Coppins takes the jewel of Flanders!

New Zealander Josh Coppins (Yamaha-Monster Energy) had to miss the first United Telecom Trophy race due to an injury. In Kester however he struck back, hard.

Over 7.000 spectators witnessed how he won two heats and ended up third in the first race. Steve Ramon (Teka-Suzuki) was second in the overall standings. Nevertheless the reigning Belgian champion took a big step in the point standings and leads the championship now with 141 points ahead of Ken De Dycker (121 points) and Priem (99 points).

Sven Breugelmans leapt to the inaugural ‘Nikon Holeshot award’, but soon it was World Champion Steve Ramon who lead the field. Ken De Dycker followed suit and hunted down his team-mate. Keeno was right behind Ramon but couldn’t pass his team leader. From lap 5 on, Ramon made the break en won easily in front of De Dycker, Coppins and De Reuver. Manuel Priem ended up fifth in front of Breugelmans. While Caps finished seventh after a strong comeback.

Ramon took the best start but Coppins was right behind him. Behind the leading duo the Honda-Martin pair of De Reuver and Bill was a strong showing. However a fast De Dycker would out smart them both. At that point the Suzuki rider looked like he was making up ground on Coppins but would crash out in the third lap. Coppins would pressure Ramon and in lap 6 the New-Zealander would make his move on the leader. Despite a strong last lap effort from Ramon it was Coppins who took the honours. De Reuver ended up third in front of Bill whilst De Dycker had to settle for 7th.

Ramon took the lead in front of Ken De Dycker and Josh Coppins. That would set the tone for a very intense race. Ramon lead the two first laps. Later on it was De Dycker who took over the command whilst Coppins moved into second. One lap later it was Coppins who took over from De Dycker after a nice scrap. Immediately Coppins would step up the momentum. De Dycker had to let go, while Ramon had to give it his all to keep up with the Kiwi rider. Coppins took the chequered flag with a five second advance on Ramon. De Reuver was third in front of De Dycker and Priem.

Josh Coppins, winner (Monster Energy-Yamaha)
“My injuries are well and truly a thing of the past. I really enjoy my racing at this moment. It would be fair to say, that I’m on form. I took it easy in heat one because Kester is a rather technical and difficult track. I really went for it in the second and third heat. It’s really nice to win although I was a bit bummed to miss the first race of the series. From now on I want to win as much as possible. I’m convinced I can show my competitors a different Josh Coppins in the coming weeks and months!

Steve Ramon, second (Teka-Suzuki)
“I easily controlled the first heat and that allowed me to win. But it wasn’t easy. The level of racing was really high today. My riding went quite well but Coppins proved to have to little extra. But, I had an excellent day in terms of the championship standings.”

Marc De Reuver, third (Honda-Martin)
“It’s cool to be on the podium but I was not happy about my speed today. It was not that bad but I just couldn’t run with Coppins and Ramon. Too bad, but Kester is a lovely track and always a good race. I hope I can do one or three other races in the United Telecom Trophy. You can expect me to be right there in the sand of Balen."

Ken De Dycker, fourth (Teka-Suzuki)
“I just couldn’t do what I wanted today. Too bad because I expected a good performance over here. I could have damaged a nerve after my crash in France. Anyway after a couple of laps I lose the strength in my arm and get a strange feeling. That makes it difficult to control the bike. I’ll see my doctor as soon as possible. It’s a shame I lost some points on Ramon.”

Manuel Priem, fifth (Kawasaki Racing Team)
“I only had a good start in the opening heat, and I could match the pace of the front-runners early on. Just after five laps or so I started suffering arm pump. In the second and third heat I messed up my starts, still I rode hungry and aggressive and managed to come back. In the second race I was boxed in at the start and had to fight back from 20th. In the third I was only 15th after the first lap, I finished fifth in those two races without having to push too deep, although it was quite tough because of the heat.”

The third race of the United Telecom Trophy takes place on July 27th in Nismes.


Radson MX2 Trophy - Verbruggen strikes back!
Dennis Verbruggen (Shineray-Yamaha) had an horrible time over the last few months. After a rather innocent looking crash he suffered for months on end with a complicated thumb injury. The rider from Grobbendonk had to sit out the first round of the Radson MX2 Trophy and wasn’t on the bookies favourites list for Kester. However ‘Crusty’ won the Flemish classic ahead of Joël Roelants (Champ-KTM) and Russia’s Evgenyi Bobryshev (Yamaha Van Beers).

In spite of a massive off-day Jeremy Van Horebeek retains his lead (67 points), while South-African Terreblanche trails by twelve points, Verbruggen is currently third with 50 points.

Favourite Van Horebeek, the reigning Belgian MX2 champ, won last year’s Kester event with ease, but things would turn out quite different for the local hero as Jeremy only put in one lap during practice and qualifying due to a broken ignition. That meant that he had the 47th pick at the gate. Needless to say, the Champ-KTM rider wasn’t going to take the holeshot. Instead it was France’s Valentin Teillet (JMRacing-KTM) that took take both holeshot awards in MX2. However after a few hundred yards Shineray-Yamaha front man Dennis Verbruggen took the command. He was never to fade. Behind him there was an intense scrap for second place between Joël Roelants (Champ-KTM) and Jurgen Wybo MXplanet-Suzuki ). Wyatt Avis (LS Motors-Honda) would overtake Wybo. Mid-pack Jeremy Van Horebeek was making headway fast. The Champ-KTM rider would finish fifth in spite of two crashes.

The second heat would be the icing on the cake for the long suffering Shineray-Yamaha rider. Despite a bad start he worked his way up from 15th to first. After Valentin Teillet’s holeshot Shannon Terreblanche took over the lead. He would hold it until Yevgeni Bobrishev (Van Beers-Yamaha) passed him. But “Crusty” Verbruggen’s timing proved to be spot on. In the last lap, the Shineray-Yamaha rider got “J-Bob” in his sights and simply over took the former road racer to take the spoils. Again KTM mounted Van Horebeek was unfortunate, he miscalculated a deep rut because of the light and shadow playing around in one section. Once he was up and running again Jerre was nearly dead last, eventually he would come home seventh.

Dennis Verbruggen (Winner):
Nobody would have waged a nickel on my chances. That meant that I came to Kester without any pressure. I was able to be “the underdog” today. Everybody expected “Jerre” (Jeremy Van Horenbeek) and Roelants. But they simply didn’t deliver. I took a bit of a chunk out of Van Horebeek’s points lead thanks to my double win and his bad luck. And believe me, this championship is far from over. Dennis Verbruggen is back on track. I hope I can continue this streak in the GP’s now.”

Joël Roelants (second):
“Today was just really bad! It just didn’t go like it should have. Only toward the end I was able to make up some ground thanks to my good fitness. It’s frustrating to see, that guys that are usually behind me in the GP’s were in front of me today.”

Evgeniy Bobryshev (third):
“This was my debut race at Kester, so I didn’t know what to expect! Already in qualifying I posted the fastest time so that made me a bit more relax. Especially the second race went really well, but Verbruggen was just too strong. Usually I compete in the Russian championship, so I don’t really know when my next outing in the Radson Trophy will be.”

The third race of the Radson MX2 Trophy takes place on July 27th in Nismes.



Josh Coppins
Coppins on form in Kester

Josh Coppins has taken a convincing victory at the second round of the United Telecom Belgian MX champs at the former GP circuit in Kester. The factory Yamaha Monster rider, powered his way to the overall victory with a 3-1-1 score against a top international field.

It has been more than 7 years since the Kiwi has raced on the ‘Kesterheide’ circuit, but Coppins mastered the technical track in a strong performance that has put the 31-year-old in a good mindset for the German GP in Teutschenthal next weekend.

“It’s great to be back in Kester again,” commented the New Zealander “I’m really pumped with how things went today. The bike was awesome and I felt really good in all 3 motos. I’m also pleased for my new sponsor, Hyundai Belgium, as I missed the first round due to injury so this was a great way to introduce them to MX. This victory is for sure going to give me plenty of confidence going into the German GP. The Yamaha Monster team and I have been working hard to gain that extra advantage and it is definitely showing.”

Team Suzuki
RAMON INCREASES BELGIAN SERIES LEAD

Team Teka Suzuki WMX1 riders Steve Ramon and Ken De Dycker contested the second round of the United Telecom Belgian Motocross Championships held at Kester this weekend with Ramon increasing his series lead.

The grassy woodland circuit was in excellent condition for the championship races and over 7000 race fans turned out to support their heroes.

Ramon, who is the reigning Belgian and World Motocross Champion, finished second overall on the day with a strong 1-2-2 scorecard after battling hard with Josh Coppins, but was able to increase his championship lead over team-mate De Dycker.

"I had an excellent day in terms of the championship," said Ramon. "It wasn't easy today and the level of racing was really high. I was riding well but Coppins proved to have a little bit extra in races two and three after I had easily controlled the first race which I won."

De Dycker ended the day fourth overall after finishing an inconsistent second, seventh and fourth in the three motos citing problems with his left arm that he originally injured in a massive crash at the French GP.

"I just couldn't do what I wanted to today which was too bad because I expected a good performance here," said De Dycker. "I'm thinking that I could have damaged a nerve in my arm after my crash in France. After a couple of laps I lose the strength in my arm and I get a strange feeling - that makes it difficult to control the bike. I'll see my doctor as soon as possible but it's a shame I lost some points on Ramon."

After the day's three motos, Ramon leads the championship on 141 points, 20 ahead of De Dycker who holds a similar sized gap over third-placed rider Manuel Priem.



SHANNON TERREBLANCHE
TERREBLANCHE CHARGES TO SECOND IN BELGIAN STANDINGS

Motocross is a sport with a great history, and like most other sports, it has evolved over the years. Yet, the traditions still remain, and oftenwise these traditions are represented by the tracks on which the latter day knights of the iron steed ply their trade. Kester in Belgium is such a track. The location, half an hour's drive to the west of the Belgian capital, would not look out of place in a tourist brochure. Rolling hills are accentuated by lush growth, and a traditional style motocross track in such a setting could not but warm the heart of the motocross purist.

The second round of the Belgian motocross championships could count on good weather and a perfect track, in contract to the first round of the series where, despite the heroic efforts of the organisers, the forces of nature conspired to provide a, shall we say, challenging track.

Shannon Terreblanche came into the Kester race holding down ninth position in the championship standings, his fairly low ranking mainly due to a hard crash in the first race of the series. His stated aim was to move much closer to the top in the rankings, and during the short qualifying session on the, for him, unfamiliar track, he gave early notice of his intentions when he qualified seventh out of the nearly 50 riders.

A grabbing clutch hampered the Beursfoon Suzuki rider at the start of the first heat, and he was buried in the pack. He advanced rapidly, and within one lap, had already moved up to 13th position. The tone of his race was set, however, when former team-mate Kenny Vandueren crashed in a blind corner, and Shannon could not avoid the fallen rider, which caused him and Jeremy van Horebeek to keel over as well. A near scuffle ensued as Van Horebeek shoved to get the South African away from him, but the thoughts soon turned to racing again, and Shannon could start his charge.

Shannon then produced one of his strongest rides thus far in a Belgian Championship event, as he sliced through the field from nearly last. The Belgian Championship races are fairly short and stacked with top class talent, and catching up is therefore a tough task. The South African was headed for the front, though, and after a strong ride, moved all the way up to ninth before the flag fell.

Fired up by the events of the first heat. Shannon catapulted into race two in second position, and two corners further, he rode to the front in his distinctive red, blue and yellow No Fear livery. He held onto the lead for the majority of the race, but came under increasing pressure form former team-mate Evgeny Bobryshev. The Russian eventually found a way past, and after a two-lap long battle, Shannon also had to yield to Dennis Verbruggen, who was having one of this days that can simply be described as brilliant. Shannon Latched onto eventual winner Verbruggen, and by picking up on the lines of the Belgian, he managed to close the distance on Bobryshev again. He eventually crossed the line in third position, but literally within spitting distance of the leading two, and returned to the pits a much happier rider.

Surrounded by crowds of well-wishers, Shannon was quietly happy after the race. "I chose some bad racing lines initially when I was leading," he admitted. "As soon as Verbruggen passed me, I could see and use his lines, and that worked much better. I moved right in on Bobryshev again, and I learnt a lot during those last few laps about this track. The track was really rough towards the end, and the bumpy downhills were scary sometimes."

Shannon has now moved up to second position in the Belgian Championship standings, 12 points adrift of series leader Van Horebeek. The team will go to Germany early to prepare for the German GP at Teutschenthal.