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| Coppins victorious in Bulgaria | | |  | 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.
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." |
| Circuit Length: 1530
Temp: 22
Crowd: 28,000
Weather: Sunny Last Years Winner: Bradley Anderson | | | 2009 GP of Bulgaria, Sevlievo 05/04/2009 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 39'32.380 | | 2 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 0'01.654 | | 3 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 0'03.134 | | 4 | Jonathan Barragan | KTM | ESP | 0'04.667 | | 5 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 0'20.761 | | 6 | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 0'24.429 | | 7 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 0'34.633 | | 8 | Steve Ramon | Suzuki | BEL | 0'39.058 | | 9 | Kevin Strijbos | Honda | BEL | 0'40.287 | | 10 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 0'53.605 | | 11 | David Vuillemin | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'02.110 | | 12 | Marc De Reuver | Honda | NED | 1'10.979 | | 13 | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 1'16.731 | | 14 | James Noble | Suzuki | GBR | 1'19.830 | | 15 | Sébastien Pourcel | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'20.111 |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Jonathan Barragan | KTM | ESP | 39'49.118 | | 2 | Joshua Coppins | Yamaha | NZL | 0'03.716 | | 3 | David Philippaerts | Yamaha | ITA | 0'04.672 | | 4 | Antonio Cairoli | Yamaha | ITA | 0'05.144 | | 5 | Maximilian Nagl | KTM | GER | 0'16.094 | | 6 | Tanel Leok | Yamaha | EST | 0'34.952 | | 7 | Steve Ramon | Suzuki | BEL | 0'45.789 | | 8 | Ken De Dycker | Suzuki | BEL | 0'53.790 | | 9 | Billy MacKenzie | Honda | GBR | 1'00.398 | | 10 | Gareth Swanepoel | Kawasaki | RSA | 1'04.492 | | 11 | David Vuillemin | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'15.297 | | 12 | Sébastien Pourcel | Kawasaki | FRA | 1'22.029 | | 13 | James Noble | Suzuki | GBR | 1'25.608 | | 14 | Manuel Priem | Aprilia | BEL | 1'29.595 | | 15 | Clement Desalle | Honda | BEL | 1'45.609 | | 19 | Rob van Vijfeijken | Yamaha | NED | -1Laps |
| Rider Standings | 05/04/2009 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 05/04/2009 | | Pos. | Manufacturer | Points | | 1. | Yamaha | 69 | | 2. | Suzuki | 61 | | 3. | KTM | 59 | | 4. | Honda | 44 | | 5. | Kawasaki | 29 | | 6. | TM | 23 | | 7. | Aprilia | 21 | | 8. | CCM | 15 |
| Aubin fifth through Bulgarian sun | | | Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team scored fourth and fifth positions with Nico Aubin and Davide Guarneri respectively across a dry Sevlievo circuit for the Grand Prix of Bulgaria and the second round of the MX2-GP FIM World Championship.
After the deluge of rain that affected proceedings for the opening event in Italy last week, sunshine and decent temperatures gave the riders of the MX2-GP class a completely different test. The Bulgarian layout was fast, hard and offered varying layers of grip; it also provided line choice in certain sections.
Aubin was 3rd in the first moto but was suffering with a stomach virus. The Frenchman was not able to reach a position higher than 8th in the second outing after a mediocre start and lacked energy in the latter half of the moto. He still finished only three points away from the podium with the YZ250F, despite his handicap. |
|  | Guarneri scored two 5th positions after losing out in a duel with Xavier Boog on both occasions. The Italian is still coming back to full speed and fitness on the world championship stage after his knee operation during the off-season.
Utag Yamaha.com's Zach Osborne was impeded by a set of two bad starts that left the American needing to push hard to enter the top ten. He rode strongly to reach 6th in Moto1 and managed 13th from an abysmal getaway in Moto2 that saw him almost last around the first turn.
In the opening round of the Women's World Championship Tarah Geiger made her first GP appearance in the colours of the Utag Yamaha.com squad and took 9th overall. Front brake trouble and a small crash in Moto1 left her with 14th place while she rode better to collect 6th in the second race. Chiara Fontanesi was 10th - also on her GP debut - for the 3C Racing crew.
In the young world championship points table Guarneri is 3rd and 19 points from the top slot while Aubin is right behind in 4th and just 3 points from his team-mate.
The MX2-GP series resumes for round three with the Grand Prix of Turkey in Istanbul next weekend.
Nicolas Aubin, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 4th:
"The first moto was good because I started well and could hold third easily, but I have been feeling sick, with my stomach, and did not have any energy. So I took things easy to try and save myself. In the second moto I started badly and was able to push hard for ten minutes before I was having cramps. Some laps were OK and others were not. I took some good points but I am not happy with my physical condition, even if there was not much I could do about it."
Davide Guarneri, Yamaha Monster Energy Ricci MX Team, 5th:
"My speed was not that great today but I was consistent for most of the laps, which was good. This was my first hot race of the year and the first really hard one since my operation over the winter. It was difficult and I felt each day like I have not trained enough! I am happy that I got near the podium but the top three is not very important at this time. I am looking for consistency because last year I had one good week, one bad week and then another good week. There are many new fast riders this season!"
Zach Osborne, Utag Yamaha.com, 10th:
"I had a pretty good first race. I didn't get the best start but I came up to sixth and it was a decent ride. In the next moto I got another horrible start was working up from 35th. Overall I think I made some good steps in the right direction today. The result wasn't that great and doesn't look so good on paper but for the team and I it was a move in the right direction. I liked the track and the facility and look forward to coming back." |
| Circuit Length: 1530
Temp: 22
Crowd: 28,000
Weather: Sunny Last Years Winner: Julien Vanni | | | 2009 GP of Bulgaria, Sevlievo 05/04/2009 | |
| Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
| 1 | Marvin Musquin | Honda | FRA | 40'17.207 |
| 2 | Gautier Paulin | Kawasaki | FRA | 0'05.163 |
| 3 | Nicolas Aubin | Yamaha | FRA | 0'17.238 |
| 4 | Xavier Boog | Suzuki | FRA | 0'22.518 |
| 5 | Davide Guarneri | Yamaha | ITA | 0'27.309 |
| 6 | Zach Osborne | Yamaha | USA | 0'29.354 |
| 7 | Arnaud Tonus | KTM | CHE | 0'29.441 |
| 8 | Shaun Simpson | KTM | GBR | 0'33.471 |
| 9 | Joel Roelants | KTM | BEL | 0'52.877 |
| 10 | Khounsith Vongsana | Honda | FRA | 0'56.991 |
| 11 | Pascal Leuret | Honda | FRA | 0'58.181 |
| 12 | Rui Goncalves | KTM | POR | 1'00.230 |
| 13 | Wyatt Avis | Honda | RSA | 1'03.441 |
| 14 | Marcus Schiffer | KTM | GER | 1'05.113 |
| 15 | Nikolaj Larsen | Suzuki | DNK | 1'06.802 |
| 16 | Evgeny Bobryshev | Yamaha | RUS | 1'07.799 |
| 17 | Loic Larrieu | Yamaha | FRA | 1'09.038 |
| 18 | Alessandro Lupino | Yamaha | ITA | 1'13.933 |
| Rider Standings | 05/04/2009 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 05/04/2009 |
| Pos. | Manufacturer | Points |
| 1. | Kawasaki | 72 |
| 2. | Honda | 65 |
| 3. | Yamaha | 54 |
| 4. | KTM | 51 |
| 5. | Suzuki | 49 |
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