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Monday, 25 February 2008 |
Yamaha Motocross Team riders again picked up more silverware in the 2008 pre-season period with David Philippaerts winning both motos at a bright Castiglione Del Lago for the second round of the Italian championship while Josh Coppins swept 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 down-hills 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.”
Further south Philippaerts was busy stamping his authority over the MX1 class of the Italian Championship and, like Coppins, proved the YZ450FM’s prowess from the start-line by hole-shotting both motos. Yamaha Red Bull De Carli ace Antonio Cairoli took positions of 7th and 4th in the two heats and pushed Philippaerts in the first sprint until a mistake saw him crash and lose places. 24 year old Philippaerts was able to forge ahead of Alex Salvini in the second affair.
“I could not be happier with how things are going,” said the Italian, who also picked up overall victory with his Yamaha debut at the Mantova International two weeks ago. “I took two holeshots, that made things easier, but Tony was chasing me and I had to ride well to keep ahead. I pushed hard for a few laps and made the break. We used the same set-up as Montevarchi and the Yamaha is really working well for me.”
“I was doing well and holding onto the back of leader Philippaerts until I caught the wrong rut on a jump and crashed,” commented MX2-GP World Champion Cairoli. “It was a freak thing because I was not taking any risks. I suffered a bit from this in the second moto because I felt tired. Overall at this stage of my preparation for the season I am not yet ready to push 100% but my sensation with the 450 is improving.”
The MX2 class was once more an all-Yamaha story as 3C Racing’s Manuel Monni claimed the chequered flag in the first moto and Yamaha Team Ricci’s Davide Guarneri guided his YZ250F to victory in the second outing. Red Bull De Carli’s Matteo Bonini was also well-placed with second and fourth positions while highly-rated teenager Alessandro Lupino secured a brace of top six finishes with fifth and sixth places. A close championship tussle looks most certainly on the cards as Monni heads the standings by just five points from Guarneri and nine points from Bonini.
The next round of the Italian series will take place in two weeks at Ponte a Egola, while 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.” |
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Saturday, 23 February 2008 |
Troy Corser had mixed fortunes on raceday at Losail, taking a fine third in race one but slipping backwards in race two to finish seventh as his tyres lost grip at half race distance. His team-mate Noriyuki Haga recovered from a crash in race one to secure an eventual 14th, and he was also in a leading position for much of race two, before the same lack of traction experienced by Corser made him drop through the field. He ended up 13th.
Corser, the Superpole winner yesterday, was in sparkling early form in each race, looking set for a double podium finish at least. Haga 's race one crash came after Max Biaggi made a strong pass on the Japanese rider, and forced him wide, off the ideal racing line. Haga had set the best lap of the race in the first 18-lap contest, with a 1'59.217, before the lap record was broken in race two, by race winner Fonsi Nieto. Troy Bayliss won the first race, from Max Biaggi.
Corser now leaves the Losail circuit fifth in the championship chase, on 25 points, with Haga 14th on five points.
Troy Corser (3rd and 7th - Yamaha Italy WSB Team)
"We made a tyre change between race one and race two just to be on the same tyres as everyone else. But it wasn't better it was worse. There was just no grip after a while and you can't race when you can't push hard. I'm really disappointed after getting Superpole yesterday, and it was obvious we had the speed to be competitive. That's about all I can say." |
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Friday, 22 February 2008 |
Troy Corser set the early pace at the first round of the 2008 World Superbike season in Qatar, posting a first day qualifying time of 1'59.627 on race tyres and getting to within half a second of the current lap record. Corser's fellow Yamaha rider Noriyuki Haga secured a provisional front row position of fourth, despite falling heavily two-thirds of the way through the hour long qualifying session.
Conditions at Losail were problematic for all riders, with a strong and gusting wind blowing down the kilometre-long main straight, holding down top speed potentials and making corner entry a challenge.
With both riders inside the top four places, the experienced Yamaha Motor Italia WSB Team made the best use of their recent testing experiences in Qatar, and few changes were made to the machine settings since that test at the 5.380km Losail circuit.
Sebastien Gimbert (Yamaha GMT94) was on strong form on day one, setting ninth fastest time, with his team-mate Davide Checa (Yamaha GMT94) 17th.
Final qualifying and then Superpole qualifying take place tomorrow, Friday 22nd, before Saturday's pair of 18-lap Superbike races. |
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Monday, 18 February 2008 |
YZ450FM, 450F and YZ250F machinery were dominant forces in the first round of the 2008 Italian Motocross championship as Yamaha riders captured all the overall podium places in both MX1 and MX2 categories at a sunny Montevarchi circuit last weekend.
It was another successful double-act for Yamaha Motocross Team’s Josh Coppins and David Philippaerts after their 1-2 results at the Mantova Starcross International last week. This time it was Coppins’ turn to take the top step of the rostrum after the New Zealander produced two strong performances to walk away with the chequered flag in both motos. Philippaerts was second on both occasions as is now the ‘provisional’ leader of the standings as his team-mate will not contest the full series.
MX1 was largely a contest between the two factory riders. Coppins led the first race with Philippaerts doggedly hanging onto his tail. After 22 minutes Philippaerts took his chance and relegated the winner of five Grand Prix in 2007 to second spot. Coppins remained composed and watched the lines of the Tuscan before counter-attacking within the final two laps to seize the victory.
“It was a good race and another step forward for me as I feel my riding is getting better,” said Coppins. “David was on the pace and we were both going fast this weekend. I still have some more meetings before the first GP and we will continue to work and build-up to the first Grand Prix.” |
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