Coppins secures fifth in Sweden -ozzy go- yamaharacing.com

Yamaha Motocross Team Josh Coppins missed the podium for the
first time in the 2007 FIM MX1 Motocross World Championship as
the New Zealander finished fifth overall at a cloudy and cool
Uddevalla, 100kms north of Gothenburg, for the Grand Prix of
Sweden. The ninth round of fifteen in the GP series was however
noticeable for Antonio Cairoli’s eighth success in the MX2 class
and a quite remarkable performance from the De Carli Yamaha
rider in the opening moto.

The circuit several kilometres outside the town of Uddevalla has
been a World Championship regular since the start of the century
– in fact one of only two venues to remain ever-present on the
FIM calendar from the turn of the millennium. The layout had
been reversed from the 2006 edition and a new start and first
corner, along with a repositioned pit-lane, was in place for the ’07
event. The track offered its usual winding and tight test and the
terrain was softer thanks to large amounts of sand being mixed
with the mud and incessant rainfall in the build-up to the Grand
Prix. The giant rocky hill overlooking the facility gave ample
viewing opportunities to the 28,900 crowd who scaled the
inclines.

Coppins had taken sixth position in Timed Practice on Saturday
and did not push for a fast lap and risk a crash on a surface that
was far wetter and slipperier than the races on Sunday. The New
Zealander made a safe first moto by obtaining a slot inside the
top five and setting a reel of consistent laps to plant himself in
the front group. He was strong at the end to pass title rival Steve
Ramon for fourth place. The 30 year old, who had been suffering
with flu during the week, again struggled to hit the same lap-
times as the leaders in the second outing and dropped to eighth
at one stage before rallying back to sixth position. The day was
an exercise of caution for the championship pace- setter on the
YZ450FM and his fifth place overall was a steady result on a track
that was hard for overtaking.

Coppins still holds an impressive 89 point lead over Ramon who
was runner-up to debut winner Ken de Dycker. Josh’s advantage
constitutes more than three motos and almost two Grand Prix
with just six rounds remaining. He had five wins, one second
position and two third places prior to Sweden.

The Yamaha Motocross Team will now look ahead to their second
home Grand Prix of the season as round ten of the series heads
to the Faenza circuit near Riminy, Italy in two weeks time. July’s
schedule also sees a trip to the Czech Republic at the end of the
month. click on ozzy go to the full coverage on Yamaha Racing