get back up to speed in the Grands Prix. I ran my own race in the first moto and took as many points as I could. My plan was the same for the second but I had a heavy fall going past the finish line and hit my head. For the first time in my career I was seeing stars and knew I could not continue. I am working hard so I can only hope for better next week.”
Marc de Reuver, Martin Honda:
“It was a difficult weekend. I crashed in the qualification heat which meant I had a bad gate pick for the start. I tried to make ground but I don’t know what the problem was. I felt completely dead and need to visit the doctor to get myself checked out.”
Billy Mackenzie, CAS Honda:
“I kind of struggled all weekend really. I have never liked this track or had good results here.
I had a problem with my starts and we also had a mishap with the bike. After running quite high in the first moto I started to lose power and I wasn’t sure whether to carry on or not but this is quite a dangerous track with some huge jumps so I decided not to risk a big crash. The team found and solved the problem for the second moto and it was a real battle out there; everyone was swapping bumps and lines. I was missing a few ruts and making some mistakes but eventually I found my rhythm although it wasn’t really fast enough. My wrist and my tendonitis is a bit better and so is my rib but I am missing some good, hard motos, especially in these warm conditions so that’s what we will be working on after the trip to Turkey next week.”
DeRuever was off pace most of the race and didn't feel quite himself.
“On Saturday my back was really stiff. I tried to do some stretching but the muscles were still very tense Sunday morning. In the first race I turned at the bottom of the hill and hit a bump and it felt like I had broken a disc. I had an injury like this in 2004 and needed a big injection to fix it and today it felt like it had come back again. I preferred to rest my back for the second moto and I have already arranged with my doctor for another injection on Tuesday. I will probably need to rest for two days but I hope to be in the best shape possible for Turkey.”
Roger Harvey, Honda Motor Europe Off-road Co-ordinator:
“We should recognise the fantastic achievement of Marvin Musquin and his NGS team in winning today’s Grand Prix. I was impressed with the way he rode; for such young years he has a mature head on his shoulders. He ran away with that first race and then saw that him win the GP with third in the second moto. It was great to see the kid and his team on the top step of the podium and the first time for Honda in almost ten years.
Looking at the MX1 class I have to say today was very disappointing. We are up against the problem of Billy Mackenzie and Kevin Strijbos both protecting injuries and not able to train on the bike during the week. This means we end up at a GP trying to race without the bike-time needed; hopefully this is improving from this point. Bad luck for Cedric and his back compression. We know Marc can ride around here and now he will have tests to find out why he could not make it happen at this Grand Prix. A bittersweet day.”
Courtesy of KTM
Barragan makes a solid run for the overall win but missed it by one point settling for second.
KTM factory rider Jonathan Barragan of Team Silver Action on Sunday underlined that he is in top form going into the MX1 world championship season when he wrapped up a 4-1 result in the two motos for overall second in the GP of Bulgaria.
The Spanish rider looked particularly impressive in the second moto when he rode a fine tactical race. He settled in and consolidated his third position then made his move in the final laps to snatch impressive line honors and improve on his fourth place in the first moto. The overall result was a strong confidence booster for Barragan as he tackled the hard pack surface of the Sevlievo circuit, which featured an impressive range of descents. Organizers watered the track overnight and Jonathan said this helped him to take some very good lines. "It was quite good in the first heat but I made one mistake and I lost time when the bike stopped. I had very good lines in the second race and I was also fast. I managed to get into third place by the middle of the race and then could go for the victory in the final stages," the Spanish rider said.
Two holeshots for Nagl
Max Nagl of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team also underlined he is getting down to business finishing fifth overall, a result that barely reflected his impressive charge on the track. Nagl is still nursing a hand injury from several weeks ago and this was what eventually held him back on the hard and challenging surface. He put in two of his now trademark superb starts in both motos and he scored a third place in the first moto, promising to keep applying the pressure in the second heat. Nagl then led for the first 25 minutes of heat two, much of it with an impressive lead and lap times. He then held onto third place through to lap 17 when he started to feel pain from his hand injury and was forced to come off the gas, eventually finishing in fifth place.
Nagl raced hard and finished strong to find himself in ranking top-5 in points.
"Today I had two holeshots. After my good start in the first heat I managed to hold onto third place through the rest of the race. Then again I started well in the second heat and I managed to stay in front for the first 25 minutes of the race. But then I started to feel pain in my hand and I had to slow down," Nagl said. "Of course I was a bit disappointed but I will stay off the bike next week and I'll have a cast on my hand to try to sort out the problem before we race again next weekend."
Both Barragan and Nagl are up with the leaders at fourth and fifth in the standings. Only 10 points separate the first five riders, an indication that the competition will be hard fought and very tight.
Riders now contest the next GP at Istanbul, Turkey next weekend, a new circuit for all riders.
Courtesy of Suzuki Racing
Teka Suzuki WMX1 rider Ken de Dycker is the leader of the FIM MX1 World Championship after taking third position and a moto victory at a hot Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the second round of 15 in the 2009 series.
After hours spent cleaning the bikes and gear in the wake of a weather-hit and ruined Italian Grand Prix last week, the Belgian team were saved more laborious work after some gloriously bright, sunny and splendid racing conditions in Bulgaria. The award-winning Sevlievo circuit is one of the best on the calendar, even if the fast layout and hard-pack terrain can be an acquired taste.
De Dycker, who took his first pole position and the sixth of his career yesterday, flew to his first moto victory of the season in the opening sprint. The Belgian was in superb form to keep Josh Coppins and Max Nagl behind him for the entire duration of the race. In the second moto he couldn't find a slot in the top five around the first bends and then settled into a rhythm just behind the second group. Unable to unearth the same pace that had dragged him to the front earlier in the day, De Dycker motored to a safe eighth place to make sure of his podium spot and the red number plate as world championship leader.
Team-mate Steve Ramon showed some promising speed during practice and qualification but the former World Champion stalled his RM-Z450 in Moto1 that dropped him from fourth position into the lower top-10. In the second sprint, he couldn't find effective lap-times to move close to the first five and crossed the line with seventh place, collecting a ranking of eighth overall.
De Dycker holds an advantage of one point over Josh Coppins in the early championship table. Ramon is ninth and 24 points from his team-mate.
Teka Suzuki Europe World MX2 had cause to celebrate as Xavier Boog gained his - and the team's - first podium trophy with third place on the RM-Z250.
The achievement marks the first time since the Grand Prix of the Netherlands in 2008 that two Suzukis were present on the rostrum of both classes. It is also only the second top-three result for the RM-Z250.
After heading east through Europe Team Teka Suzuki will continue their voyage beyond the continent this week as they travel to Istanbul for the first time and the Grand Prix of Turkey for round three in seven days time.
Ken De Dycker, 3rd:
"I had a good start and it really helps on this kind of track. If you can make a good rhythm and not many mistakes then it is not too difficult to maintain your speed. I don't think I was ready for the second moto and to do so well here in the first race, last year I was 12th and 14th so I may have pushed too much to get to the front.
Steve Ramon, 8th:
"The first race was OK. I made a good start and was fourth but then I made a mistake and stopped. I had to restart and lost my way a little bit because I was already pushing when I had the stall. It took a while to come up to speed so the result was not too bad considering. My start was disappointing in the second moto and from the first few laps I was struggling to keep smooth. I was fast in practice and qualification so this was a bad day because I want to do better than this."
Xavier Boog, 3rd (MX2):
"I am really happy; this was a good result. The track became really technical by the end and you could make time across the bumps and jumps. It is a really nice place and I was good here as well last year. Last season was not bad for me but now I want to take some more podiums and aim for a top-five slot in the championship. I feel that I will get better through the season."
Courtesy of Yamaha Racing
Coppins rode well and consistently to place second in each race.
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.
Defending champion Philippaerts made a mistake in Race 1 costing a few spots but Race 2 went significantly better placing third.
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."
Courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team
Tough race for Vuillemin as he fails to place in the top-10.
Ninth at the GP of Bulgaria, David Vuillemin made his ‘real’ Grand Prix comeback one week after the muddy opening round of the Championship in Italy.
Sevlievo has always been one of the best Grand Prix of the season and this year the fast and technical layout provided great racing while the huge facilities around the track offered the best working conditions to the teams. Just a week after the muddy Italian round, the championship completely changed face in Bulgaria.
Already on Saturday during the qualification heat, David Vuillemin was the best placed Kawasaki rider, as the former AMA racer was battling for the eleventh position when he fell in a corner! Losing time David returned to nineteenth behind Sébastien Pourcel and Gregory Aranda, while Gareth Swanepoel secured thirteenth position. The track conditions were perfect on Sunday and unveiled some strong racing action. Starting from the outside of the gate due to their results on Saturday none of the Kawasaki riders were able to get a great start and on the second jump Gareth Swanepoel had a big crash and lost all his momentum. Tenth during the first part of the race, Gregory Aranda wasn’t able to keep a good rhythm for forty minutes and he lost positions, while David Vuillemin steadily earned places after an average start; David finished eleventh, followed in fifteenth place by Sébastien Pourcel and sixteenth by Aranda.
For the first time this season a ‘green rider’ was in the leading group of the second race, as Seb got an amazing start from his lowly gate. He battled for forth through several laps with Jonathan Barragan, Tanel Leok, Ken De Dycker and Antonio Cairoli and then focused on gaining points without taking any risks. Despite another bad start David Vuillemin and Gareth Swanepoel came back together through the standings, scoring a top eleven result; Gareth passed David at mid-race to obtain his best result with a tenth place for his second MX1 Grand Prix. With David eleventh and Sébastien twelfth the three Kawasaki riders crossed the finish line in a row, while Aranda retired early in the race. The teams will now travel on Tuesday to Turkey, home next week to the third round of the series.
Swanepoel placed the best of the Kawasaki riders with ninth in the second race.
“The Kawasaki was awesome this weekend. My mechanic, Jeremy, has done a great job of making it work for me and it is starting to pay off. I am also getting more and more confident on the 450. In the first race I jumped out of the track and landed on a haybale, I took several other riders with me and hopefully none are injured. Then I had to ride consistent to come back to tenth in the other race; my goal today was top 10 and although I didn’t get that overall I achieved it in the 2nd race, my results are better each weekend and that’s important.”
Sébastien Pourcel: “For sure I would prefer to score a top ten result twice, but if I consider that I started practicing only three weeks ago that’s not so bad to take fifteen points. I decided to come here rather than to stay at home, even if I was Tuesday night in the hospital with my mother after a crash while practicing. I didn’t train after this crash but coming to the GPs is for me the best solution to improve my condition. My shoulder is not strong enough yet, but every week I feel better and I think that in Portugal I will be able to ride with the top riders of the MX1 class. Today I got a great start in the second heat, which confirmed that the bike has a strong potential, and I was able to ride at the front for two or three laps. I then reduced my rhythm but racing again up there was a nice feeling. Now I need more preparation time to ride fast for the whole forty minutes.”
Gregory Aranda : “On Saturday I posted good lap times twice in the sessions, with an eighth and sixth position. I had a good start in the qualifying race, I was eighth and then fifth when I crashed; then I was eighteenth, battling with Seb Pourcel. On Sunday I got another eighth position during the warm-up, and I started the first moto in the top fifteen; I came to ninth but then I had no more energy and lost places to finish sixteenth. It was even worst during the next race, I wasn’t able to control the bike and retired; I don’t know if I’m sick or tired, we drove from Italy to Bulgaria by camper and I just hope that I will feel better next week in Turkey.”
David Vuillemin: “It is the same for everyone but for sure if you don’t qualify well on Saturday then the races are difficult. I was passing Mackenzie during the qualifying race when I crashed in a corner, and I finished nineteenth instead of tenth or eleventh. My first jump from the gate was really good, but in the first corner all the riders went outside and pushed me away; the second start was worse, so I had to twice comeback from far behind. I was twice eleventh and it could have been a little better; we must continue to work and be fast already on Saturday.”
Martin Van Genderen (team KRT Kawasaki): “I’m happy to see Seb racing here; it’s not easy as we know that it’s tough from him with the injury. You can’t expect too much from him as he started riding only three weeks ago, but he is going better and better each race and we know that he can do a very good job in this championship when he will be fit. Concerning Swanie I was very disappointed when I saw him coming back in the paddock early in the first moto, I think that a factory rider must never quit a race. He explained to us why; he had had a terrible crash, but during the second race he showed us that he can get a good result even if he has a bad start. I’m very happy with the results of Livia, we are there to win races and she did just that. I known for a long time what she can do and on Saturday I saw that she had a good chance; we talked after the race and made some minor changes on the bike. That gave her a bit extra and she controlled the second race to win the GP.”
