Antonio Cairoli and Josh Coppins each claimed overall victories at round four of the FIM World Motocross Championships held on the Mantova Circuit in Mantova, Italy. Both Coppins and Cairoli scored perfect 1-1 moto finishes en route to the victories, Caroli taking the MX2 win over Tyla Rattray and Coppins scoring the MX1 win over a surprising Tanel Leok.
The Mantova layout had been altered slightly from the course that opened the off-road racing calendar in February. The track, with its rough, sandy terrain and many jumps, won praise from most of the riders for the challenge it offered. The facility is unique in the way it is compacted in a squared ‘stadium’ setting, allowing wide views of most of the circuit.
In the MX2 division, Cairoli gave his home crowd something to celebrate by taking his fourth-straight overall victory on his home circuit. Cairoli is riding better than ever and the wins are coming all too easy for him as he dismantles the title defense of 2006 World Champion Christophe Pourcel.
“I am very happy with the win,” Cairoli said. “I feel good with myself, I have a good feeling with this track and I knew I could win because my physical condition is good. I didn’t feel any pressure from Pourcel and I was surprised he couldn’t catch me in the second moto. I saw him behind me and expected him to battle with me, but after two laps I saw a good gap and I controlled the race.” Second overall in the MX2 class went to KTM factory rider Tyla Rattray with a 2-2 finish, while another KTM factory rider Tommy Searle claimed third overall with 3-4 results.
In the MX1 class it was series leader Josh Coppins of the Rinaldi Yamaha team who took victory, the New Zealander went 1-1 and put many points between himself and the second placed rider in the series, Kevin Strijbos, who went 3-8. Coppins now has a handy 36 point lead going into Germany next weekend. Second overall was Estonian rider Tanel Leok and third place was Frenchman Sebastien Pourcel.
“It’s no secret I don’t like this track and it was obvious on Saturday, we worked hard and Yamaha made some good decisions and we improved the bike,” Coppins said. “I knew my race pace was good and I just had to be smart and I did that. I am under a lot of pressure and I was nervous coming into today. Ken [De Dycker] is fast, but he is up and down and looking back and break checking. It is hard to ride with him and hard to set a rhythm, it’s really frustrating.”
MX1 Moto1:1. Joshua Coppins (Yam); 2. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 3. Kevin Strijbos (Suz); 4. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 5. James Noble (Hon); 6. Billy MacKenzie (Kaw); 7. Steve Ramon (Suz); 8. Gordon Crockard (Hon); 9. Davide Philippaerts (KTM); 10. Kornel Nemeth (Suz); 11. Clement Desalle (Suz); 12. Manuel Priem (TM); 13. Aigar Leok (Yam); 14. Mike Brown (Hon); 15. Julien Bill (Kaw).
MX1 Moto2:1. Joshua Coppins (Yam); 2. Ken De Dijcker (Hon); 3. Marc De Reuver (Yam); 4. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 5. Steve Ramon (Suz); 6. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 7. James Noble (Hon); 8. Kevin Strijbos (Suz); 9. Mike Brown (Hon); 10. Jonathan Barragan (KTM); 11. Marvin Van Daele (Hon); 12. Gordon Crockard (Hon); 13. Aigar Leok (Yam); 14. Pierre Renet (Hon); 15. Antti Pyrhonen (Kaw).
MX1 O/A:1. Joshua Coppins (50); 2. Tanel Leok (37); 3. Sebastien Pourcel (36); 4. Kevin Strijbos (33); 5. Steve Ramon (30); 6. James Noble (30); 7. Ken De Dijcker (22); 8. Gordon Crockard (22); 9. Marc De Reuver (20); 10. Mike Brown (19).
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MX1 SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 4 of 15 rounds):1.Joshua Coppins (194/3wins); 2. Kevin Strijbos (158/1) 3. Steve Ramon (116); 4. Ken De Dijcker (106); 5. Sebastien Pourcel (103); 6. Jonathan Barragan (100); 7. Tanel Leok (98); 8. James Noble (91); 9. Mike Brown (81); 10. Marc De Reuver (80).
MX2 Moto1: 1. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 2. Tyla Rattray (KTM); 3. Tommy Searle (KTM); 4. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 5. Kenneth Gundersen (Yam); 6. Gareth Swaenepoel (Kaw); 7. Pascal Leuret (Hon); 8. Sean Hamblin (Suz); 9. Tom Church (Kaw); 10. Marcus Schiffer (KTM); 11. Nicolas Aubin (Yam); 12. Matin Barr (Yam); 13. Dennis Verbruggen (Yam); 14. Steven Frossard (Kaw); 15. Rui Goncalves (KTM).
MX2 Moto2:1. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 2. Tyla Rattray (KTM); 3. Gareth Swaenepoel (Kaw); 4. Tommy Searle (KTM); 5. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 6. Nicolas Aubin (Yam); 7. Matti Seistola (Hon); 8. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 9. Sean Hamblin (Suz); 10. Marcus Schiffer (KTM); 11. Shaun Simpson (Kaw); 12. Pascal Leuret (Hon); 13. Davide Guarneri (Yam); 14. Wyatt Avis (KTM); 15. Martin Barr (Yam).
MX2 O/A:1. Antonio Cairoli (50); 2. Tyla Rattray (44); 3. Tommy Searle (38); 4. Gareth Swaenepoel (35); 5. Christophe Pourcel (34); 6. Nicolas Aubin (25); 7. Sean Hamblin (25); 8. Pascal Leuret (23); 9. Marcus Schiffer (22); 10. Rui Goncalves (19).
FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MX2 SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 4 of 15 rounds):1. Antonio Cairoli (197/4wins); 2. Tyla Rattray (142); 3. Christophe Pourcel (137); 4. Tommy Searle (117); 5. Pascal Leuret (110); 6. Gareth Swaenepoel (107); 7. Nicolas Aubin (94); 8. Kenneth Gundersen (91); 9. Matti Seistola (78); 10. Marcus Schiffer (71).
