By: Adam Wheeler - Coppins back on duty with Italian glory - Yamaha Motocross Team’s Josh Coppins overcame some set-up problems and a dislike of the rough and sandy Mantova circuit for the Grand Prix of Italy to emerge victorious from both motos at the fourth round of the MX1 World Championship.

Sunny skies and mid-twenties temperatures blanketed the venue north of Bologna and east of Milan. The sand – hard-pack in places while loose and deep in other sections – became bumpier through the course of the race programme on Sunday and the physical test was increased by the high number of jumps that nevertheless created a splendid visual show for the attending public.

Coppins fought with Ken de Dycker in both motos. The 30 year old was able to pull away in the latter stages of the first race from an incident-packed and dramatic period of action that saw numerous lead changes, two crashes and a late DNF by a fading De Dycker due to an engine problem. The New Zealander faced a challenge from Tanel Leok – making a welcome return to form after three Grand Prix plagued with ill-luck – but held fast. The chequered flag in the second race again arrived after a skirmish with De Dycker, and Coppins, who had struggled to get to grips with the track on Saturday onboard his works machine, used his experience to allow the Belgian to tire in the final laps and attack for his sixth moto victory from eight so far, giving his Rinaldi crew (reigning MX1 champs since 2004) a home GP to remember.

Alpinestars’ David Philippaerts was unfortunate to leave Mantova with a highest finish of ninth in Moto1. The fiery Italian led the opening race, accompanied by the roar of the crowd, but crashed in a racing incident with Marc de Reuver. In the second sprint he was circulating near the top five but was punted off the works KTM by Suzuki’s Kevin Strijbos and could not continue.

The MX2 class was a lesson in total domination and showman antics from the lively Antonio Cairoli. The Yamaha man and 2005 World Champ sent the home crowd away happy with two absolute performances, leading from the first laps to the flags in both races and pulling a few aerial tricks on the way. Behind the 21 year old, Alpinestars duo Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle filled the top three respectively. Searle tasting his second podium result and Rattray his third of the season as the KTM team-mates are clearly the staking a claim for ‘best of the rest’ behind Cairoli. Defending Champion Christophe Pourcel had a disappointing meeting with a bad start in Moto1 and a crash in Moto2 allowing fourth and fifth positions for fifth overall. Just ahead of the Frenchman was Molson Kawasaki’s Gareth Swanepoel who secured a strong third spot in the second race and narrowly missed out on his second visit to the post-race celebration this year.

The MX1 podium was notable in several ways. Not only did it see three pairs of Alpinestars boots tread the rostrum felt, but Coppins claimed his third Grand Prix from four, Leok made the top three for the fifth time in his career and first in 2007 while Sebastien Pourcel enjoyed his maiden spray of champagne in the MX1 class.

“I’m pretty happy. It is no secret that I don’t like this track and it looked obvious yesterday but we worked hard with the team, and Yamaha were really smart and made some good decisions for me,” said Coppins. “Today I had to be a little bit clever and head-strong and fight to the end. The first moto was crazy because a lot of guys were trying to win the race in the first ten minutes. I let them do their own thing and then picked up my speed. I had a pretty good idea that I could pass Ken again in the second moto. He had a couple of better lines so I let him go but I wondered how much energy he had left and when he started to slow I was confident I could lead again. I think this is the best win ever for me simply because I have never done well at this track and today went much better than I expected.”

“It is nice to be back,” Leok said, who was sixth in Moto2 after a poor start. “I had a lot of bad luck at the beginning of the year and hopefully now it is finished. The first moto was good and I know I have the speed to do that and want to at every race from now on.”

Josh Coppins’ delight was further augmented after closest title rival Strijbos struggled with arm-pump and crashed in the second moto to finish fourth overall; just two weeks earlier he had beaten the Kiwi at Portugal. The 17 point difference means that the Yamaha rider heads the standings by a margin of 36 after four Grand Prix and can even afford a moto DNF to still be leading. Cairoli is showing his rivals the fastest lines on the track but also has a sizeable influence on the current standings and his mammoth 55 point gap over Rattray gives the likeable Sicilian a complete Grand Prix advantage with eleven rounds left to run. Searle stands third.

The World Championship continues at pace now in a busy month for the teams and riders. The fifth stop on the calendar will occur next weekend at the fast and flowing Talkessel circuit in Teutschenthal for the Grand Prix of Germany before a host of machinery and equipment has to be packed and freighted to Sugo for the Japanese round of the series on May 27th.