Yamaha Racing
Fantastic 1-2 results at first 2008 race for Yamaha Motocross Team

The 25th edition of the Starcross International at Mantova in Italy kick-started the 2008 European motocross calendar last weekend and it was a positive meeting for the Yamaha Motocross Team as David Philippaerts took his first overall victory on the YZ450FM and Josh Coppins filled second position. The inaugural race of the year saw factory representation from all the manufacturers and a large quota of world championship riders line the gate.

Across the three 20 minute and 2 lap motos on the rough and hardpack sandy Italian terrain, Philippaerts rode strongly and did not drop out of the top three to post finishes of 2nd, 1st and 3rd. Coppins suffered from a spill in Saturday’s qualification heat that left the New Zealander with a sore shoulder. The 30 year old slipped off again on a chaotic first lap of the opening sprint but recovered to obtain a set of 7th, 4th and 4th positions.

Philippaerts was a convincing winner in Moto2 and should have perhaps won the first race also if he did not need to briefly slow while in second place to sort out a brake concern. In the final outing he was unable to chase Jonathan Barragan but the Spaniard had mechanical trouble early in race two and was physically fresher than his peers.

The team were testing for two days this week prior to their first competitive appearance of 2008 and will be clocking up kilometres again on the YZ450FM in the days after Mantova. The new Kayaba suspension units have had a benefit, and the improvement in the front end feeling of the chassis - helping the bike turn quicker - has been met with all-round approval from both riders.

Aside from the motos, that took place under bright sunshine but in modest temperatures, spectators were also treated to the ‘one-on-one’ contest in which selected riders from each class fought over one lap. Coppins was particularly sharp with his starts and won three face-offs (including a defeat of 2007 title rival Steve Ramon) to reach the final against 2007 pole position specialist Tanel Leok. Only a brave move from the Estonian through the triple on the second part of the lap prevented Coppins from walking away triumphant from this particular novelty, unique to the Starcross meeting.

In the MX2 category Martin Barr was Yamaha’s top performer with a decent seventh place overall. Manuel Monni was also in the top ten with ninth position.

Yamaha Motocross Team will be action again next week with the first round of the Italian championship taking place at the Montevarchi circuit. Yamaha Red Bull De Carli rider Antonio Cairoli was present as a spectator in Mantova and will join his team-mates Matteo Bonini and Alessandro Lupino at Montevarchi as the Italian squad open their account for 2008.

David Philippaerts, 1st position:
“This is a good start to the year and I am very happy for the team and everybody. The bike was really good today. It is very fast, maybe too fast for me at the moment! In the first race I had a small problem with the brake and had to stop quickly but my riding was good after that and I had some nice lines. In the second I was determined to win and passed many riders in the first corners. It was quite easy in the end. Barragan was fast in the last race but because he had a problem earlier he might have been fresher than the rest of us. We still have some time before the first Grand Prix and we are going in the right direction; my condition is getting stronger and the bike feels better each week. I am especially pleased with my starts today.”

Josh Coppins, 2nd position:
“I am happy it is all over as I don’t really like this track and I crashed on Saturday and hurt my shoulder. It was a tough weekend. I got to the last round of the ‘One on One’ but Leok just got by me on the triple. In the first moto I went down on the first lap and did pretty well to come back to 7th from 15th or 20th; something like that. I fought hard and my shoulder was tight afterwards. The second race was going OK and I moved past Pourcel for third at the end but unfortunately I got caught up with a lapped rider and that pushed me back. In the last I felt the pace with my shoulder. Overall there were too many mistakes and having two crashes was not good. However, we are on the podium so it was not a waste. We also rode the bike for the first time this week and I am pleased with what we have so far.”

Mino Raspanti, Team co-ordinator:
“I am really happy for the riders. The results were not really important this weekend but it was still good to do well and take the momentum we had from testing onto the race track. We had made some changes to the bike but the practice track is always different to the races where everything is much rougher and quicker. We have started our programme now and can begin counting down to the first Grand Prix."



Team KTM

Tommy Searle starts MX season with a flourish in Mantova
KTM Red Bull MX2 factory rider Tommy Searle (pictured right) sent a strong signal to his opponents this weekend when he won the overall class of MX 2 at the pre-season Starcross event in Mantova Italy.
The young British rider, who is among the title favourites for the MX2 world championship title in 2008 did his winter training in the USA where he has signed to race for KTM in 2009.
 
Thumbs up for new KTM bike
"I am very happy to win today. My speed was good and I like the new frame of the bike a lot. This was very important race for me but I know everyone is going to improve between now and when the Grand Prix season starts in March," Tommy said. He will now return home to the UK where he will train five days a week in preparation for the opening of the season.
 
New boy Goncalves happy with KTM factory team
The latest recruit to the MX2 KTM Red Bull Factory Team Rui Goncalves of Portugal finished third overall and was also satisfied with the weekend's result in Italy. "The new chassis is very good and it is a powerful bike," he said. "Like everyone here I wanted to show what I could do but I know I have to improve and I didn't want to push too much. It was a good result for me, the speed was good and I know I am going to improve a lot by the time the season starts." Goncalves said he was happy with the feeling and co-operation in his new team. He now plans to go the Belgium to train on the sand together with KTM MX team boss Stefan Everts. "Now we need the sand practice," he said. "I will also ride with others because it is also important to get the comparison between me and the other guys."
 
Rattray fit again and "Ready to Race" for KTM
Tyla Rattray, fit and raring to go after major knee reconstruction surgery last November and a period of convalescence at home in South Africa said he too was happy and satisfied with his first ride on the KTM for six months. "I like the new bike very much. It is much better in the corners," he said. This was a warm-up race for me and I didn't expect to win but it was a good test of my fitness. I know I will be 100% for the first race of the season and in the meantime I will go to train in Belgium and will also race the international in Valence, France."
 
Results

Overall MX2
1. Tommy Searle, Britain, KTM
2. Paulin
3. Rui Goncalves, Portugal, KTM
4. Simpson
5. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM

Results MX1 Overall
1. David Philippaerts, Italy, Yamaha
2. Josh Coppins, New Zealand, Yamaha
3. Jonathan Barragan, Spain, KTM
4. Marc De Reuver, Netherland, Honda
5. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM

Race One
1. Jonathan Barragan Spain KTM (MX1)
2. David Philippaerts, Italy, Yamaha (MX1)
3. Max Nagl, Germany, KTM (MX1)
4. Marc De Reuver, Netherlands, Honda (MX1)
5. Tyla Rattray, South Africa, KTM (MX2)
 
Race Two
1. Philippaerts (MX1)
2. De Reuver (MX1)
3. Pourcel (MX1)
4. Coppins (MX1)
5. Ramon (MX1)
6. Nagl, KTM (MX1)
7. Leok, (MX1)
8. Searle, KTM (MX2)
 
Race Three
1. Barragan, KTM (MX1)
2. Leok, (MX1)
3. Philippaerts (MX1)
4. Coppins (MX1)
5. Searle KTM, (MX2)
9. Nagl, KTM (MX1)
10. Goncalves, KTM (MX2)
Rattray, KTM, DNF


Barragan third overall in MX1 at Starcross in Mantova Italy
Jonathan Barragan (pictured right) came in third overall in the MX1 class at the pre-season Starcross event in Mantova Italy this weekend for an impressive start to his new season for his new KTM-supported team and on his factory bike.

This season KTM is supporting new teams as well as running the KTM Red Bull factory team and Barragan from Spain is riding for the Italian-based Team Silver Action. Jonathan won the first and the third heat at Starcross but stalled in the second. His third place overall is a strong indicator that he will be up with the front runners this season.
 
Good start for Barragan
"These were two good days for me," he said. "But it is still two months before the season starts and it doesn't really show the full potential. I have been training in the USA so I haven't had too much time to ride the new bike yet but I am very happy with my new team and having KTM behind me helps a lot. I wish all the GPs would be like this race!" Barragan now returns to Madrid and will train in Spain. He will compete in two races in the Spanish national championship and will move to Belgium 25 days before the first GP of the season to get in some practice on sand.
 
3 x holeshot for Germany's Max Nagl
Riding in his first season for the KTM Red Bull MX1 factory team, Max Nagl set out to snatch the holeshot in his race and managed three in a row for his three heats. "Today it was important for me to get the holeshot and I managed to do that. We did have some problems with the suspension setting because conditions were quite different here in Italy than where I was training in Spain. I also had some problems with pain in my arms so overall fifth place was OK for me." Nagl said he had a later than usual start to his preparation for the season but would be completely fit for the first GP. He will now go to Belgium for more tests and would also compete in the pre-season race in Valence.



Tanel Leok
LEOK COLLECTS SILVERWARE IN FIRST RACE OUTING OF 2008

The cream of Europe's motocross elite descended on Mantova for the traditional season-opener, the popular Starcross event. The race, on the beautifully laid out sand track in Italy, provides a perfect opportunity for the world's top riders to shake out the cobwebs, get the racing juices flowing and measure up the opposition for the hard season that lies ahead.

Tanel Leok (pictured right) was reported to be blitzing around the track during his pre-season training weeks in Spain, and the Estonian Express confirmed this with the fastest training time during qualifying practice in Mantova. Unfortunately for him, he overdid matters somewhat during the all-or-nothing superpole lap which is unique to this event, and he was catapulted over the bars of his factory Kawasaki and came down with a resounding thud. Tanel is hard as nails, however, and despite an uncomfortable evening on Saturday night, he reported for duty on Sunday morning, stiff and sore, but still raring to go.

There is much that is unique about the Starcross event, and the most crowd-pleasing of all is the one-on-one knockout event. Two riders line up against each other for a one lap race, with the loser dropping out of the competition, and after a number of elimination rounds, the two top dogs square up for the grand final. Tanel disposed of all the contenders in his group with a succession of blistering one-lap races, and finally lined up against world championship favourite Josh Coppins for the final race. The New Zealander held the early lead, but Tanel was timing the race perfectly, and out-jumped Coppins spectacularly to nose ahead, and then rode home to an easy victory.

Having won the MX1 class one-on-one trophy, Tanel squared up to MX2 class winner Tommy Searle to vie for overall honours. Tanel held the early lead, but the plucky Englishman took the battle to him and passed him halfway through the lap. He did not reckon with the Estonian's resolve, though. Tanel railed a corner on the outside, and a bemused Searle had to yield. With this victory, Tanel claimed the overall victory in the one-on-one competition and received a cup that will make the shelves in his trophy cabinet groan.

Tanel still had a busy day of racing ahead of him. Unfortunately, he crashed hard at the start of the first race of the day, which well and truly rang his bell. He remounted and got into the charge, but with the race limited to 20 minutes, there was scant opportunity to repair the damage, and he finished in a painful 20th position. Although he was feeling more than a bit second hand, Tanel produced a workmanlike performance in the second race to barge from a start outside the top 10 to 8th position by the fall of the flag.

With the slanting sun drawing long shadows, Tanel marched to the start line with a determined gleam in his eye for the third and final heat. A better start placed him a a good position, and a few laps into the race he displaced world champion Steve Ramon to move into second spot. He set his formidable sights on race leader Jonathan Barragan, but the Spaniard used his wiles to stay in the lead, leaving Tanel to cross the line in a strong second position.

Tanel was sore, but satisfied with his results had improved throughout the day. "I was stiff and sore after my crash yesterday, but it was OK," he said. "The bike has been improved, and I think it will help me to get better starts. I will work more on this during the coming weeks."

Tanel remains in Italy for a few weeks' worth of intensive training before his next International outing in Hawkstone Park in England.

Tanel Leok holds his trophy which would hold enough champagne for the Estonian army.

Josh Coppins
Coppins second at MX season opener

Factory Yamaha Rinaldi racer, Josh Coppins, has finished second at the International Motocross season opener in Mantova, Italy. The New Zealander, who has openly admitted his dislike of the tight sandy circuit, racked up a 7-4-4 result, following home fellow team-mate David Philippaerts. 

Coppins (pictured right) also finished second in the one-on-one challenge, coming up against Estonian Tanel Leok in the final match. This event sees two riders go head to head for a one lap knock out system until the two fastest challenges are left over to battle in the grand finale.

“It’s been a tough weekend really,” commented Coppins. “I had a pretty hard crash on Saturday and saw a few stars but was happy with my times up to that point. In the first moto on Sunday I had a good start but then slipped out in a corner and went down. I managed to work my way back from around twentieth to seventh which wasn’t too bad. The next two races were pretty consistent with two fourth positions. I didn’t enjoy the track, however this has been my best Mantova finish ever so I’ll take it. I was happy with the new bike and suspension and got decent starts so we have a good base to work from.”

Coppins is scheduled to race the Italian championship in Montevarchi next weekend and will be staying in Italy for further testing.



Team Molson Kawasaki
Molson launch 2008 with exciting show for Paulin

Molson Kawasaki triggered their 2008 racing campaign last weekend with an appearance at the 25th Mantova Starcross International. The Italian venue has become the traditional curtain-raiser on the European off-road racing schedule in recent years. New team recruit Gautier Paulin took decent second place overall in his ’euro’ debut for the British crew.

Paulin (pictured right), with his typical loose and exciting style, followed up his win in Japan last year with solid performances in the three 20 minute and 2 lap motos. The races took place under bright sunshine all weekend long but temperatures still revealed the drags of winter.
The highly-rated French teenager – working with former world champion Jacky Vimond – placed 2nd, 4th and 4th in his class during the sprints and reached the final of the ‘One to One’ against Tommy Searle but fell off his KX250F-SR in the first few corners.

Paulin: “It was a good weekend for me here in Italy, the first opportunity to test the Molson engine under race conditions rather than on a test track, I started well in race one and was fifth amongst the larger 450cc machines which made me happy. For sure the bike is good and I am very happy with the set up. I finished the day second overall in the MX2 category which is a very good start. I know where I am weak at the moment so I need to train more with the bike as a mainly did physical training rather than riding but for sure in two weeks after more time on the bike I am looking forward to the race at Valance in France”.

Gareth Swanepoel was only able to take fourteenth overall after scoring points in just two motos, in one he had to recover from a first lap crash. Mantova was very much a dusting-down session for the South African as he only returned from his native country last week

Swanepoel: “I just arrived back from South Africa, it’s a little bit colder here than there but I am looking forward to getting the new season underway. Things didn’t go to plan during Saturday’s practice session, I was a little unlucky and crashed and again I crashed this morning in the first practice and hurt my back pretty badly, I didn’t want to race but then thought I’d better go out and just use it for practice and help to set up the bike so long as my back didn’t start hurting. The motos turned out OK but again in the last race luck just wasn’t on my side. I made a very good start but De Reuver made contact with another rider and came back off the berm and slammed into me. I suffered a cut in my arm which was pretty deep so I had to go to the doctor, not a pleasant end to my weekend.”



Kawasaki Racing Team
Leok shows high pace at Mantova, Priem makes debut

Kawasaki Racing Team started their assault on the 2008 season at the traditional opener, the pre-season International at Mantova in Northern Italy. With a top line-up of Europe's motocross elite the popular Mantova Starcross event was staged under blue sky’s on a rough, sandy track.
Tanel Leok has been training hard in Spain with his team and new team-mate Manuel Priem, Leok, nicknamed the Estonian Express, confirmed recent reports that he was in good shape and happy with pre-season testing. All was confirmed as he posted the fastest training time during Saturday’s qualifying practice in Mantova. Leok suffered a sizeable crash after trying too hard in the do-or-die Superpole lap.

The Mantova Starcross event, is a real crowd-pleaser with a unique atmosphere only possible at a pre-season event without the pressure of Grand Prix competition, two riders compete in a one-on-one knockout event battling through elimination rounds. Tanel disposed of all the contenders in his group with a succession of blistering one-lap races, and finally lined up against World Championship favourite Josh Coppins for the final sprint. The Kiwi held the early lead, but Tanel was timing the race perfectly, and out-jumped Coppins spectacularly on the triple to nose ahead.

Having won the MX1 class one-on-one trophy, Tanel squared up to MX2 class winner Tommy Searle to vie for overall honours. Tanel held the early lead, but the plucky Englishman took the battle to him and moved through halfway around the lap. He did not reckon with the Estonian's resolve, though. Tanel railed a corner on the outside, and a bemused Searle had to yield. With this victory, Leok claimed the overall victory in the one-on-one competition and received a magnificent trophy.

Tanel unfortunately fell hard at the start of the first race of the day, dazed he quickly remounted and got into the charge, but with the race limited to 20 minutes, there was scant opportunity to repair the damage, he finished in 20th position. Tanel’s day could only improve and his second race performance saw him barge from outside the top ten to eighth position by the fall of the flag. With a blinding start in the third and final moto, Leok moved from 4th to 2nd position passing World Champion Steve Ramon, he battled with the low sun which caused him to ride blind over many jumps to secure second position and seventh overall on the day.

Manuel Priem (pictured right) made his official Kawasaki debut. The likeable Belgian has settled well into the factory MX1 squad and been working hard with Leok in Spain in recent weeks. The deep sand of Mantova wasn’t kind in Priem’s first outing and he finished outside of the top ten but he improved with each of his next two outing taking 10th and 6th positions using this valuable time to help him set up his new 450cc race machine for the more important races which lie ahead.

Leok: “In the one to one battle this morning I wasn’t risking too much, not pushing myself to the limit but anyway I won which was nice, it’s always nice to win but those kind of head to head races are special, I think special only to this race. It helped to set me up for race one but I was unlucky and crashed, I crashed again in race two but came back a few positions and finished 7th but the best result was in the final moto. I gated 4th and pulled back to 2nd I wasn’t losing any ground but the sun was very low and made some of the jumps very scary. Yesterday I crashed because of the sun so I didn’t want to risk making the same mistake. The track was very rough and difficult which was good, I was happy with the set up of the bike, this is the first race of the season, I know I had some bad luck but overall I leave happy and positive knowing that the work we have done in the last few months is carrying on where we left off at the end of last season.”

Priem: “This is my official debut on the factory Kawasaki bike, I was confident that we had the bike set up well but you always start these races searching for a better and better set up, this is not practice, it’s a racing environment and you always discover many different things about a new bike under these conditions. For the first outing I was happy, 10th in race two followed by 6th in the final moto gave me a positive feeling now I have something to work on as we test before the next pre season at Valance, France in two weeks time. The bike set up was good, the track was very bumpy towards the end which I like, I pulled through the field and improved my position in each race but mid pack and 10th positions off the start is something that maybe need to improve and work on during the coming weeks.”



Grand Prix Kawasaki Racing
Pourcel and Strijbos get 2008 underway at Mantova

Team GPKR Kawasaki began their 2008 racing campaign in the bright sunshine over the Italian circuit of Mantova last weekend. The temperatures remained quite low over the two days at the circuit that hosts the Italian Grand Prix in May but the meeting was still very much a warm-up for Sebastien Pourcel and Kevin Strijbos.

Strijbos – runner-up in the FIM MX1 World Championship for the past two years – was making his racing debut in green colours and in truth could have asked for better conditions. The Belgian (pictured right) had crashed the week beforehand and injured his shoulder. He is still unsure if the joint will require surgery. Nevertheless Strijbos overcame his discomfort and also a slipping clutch problem on Saturday to register three top ten finishes with 9th, 6th and 7th through the bumpy sand for 8th overall in MX1.

Strijbos: “This was a difficult race for me, I have been carrying a shoulder injury for the past two weeks and have been unable to train but I wanted to get out on the Kawasaki and make my debut. I was happy with my riding but I know that I still need to work on my starts maybe make some adjustments to the engine, I think Sebastien also had poor starts, for me my starts improved but still not as good as I would like. Third race I was pretty tired as I have done nothing for ten days, I tried not to think about my shoulder but I could not put my arm straight so it meant I couldn’t give 100% like I wanted too, it’s not easy as I can’t jump or turn in the corners how I want. The season is still many weeks away, almost two months so I still have time to get fit. I will see my doctor on Monday, hopefully it is only a small bone broken which can repair in two weeks but if the muscle or ligament has come away from the bone this could require surgery and I might need the next month to recover before the first grand prix. We will have to wait to see what the doctor says. The last thing I want to do is wait and risk crashing in a few weeks’ time and miss a lot of time off the bike later. It’s up in the air until I get the verdict from my doctor.”

Sebastien Pourcel crashed on the first lap of the first race after a hectic chase through the corners but did well to recover to 8th place. He was a strong third in the second affair but had to pull out of the last moto.

Pourcel: “My start was not very good in my first moto and I was taken down in a big pile up at turn one, I fought my way back from last place to finish 8th, I was very happy as I didn’t feel tired and I did a lot of work to make up so much ground and pass so many riders. I took top eight in race two from the start and came back to second behind Philippaerts before making a small mistake and eventually finished third. In the third and final race I made a bad start. The sun was very low and dangerous, I couldn’t see the track or where I was going, I knew it was dangerous and later retired. Overall it has been a good weekend, nice to get the first race of the year behind you, I know that we need to do some work on the engine and minor adjustments to the suspension set up, it was rough here today which was good as a testing ground. I feel that my starts need some work as I need to get out of the gate and make less work for myself in the races that could in the months ahead.”