Yamaha Racing
Victory for Coppins

Yamaha Motocross Team riders again picked up more silverware in the 2008 pre-season period with Josh Coppins sweeping all three races at the Valence International meeting in southern France, beating a host of world championship peers including 2007 number one Steve Ramon.

The New Zealander won the popular French event for the second year in succession and took holeshots in two of the three motos, enjoying small battles with Sebastien Pourcel, Julian Bill and Ramon across the race programme to mark his perfect score-card. It was the second time that the 30 year old (31 next month) walked the top step of the rostrum after his proficiency last Sunday at Montevarchi in Italy and in spite of discomfort in his left shoulder than he aggravated at Mantova.

”It was an enjoyable race because the weather was good for once and the track offered near Grand Prix conditions which meant that I could really go for it,” said the YZ450FM rider. “I cannot complain with the build-up I’ve had. We have been using the race-bike for three weeks now and I am coming to grips with it. My shoulder is not 100% and I will go for a scan tomorrow. It has become better since Mantova but gave me some trouble on the long and rough downhills at Valence. I will find out this week what I have to do, whether it be physio or rest, and there is plenty of time before the first Grand Prix to get back to normal. I am in great shape, so my confidence is good.”

The Yamaha Motocross Team will travel to the UK for the last major International meeting of the pre-season period at the sandy Hawkstone Park next Sunday.

“We will head to Belgium this week,” said Team Co-ordinator Mino Raspanti “as we have a sandy race for both riders at Hawkstone Park so we will use Tuesday and Wednesday to test some suspension ahead of that meeting.”



Team KTM Report
Rattray and Searle 1-2 in MX2 at Valence
Photos: Ray Archer

KTM Red Bull factory riders Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle were sharp and successful on Sunday at the pre-season MX meeting in Valence, France finishing 1-2 in the MX2 class of this combined event.

Combination MX1 and MX2
With riders in both MX1 and MX2 competing in three heats it was tough going in the hard and stony circuit, but all four KTM factory riders treated it as a good warm-up event before the serious world championship GPs begin. Max Nagl, KTM's MX 1 rider for the 2008 season finished fourth in his division.
 
Rattray improves speed
I felt very good in all three races," the South African Rattray said. "It was a good preparation for the season. I was faster than in Mantova so my speed is improving and I am really going to be ready and in good form when the season starts. It is naturally pretty tough with MX1 and MX2 riding together and the track was very stony and a bit dangerous. I did not want to take any risks."
 
Tyla said it was very good to have KTM's team boss Stefan Everts around the track. Everts, himself 10-times world champion was able to show his riders the good lines on the track where he won himself in 2006.
 
Good training, Searle says
Tommy Searle, fresh from winter training in the USA where he will ride in the 2009 season said he viewed the event as good training for the coming season, even if admitting the course was not his favourite. "It is very stony but I took it as a practice," he said. "I did not have a good start in the first race. The second was quite good but then I had a crash and the third race of the day was my best and I finished overall fifth. The most important thing today was to ride safe and see it as good training," he said.
 
Goncalves will work on improvements
Rui Goncalves, the third rider in the KTM MX2 factory line-up finished fifth in MX2 and admitted it had not been his best weekend. "I tried my best but I struggled with the track. For me the most important thing was not to take risks or to get injured but that was no excuse as this weekend was not my best. Now I plan to work hard on improving some details of my riding so I am in good shape for the start of the season."
 
Nagl finishes fourth
Max Nagl, while narrowly missing the podium in fourth place said it had been good pre-season warm-up. In race one he was second behind Josh Coppins after the start and finished in third place. "I got a better start in race two but I seemed to have too much traction. Then I took the holeshot in the third race but I got pushed into the tyre barrier by one of the other guys on the first downhill and I lost quite a few places. I got back into the race and pushed hard and finished in fourth. My goal for the weekend was top five so finishing in fourth place was good for me."
 
The race weekend was rain free for the first time in years, even if there was a stiff wind blowing on Sunday. The KTM factory riders will now travel to the UK for the one day event at Hawkstone Park in the UK next weekend.
 
MX 1 Overall
1. Josh Coppins, Yamaha, 75 points
2. Sebastien Pourcel, Kawasaki 64
3. Steve Ramon Suzuki, 60
4. Max Nagl KTM 53
5. Ken De Dyker, Suzuki, 44 points
 
MX2 Overall
1. Tyla Rattray, KTM 38 points
2. Tommy Searle, KTM 33
3. Stephen Sword, Kawasaki 13
4. Anthony Boissiere, KTM 10
5. Rui Goncalves, KTM 9

Tommy Searle

Kawasaki Racing Team MX1
Priem picks up the pace in Valence
Photo: Ray Archer

Kawasaki Racing Team’s Manuel Priem picks up the pace while team-mate Tanel Leok picks up a minor shoulder injury at the International Motocross of Valence.

After spending a whole week testing, training and completing the pre-season photo and film shoot in Spain the KRT squad headed to Valence – approximately 100kms south of Lyon in France – for their second high profile warm-up race in the space of two weeks.

Unusually for the February race in Valence the sun was shining and the wind was blowing which meant the spectacular hillside track was drier and therefore faster than ever before although just as rough and rutty making it a real test of man and machine for the 40 invited racers from around the world.

The day started in a very positive fashion for the team as number one rider Tanel Leok set fastest time in the first session of the day with team-mate Manuel Priem (pictured right) also posting a very respectable lap in both the free practice and qualification session.

Using the strong linear power of the KX450F-SR both Leok and Priem were able to get to the head of the pack at the start of moto one but the pair of Kawasaki factory racers got snarled up in turn one and headed down the first hill stuck in the middle of the field. While Priem rode a steady race to 14th at the finish Leok was not able to see the chequered flag after the Estonian star crashed on one of the Valence circuit’s many tabletop jumps and injured his shoulder.

“After I got caught in the first corner I tried to push through hitting Ramon’s back wheel and I slid out a little bit so I was a long way back in the pack,” Tanel said afterwards. “I wanted to keep pushing through the race but where they’d watered the track the take-off for the jump was very slippery and I accelerated hard and needing to hook another gear but I couldn’t get it and I went over the handlebars on the jump.

“Right now after the painkillers it feels okay but before that it was not so okay. I’ll see my doctor in Belgium tomorrow for a full report of what’s wrong.”

Unable to continue on the day Tanel returned to the track later on after seeking medical help to support his team-mate.

With Leok watching on Manuel was able to put in a further two solid rides on the day. Improving to 8th in the final moto Manuel’s solid 14-19-8 scorecard in a field full of top MX1 and MX2 GP pilots confirmed his place amongst the sport’s elite.

“Today was a good day for me,” claimed Manuel later. “I took ninth in qualifying without doing crazy things or being on the edge. In the first race everyone got stuck in the first turn and coming through the pack it was very difficult to pass on this track but I fought hard and got back to 14th position.

“I don’t know if it’s because I saw Tanel had crashed in the first race but I rode far too steadily in moto two and was too careful not to crash myself but the third race was much better for me – I was able to ride hard and finish eighth.

“I’m very happy with that last race, my speed is okay and my physical condition is also good. I’m very happy with the bike, the suspension is very good and I’m able to ride smoothly with it.”

From Valence the KRT team head to the sand of Hawkstone Park in England on March 2 for the Salop
club’s annual pre-season international.



Molson Kawasaki Racing
Sword scores MX2 podium in Valence
Photo: Ray Archer

Molson Kawasaki’s Stephen Sword makes the MX2 podium in Valence with three fantastic performance in his comeback ride on the KX250F-SR.

After completing the official photo and film shoot at a track near Girona in Spain the Molson Kawasaki team headed to Valence for the annual pre-season international on the hillside circuit that’s situated in the French city’s industrial zone. Putting in solid, workmanlike performances the entire team were very impressive on their new factory equipment.

Most impressive of all was 28-year-old veteran of the team Stephen Sword (pictured right) who in his first race in over six month’s after injuring his leg at Namur placed his Molson Kawasaki in third place overall in the MX2 class at Valence. Three speedy but sensible rides in the mixed capacity motos saw Stephen surprise even himself by standing on the podium alongside fellow MX2 world title candidates Tommy Searle and Tyla Rattray.

“This was my first race back since Namur last year and I’m glad to get it under my belt,” claimed Stephen.

“It’s always hard racing against the 450s but I had three good starts that I was very happy with
considering it was an uphill start. I just concentrated on what I was doing and enjoyed the battles I was in. It was useful racing here to get a benchmark and of course it was great to be racing again.

“We changed the jetting a little bit for the second race and that was probably my best race of the day – I got a decent start but had a little bit of a bad spell in the middle of the race but and lost a few places but managed to make them all back up by the end.

“I had three reasonably consistent rides with no crashes and that’s what I came here to do. To be honest I never expected to get third overall today and it was a real surprise – a great start to the season.”

Swordy’s team-mates had a mixed day with South Africa’s Gareth Swanepoel improving after a shaky start.

“Today went pretty okay,” said Gareth. “I had bad starts but my speed was okay, nothing special but okay, I had no crashes and was happy enough. My riding is getting better and better each week and I’m progressing which is what I want to do up until Valkenswaard.

“The last race was my best on the day, I was riding much more comfortably and I battled with Tyla for quite a while and ended up as third MX2 rider in 13th place. With these races winning isn’t so important and it’s all about improving – the set-up with the bike is good and it’s going to be very competitive once we iron out any little problems.”

The third Molson MX2 rider Gautier Paulin decided to mix things up a little in Valence and race a KX450F. While the European MX2 champion failed to finish any of the motos due to a throttle hand injury he sustained in qualification the flamboyant Frenchman did impress during Saturday’s free practice sessions.

“I feel good with the KX250F-SR – I already have a great set-up with the bike – so I decided to change a little bit for this race and ride the 450 machine instead,” said Paulin. “In timed qualification I tried to cut a new line and I was riding close to the bank and I couldn’t see the tyres in the mud. There was one tyre sticking out slightly more than the others and I hit it and it high-sided me. I came down on my hand and the result is that I have fractured a small bone there.

“Now I need to wait three or four weeks before I can race again but I’ve worked hard this winter and my general fitness is good and the bike is good so I think I’ll be ready for Valkenswaard.”

As well as three factory MX2 riders Team Molson are also running a satellite rider in the MX1 division – Tom Church. Using the awesome power of the KX450F Tom was able to motor to a top 10 finish in moto one against many factory machine mounted riders. “The weekend went very well for me and I felt very comfortable,” reckoned TC. “I haven’t pushed too hard all weekend as I’m still getting used to the bigger bike and racing again after the winter break.

“I got a great start in the first race and went with it, got a little bit tight in the middle of the race and forgot to breathe but I was still quite happy with my ride in that one. The second one wasn’t such a good start but I battled hard all race and was pleased again. In the last race I got tangled up at the start but it was dusty and I crashed again as I tried to come through so I called it a day.

“Overall I’m very happy. I never rode on the edge all weekend and I’m very happy with my speed, the bike is good and we didn’t have to change any settings throughout the weekend which for this time of year is a great situation to be in.”

From France the Molson squad head back to their Belgian base before repacking their two trucks and
heading to Hawkstone Park for the annual pre-season international on March 2.




Grand Prix Kawasaki Racing
Sébastien Pourcel a convincing second in Valence
Photo: Ray Archer

The Grand Prix Kawasaki Racing team’s second major pre-season race – the International
Motocross of Valence – was another important test for their GP riders.

With most of the favourites for the MX1 campaign present at the event held 100 kms south of Lyon, GPKR’s Sébastien Pourcel rode well to claim a convincing second place overall with three podium positions. Sébastien was not in his best shape when he arrived at Valence as he had caught a cold in Spain a few days earlier and couldn’t train as normal before the event. Fastest rider on Saturday in the two free practice sessions, Sebastien also clinched pole position in the timed training session giving him first position on the grid for the three races.

Third at the start of the first race behind Coppins and Nagl, Pourcel (pictured right) promptly moved to second after one lap to contest the lead with Coppins. Josh and Seb raced together for a few laps and then Seb took the lead in the seventh lap. He couldn’t create a gap as Josh was pushing hard to keep the pace and three laps from the end the Kiwi passed him for the win.

The second moto start was similar with a third position behind Coppins and Julien Bill but once more Seb moved into second after one single lap. But he wasn’t able to challenge Josh who won quite easily as Seb made a mistake on a jump and lost a few seconds. In the last laps his main goal was to keep Ramon who came closer after his mistake behind which he managed to do.

Second behind Bill at the start of the last race Seb felt tired and slipped to fourth after four circulations behind Bill, Coppins and Ramon. He passed Bill at mid race to finish once more on the podium and claimed the second position overall behind Coppins.

Alexandre Rouis was doing only his second race at this level and got more experience racing mainly with the GP riders. 32nd in the timed practice session and 25th-, 29th and 27th in the heats Alexandre learned a lot and now knows exactly what he has to do to be ready for the GPs.

Kevin Strijbos was not able to race in Valence while he recovers from a minor shoulder injury.

Sébastien Pourcel: “I’m pretty happy with my results and especially the start. I was not sure to be able to keep a good rhythm during the three heats as I felt tired after the first race but I was consistent and regular. I raced three times for the win, we did a good job with the team to improve the bike and we saw at the start that we worked in the right direction. I’m sure that we can continue to improve the bike but it was a good weekend for us.”

Alexandre Rouis: “In the three heats my start was not so good and I had some troubles finding a good rhythm. It’s one of the problems that I must solve and I have to be more aggressive and faster early in the races. But it was better than in Mantova two weeks ago and I’m sure that I will continue to improve my results at each race.”

Roger Pourcel: “Sebastien was not at his best shape as he caught a cold this week and he was tired when he finished the first heat. He was easy on the bike, did three consistent races, had three good starts and didn’t make any mistakes except a small one in the second heat. Alex is not used to racing at this level and that’s the reason why these races are important for him – he needs to be more aggressive on the bike and we’ll continue to work hard in the following weeks.”



Team Suzuki Report
Ramon third at Valence International

Team Suzuki riders Steve Ramon and Ken De Dycker continued their preparation for the 2008 MX1 World motocross championship by competing in the International of Valence held under sunny skies on the spectacular hillside circuit near Lyon in the south of France.

Although track conditions stayed dry throughout the day plenty of punishing ruts and bumps formed making it a challenging circuit for the 40 invited racers.

After a steady start to the season with sixth overall in the Mantova Starcross, reigning MX1 World Champion Steve Ramon (pictured right) improved vastly throughout the day to post a 4-3-2 scorecard to finish third overall on the all-new electronically fuel injected RM-Z450 after battling with Josh Coppins, Sebastien Pourcel and Julien Bill during the three 20 minute plus two lap motos.

 "I had a good day here even though it's not my favourite track," said Ramon after the third epic battle. "It's always one of the first races of the year and I sometimes find it difficult on this track but today I was riding good and in every race I made some progress. The last race was really good and I had a little battle with Josh after fighting my way through the pack.

 "My riding is good and the bike is also good. We did some testing after Mantova for a couple of weeks in the south of France and the bike is really good now. We still have a few weeks to go before the first GP and I'm happy and my confidence is high."

Fresh from an easy win in at the Belgian international race in Grobbendonk one week earlier, Ramon's team mate De Dycker also showed great promise during the day in only his third race appearance on the RM-Z. Showing no ill effects form the minor injury he sustained in Mantova Ken's 5-4-11 scorecard was plenty good enough for fifth overall on the day.

 "I had a bad race in Mantova with a small injury but this race started well and got better and better," claimed Ken. "For so early in the season my speed is good and there are still a few races before the first GP and also plenty of opportunities to go practice before then so I can be the best I can at Valkenswaard.

"The team and I are still improving things on the bike and trying different parts and settings but what we have already is very good. We've been testing for two weeks since Mantova and I've been riding and riding to get used to the new bike and this race also helped with that too."



Tanel Leok Report
CRASH FORCES LEOK TO RETIRE FROM INTERNATIONAL IN VALENCE

After a long spell away from home training in Italy and France, Tanel Leok pointed the nose of his camper in the direction of Valence in the South of France for the second clash of the titans in the 2008 season. The motor club of Valence annually organises a season opener, and the great and the good of the motocross world descend on the stony track in the industrial are of the town to compete for the sizeable prize pot and early season bragging rights.

Judging on years gone by, Tanel would not view this as his favourite event, but the competition is good and early season race time invaluable, and the Estonian Express is not known for shying away from a challenge. The bright green Kawasaki duly made its appearance at the track for the training sessions, therefore, and he stopped the qualifying clocks with the fourth fastest lap time, a smidgen more than 3/10ths of a second slower than front man Sebastian Pourcel, who used his wealth of local knowledge to optimum effect.

A missed start was not exactly what the doctor had ordered, but  Tanel was forced to take evasive action in the early stages of the race, dropping him outside of the top 10. Unfortunately for him, this was not the last of the misfortune that was in store for him. Charging through the field, he became yet another victim of the dangerous track as he was spat off the bike on a table top jump. Tanel is tough as nails, no argument necessary, and when he was slow to get up, it was clear that this was a extraordinarily hard smack. The medical services attended to him, and he was taken to the local hospital for a check up.

Initial fears of internal injuries fortunately proved groundless, but Tanel has sustained a shoulder injury, which will be checked out on Monday under the expert eye of surgeon to the stars, Dr. Toon Claes in Belgium. At this moment it is still unclear whether he will be able ot race in the international event at Hawkstone Park, England, next week.