LS MOTORS-HONDA
Consistent Davide Guarneri maintains second

Castiglione del Lago, near the city of Perugia, played host for the second round of the 2010 Italian MX Nationals... Or the Internazionali d’Italia if you like how that sounds in Italian! LS Motors-Honda’s home rider Davide Guarneri and reigning Italian champ Tanel Leok faced stiff competition with most MX1 top riders, including world champion Tony Cairoli, taking part in the event. It was Philippaerts who won the event ahead of Cairoli and De Dycker. However Leok and Guarneri gained valuable experience in Castiglione and recorded fast laps all day long.

Both Davide and Tanel were already on the pace in the morning placing their Honda’s third and fourth in their qualifying group. Fastest out of the gate in the opening moto, Leok was unfortunately not able to capitalise on his lightning start reaction. The Estonian star slipped back to sixth, while Philippaerts started pulling away at the front. Guarneri on the other hand was recovering from a weak start and quickly making his way through the pack. The LS Motors duo eventually caught up with each other with Leok in fourth and Guarneri matching his speed in fifth. Cranking out his fastest laps of the race ‘The Estonian Express’ was reeling in Belgium’s Ken De Dycker when technical gremlins struck only six minutes before the end of the race. Guarneri was thus handed fourth place on a plate while Leok was forced to pull out.

The second moto saw a similar pattern for the #39 and #40 bikes. Leok didn’t quite make the holeshot this time, but he had a good start nevertheless. Slightly quicker than in the opening race Tanel found his race rhythm to make his way up from fifth on the opening lap to third at the finish line only some two seconds behind Cairoli. Although Leok himself was pushed till the chequers by American expat Jimmy Albertson. Davide Guarneri had a slightly frustrating experience where he had to spend a lot of energy at the start of the race again to bounce back from a mediocre start. The 24-year old Italian eventually came home sixth behind Ken De Dycker. It was enough to claim a fifth place on the day, narrowly missing on his second podium of the
series by three points.

Davide Guarneri: “I’m quite happy with my day. Walking into the event I was second and I was able to hold on to the runner-up position. My speed was okay in both races, but I must improve my starts. Every time I go out on the CRF450R I’m growing more comfortable and confident with the bike. I also feel we are working in the right direction, we have tried some settings today and we’ve certainly found some improvements. Testing in race conditions like these will pay dividends once the GP season gets on its way.”

Tanel Leok: ”I’m feeling good for the moment, but I need to work on my opening lap and immediately tapping into my warp speed modus! My first lap in the opening moto was pretty bad, especially because I had the holeshot. Just when I was gunning for De Dycker in third I ran into a problem with the bike. We had an issue with the fuel pump and I gradually lost power, in the end I had to quit. The second moto was better. On one hand it’s sad that I lost valuable points for the championship today, but on the other hand we have learned a lot in Castiglione. We will continue testing in the weeks to come to be fully prepared for the Bulgarian GP.”

Steven Lettani, team manager: “Overall Castiglione was a satisfying test for both Davide and Tanel. Getting the bikes and the riders in tiptop shape for Sevlievo is an ongoing process. It has been encouraging to see how smoothly those guys are adapting to bike. From an experienced MX1 rider like Tanel that’s not such a big surprise! But it’s starting to show on the track that Davide is making headway after only four races on the 450. We now have two weeks to continue testing with the suspension and engine.”

Moto 1: 1 Philippaerts, 2 Cairoli, 3 De Dycker, 4 Davide Guarneri (LS Motors-Honda), 5 Albertson, 6 Monni, 7 Salvini 8 Bill, 9 Soderstrom, 10 Walkner DNF Tanel Leok (LS Motors-Honda),

Moto 2: 1 Philippaerts, 2 Cairoli, 3 Tanel Leok (LS Motors-Honda), 4 Albertson, 5 De Dycker, 6 Davide Guarneri (LS Motors-Honda), 7 Coppins, 8 Monni, 9 Bill, 10 Priem.

Castiglione del Lago classification: 1. David Philippaerts 50 ptn, 2. Tony Cairoli 44, 3. Ken De Dycker 36, 4. Jimmy Albertson 34, 5. Davide Guarneri (LS Motors-Honda) 33, 6. Manuel Monni 28, 7. Julien Bill 25, 8. Josh Coppins 23, 9. Tanel Leok (LS Motors-Honda) 20, 10. Alex Salvini 20,
Championship standings after two rounds: 1. David Philippaerts 100 ptn, 2. Davide Guarneri (LS Motors-Honda) 77, 3. Josh Coppins 61, 4. Tanel Leok (LS Motors-Honda) 58, 5. Manuel Monni 51, 6. Alex Salvini 49, 7. Tony Cairoli 44, 8. Manuel Priem 42, 9. Filip Neugebauer 39, 10. Jiri Cepelak 38.


TANEL LEOK
FUELLING PROBLEMS COST LEOK OVERALL PODIUM IN ITALY

It is well known that by now, Italian air traffic authorities shave granted permanent overflight rights to a blazingly fast Honda 450cc machine carrying number 40. The craft in question is piloted by one Tanel Leok, and although he is Estonian, he is always welcome in the Italian skies. As the reigning Italian MX1 motocross champion, Tanel has accumulated a sizeable fan base in the land of fashion and Ferrari, and those fans are never happier than when they can welcome top class international motocross riders to their championship events.

The Italian championship series is to a certain extent unique in the international motocross world in the sense that the bulk of the championship series is completed during a hectic few weeks at the beginning of the year. This means that participants in the Italian championships have to find their racing feet early in the year, which stands them in good stead for the their preparations for the rest of the season. Tanel had come out swinging on his brand new mount, and had placed the Honda at or near the front on a number of occasions in early season races in Italy thus far, so when the second round of the Italian championships at Castiglione Del Lago rolled along, he was ready, willing and able to stick it to the opposition once again.

The Estonian was in good spirits when he arrived in Italy. he had just experienced an illuminating few days in Austria as a guest of Red Bull where he put his tidy signature to a contract with the world's leading energy drink manufacturer. The attention that Red Bull gives its athletes is nothing short of staggering, and even the normally reticent Estonian had a good few words of praise for the training - and support facilities available at Red Bull HQ. Anyhow, such matters were for now behind him, and the focus was once again on achieving top results on the track.

Tanel piloted his LS Honda to the fourth fastest time during the qualifying session on the hard pack track with its awe-inspiring elevation changes. This was not exactly the pole positions that had become his standard fare in recent weeks, but then again, he was not light years removed form the front either. The guru of good starts must have hovered over his shoulder again, for in race 1 he blasted off the line like a socialite on her way to a handbag sale. The field was stacked with racing talent, including a former - and current world champion, both of them Italian, but the Estonian Express has never been one to let lofty reputations faze him. An early mistake dropped him down to sixth, but he started his recovery and was back up to fourth position and hounding third-placed Ken de Dycker like a terrier when fate intervened and his bike coasted to a halt. Tanel was thus forced to retire from the race, and saw a near-certain podium finish go up in smoke.

A slightly less enthusiastic start in race 2 had the Estonian stuck in fifth. He took the battle forward, and, needless to say, the hill gets steeper the nearer the top you are. In layman's language this means that passes come with less ease the nearer the front of the race you move. Nevertheless, Tanel disposed of two highly rated opponents to move into third, and homed in on reigning world champion and former team-mate Antonio Cairoli who was holding down second place. He gave every ounce of effort, but could just not haul in the Italian. He eventually finished third, just two seconds adrift of Cairoli, which enabled him to leave his bootprint on the podium yet again for the race.

The first race troubles dropped Tanel down to ninth overall for the day and cost him a near certain overall podium. He also dropped to fourth in the championship standings, but will be looking to set matters right at the next round of the Italian championships in two weeks' time. He was nevertheless not displeased with his progress thus far during the season: "”I’m feeling good for the moment, but I need to work on my opening lap and immediately tapping into my warp speed modus! My first lap in the opening moto was pretty bad, especially because I had the holeshot. Just when I was  gunning for De Dycker in third I ran into a problem with the bike. We had an issue with the fuel pump and I gradually lost power, in the end I had to quit. The second moto was better. On one hand it’s sad that I lost valuable points for the championship today, but on the other hand we have learned a lot in Castiglione. We will continue testing in the weeks to come to be fully prepared for the Bulgarian GP.”


JOSH COPPINS
Setback for Coppins in Castiglione del Lago

The second round of the Italian Motocross champs, held at the picturesque city of Castiglione del Lago, has produced a setback for factory Aprilia racer, Josh Coppins.

The New Zealander suffered an injured rib after a big crash in moto 1 - however Coppins still soldiered on to finish the moto after being a lap down. The resilient Kiwi fought back to salvage 12th spot on a very tricky and demanding circuit which had seen a lot of rainfall prior to race day.

When most riders would have packed their bags for the hospital, Coppins lined up for Moto 2 in severe pain - however the adrenaline was soon to take over as he rode a strong race to finish 7th for 8th overall.

“I didn’t get a good start in the first Moto and I was pushing really hard to catch the guys ahead. I had a pretty scary crash and felt a lot of pain in one of my lower ribs. I have  ridden in much worse discomfort before, so I thought, “Toughen up  and get out there for the second race.”  My start was way better in Moto 2 and I managed to hang with Guarneri and De Dycker for most of the moto. I am currently on my way to my specialist in Belgium to have some X-Rays to see the extent of the injury."

Coppins still holds 3rd position in the championship and pending his medical check he intends to race the next round in Cardano al Campo on the 14th March.