THOR RACE REPORT: MX GP - ROUND 5 -MANTOVA , ITALY
The 5th round of the FIM MX championship has seen THOR’s factory racer, David Philippaerts extend his lead in the MX1 title chase. The Yamaha Monster rider put in an astounding comeback race in moto 1 after a first lap crash put the Italian at the back of the pack. Philippaerts ended the 35 minute moto in 5th showing some amazing speed. A final moto would see Philippaerts ride a smart race to claim second spot for third overall.
Fellow THOR racer and Factory Yamaha Monster rider, Josh Coppins, did his best to consolidate his 3rd spot in the championship standings by gaining on fellow rival Steve Ramon with a consistent 4-5 result. The Kiwi had two good starts with a hole-shot in moto 2 but lost concentration and his rhythm to settle for 6th overall for the weekend.
Both Coppins and Philippaerts will have a week break before heading across the channel to a new circuit at Mallory Park in Great Britain on the 1 June.
David Philippaerts:
"Someone went down in front of me and when I was hit from behind I went over the bike that was lying on the ground. It was a big crash and also disappointing because I knew it would be hard to win the GP after that. I tried as hard as I could. I was watching my lap-times and I knew they were fast; I did the best lap of the race near the end and that was a good thing. In the second moto I pushed to get near to Nagl so that he would see me and maybe make a mistake but it was raining a lot and I did not want to make a mistake. I thought of the points and did not take any risks. I wanted to win here but to be on the podium is OK. The bike and the team are so good and this is a big reason why we have this lead in the
championship."
Josh Coppins:
"It is quite close at the front of the championship and we saw another new winner this weekend. I am the only guy from the first few in the standings who has not won yet, but it will come. I think everyone knows that I have had a hard couple of weeks and I am not riding as well as I would like, so I think we did a good job in the motos; I believe fourth and fifth was not too bad. I closed some points to Ramon and pulled away from Mackenzie. I was pleased with my starts today even if I did ride badly in the first ten minutes of both motos; I was just too slow. In the last ten minutes I am as fast as the leader but I am too stiff and not relaxed in the first moments of the races. My confidence is getting better though. I don't like this track and it is the only one of the fifteen that I struggle with, so that's another reason why I am pleased with the result. I am looking forward to England now; that is like a home GP for me. I like to think I have a chance to win there."
MX1 Race 1
1 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki
2 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
3 de Reuver, Marc NED Honda
4 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha (THOR)
5 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha (THOR)
6 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
7 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki
8 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha
9 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda
10 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM
11 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM
12 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
13 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
14 Nemeth, Kornel HUN KTM
15 Noble, James GBR KTM
MX1 Race 2
1 Nagl, Maximilian KTM
2 Philippaerts, David Yamaha (THOR)
3 de Reuver, Marc Honda
4 Mackenzie, Billy Honda
5 Coppins, Joshua Yamaha (THOR)
6 de Dycker, Ken Suzuki
7 Pourcel, Sebastien Kawasaki
8 Leok, Tanel Kawasaki
9 Ramon, Steve Suzuki
10 Priem, Manuel Kawasaki
11 Desalle, Clement Suzuki
12 Schiffer, Marcus KTM
13 Church, Tom Kawasaki
14 Anderson, Bradley Suzuki
15 Brown, Mike Honda
World championship standings:
1 Philippaerts, D. ITA 187 (THOR)
2 Ramon, Steve BEL 159
3 Coppins, J. NZL 149 (THOR)
4 de Dycker, Ken BEL 135
5 Mackenzie, B. GBR 130
6 Pourcel, S. FRA 129
7 de Reuver, M. NED 116
8 Nagl, M. GER 114
9 Barragan, J. ESP 105
10 Leok, Tanel EST 98
11 Nemeth, Kornel HUN 74
12 Desalle, C. BEL 73
13 Brown, Mike USA 70
14 Priem, Manuel BEL 67
15 Schiffer, M. GER 59
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