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Sunday, 27 April 2008 |
A sun-blessed and roasting Grand Prix of Portugal at the stunning Agueda circuit was the perfect remedy for the FIM Motocross World Championship after the sea of rain and mud that washed out the Spanish visit last weekend. The splendid stage for round three of fifteen, south of the city of Porto, witnessed the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team score a double podium result with David Philippaerts finishing second and Josh Coppins third on the works YZ450FMs.
Philippaerts won a moto and was second in the other race, while Coppins seized his first silverware of the season after a thrilling move past champion Steve Ramon for third spot on the final corner of the last lap. On the podium Philippaerts picked up the red-plate to signify his new status as MX1-GP championship leader for the first time. He is also the first Italian to sit at the top of the points table since the inception of the MX1-GP class in 2004.
The dry circuit provided a technical test for the riders with the combinations of jumps and alternate line options meaning that the 'perfect' lap was tough to find and mistakes were heavily punished by the high pace.
Philippaerts suffered a fast crash on Saturday that left the Italian with a sore back and lack of sensation in his arms during the qualification practice. He was still a bit stiff Sunday morning but put aside any discomfort to remain one of the protagonists in the first moto. After hunting down Billy Mackenzie and taking the lead on the seventh lap of twenty-one the 24 year old kept a good rhythm to retain control of the race until the chequered flag. It was his first moto success for the team and his first set of '25' points since the Grand Prix of Belgium last August. |
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Sunday, 27 April 2008 |
Noriyuki Haga secured a second place for his Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team after another unsettled race day for the Japanese star, with a crash in race one preventing him from a potential double points score at one his favourite tracks.
In the first race Haga fell on lap two, after colliding with Ruben Xaus at the slow De Strubben left hand corner, while Corser went on to fight in the leading group for most of the race, only dropping back to fifth in the later stages and finishing 11 seconds from the win after 22 laps.
The second race of the day was run in warmer conditions than the first, with a track temperature of 31 degrees, and it offered Haga a real chance to make up for his first race disappointments. He ran eventual race winner Troy Bayliss close, taking second place by a margin of 0.082 seconds. Corser experienced a drop in front tyre performance and slipped back from a possible podium finish to tenth. Bayliss won both races to extend his championship lead.
Corser remains third in the championship standings, thanks to his Assen scores, on a total of 89 points. Haga holds on to sixth position, with 67 points, as thoughts now turn to the team's home race in Monza. |
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Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
MX2-GP World Champion Antonio Cairoli recently took delivery of Yamaha’s extreme 4x4 Rhino vehicle to continue his off-road exploits, although perhaps with less need for a helmet and boots! The 22 year old Sicilian, of the Yamaha Red Bull De Carli team, travelled to the headquarters of Yamaha Motor Italy to pick-up his new mode of transportation.
“I asked Yamaha last year ‘if I won the world championship, would I be able to have a Rhino?’ and they were very helpful,” he said. “After the season finished I got a nice call saying that the Rhino would be ready for me.”
I had tested one in France before and I really liked it. It feels a little similar to an ATV but obviously it is a little easier to drive and is not something for competition.”
The Rhino houses a 660cc four-stroke engine and boasts four-wheel drive in order to help it conquer the trickiest and most difficult of terrain. The vehicle has gathered a cult following upon its launch and has popped up at several Motocross Grand Prix in recent years. Tech 3 Yamaha MotoGP rider Colin Edwards even has a special customised paint-job with his version.
“I’m having a lot of fun with it,” continued Cairoli. “We had a special edition unit. It is a quick little thing and the engine is strong. I asked if it can be made ready for use on the road and now I keep it back home in Sicily. It is fantastic for making the 3km trip from my house to the beach!” |
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Monday, 21 April 2008 |
Yamaha's Chad Reed battled through the pain of his fractured shoulder to take a decent second position to main title rival Kevin Windham in front of almost 49,000 fans last weekend at the Edward Jones Dome in St Louis for the fifteenth round of seventeen in the Monster Energy AMA Supercross championship, also an FIM World Championship.
Reed seized the lead on the first lap of the main event, taking place just one week after his heavy practice crash in Detroit, but was powerless to prevent Windham from seizing control. The result was nevertheless the Australian's eleventh podium of the season on the San Manuel YZ450F and means that his points lead was only cut to 13 with two races to go.
"I was a long way from 100 percent tonight, going from twelfth last week to second is huge for me," he said. "I was back and forth this week seeing doctors and trying to just get everything taken care of. We made huge gains this week, and there were a lot of people who supported me. Unfortunately, we've been in this position a lot, so you learn over the years.Last weekend was just survival, while this weekend, I felt pretty good in practice. The track just got really gnarly in the main event, and the whoops were really tough, and I couldn't hang with Windham. I had to let go of my pride and look at the bigger picture, and that's tough. I felt, for the rest of the track, I had what it took to win; I just didn't have what it took in the whoops."
"I feel like I'm still in control of this thing," he added. "To salvage a second this weekend, it was huge for me, and I think it was huge for my competitors. You can see that a lot of them are really motivated, still we got out there, got a good start, and I did what I had to do." |
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