The New Zealanders Ben Townley and Joshua Coppins were the fastest riders at the Swedish GP in Udevalla, but after three GP victories for Townley (Spain, Italy and France), this time it was Coppins’ turn. The Honda/CAS rider took away the win in both Motos to make it a perfect double for the first time ever in his GP career. Ben Townley took second place overall with 2-3 results, and third went to Stefan Everst with a pair of 4s. Everts’ podium finish continued to solidify his lead in the championship with 411 points ahead of Joshua Coppins (in second with 366 points) and third, Ben Townley with 346.Moto1
Spaniard Jonathan Barragan holeshot Moto1 followed by Coppins, Townley and Joel Smets. On the fourth lap, Barragan crashed, handing the lead over to Coppins who controlled the remainder of the race.Ben Townley was having trouble finding traction and almost washed out a few times enabling Coppins to pull a slight gap. Townley did not give up though and as the clock started running out, he made a last minute effort to catch Coppins. The crowd were on their feet as the two New Zealander battled it out right to the finish line with Townley not being able to break his mate and rival – he had to settle for second. It was also the first time that Coppins has won the first moto of a Grand Prix.This season, starts have been the problem for eight-time World Champion Stefan Everts, and this GP was no exception. The Yamaha factory rider got a bad start, finishing the opening lap in seventh place. He quickly pulled through to fourth by lap four.Where was Joel Smets? The veteran slid out on his factory Suzuki RM-Z450 on the second lap, sending him clear off the track and into a ditch. He lost valuable race time retrieving his bike, and although he got back on the course, he pulled off a few laps later and decided to DNF.Moto2
Joshua “Lizzard” Coppins start holeshot in Moto2 and pushed really hard in the opening laps to secure a safe advantage, winning the Moto by seven seconds over the former five-time World Champion Joel Smets. Ben Townley was caught in the middle of the pack off the start and finished the opening lap in twelfth position. The factory KTM rider moved up the rankings and by the halfway mark he was in third. Townley charged hard, chasing Smets and Coppins, but in the end he had to settle for third. The last lap gave spectators some excitement: leader Coppins slid out, almost costing him the GP, but “Lizzard” quickly remounted his Honda and went on to win.Medical bulletin:
The young Belgian Kevin Strijbos will not take part in the GP of Sweden, and will also miss the South African GP. The factory Suzuki rider, suffered some inflammation of his forearm that is believed to be connected with the recent thrombosis condition.At last, some good news from Mickael Pichon: The Monday after the GP of France he underwent knee surgery which was successful. In fact, Mickael had not torn any ligaments in his left knee; the situation was better than expected. The two-time world champion will now recover, and it’s possible that he’ll back in time for the Belgium GP on July 31.
Joshua Coppins: “It’s great to be on top and I made the points I need to challenge for the championship. I’ve left it a little bit late but I’m going to keep working hard and keep pressure on Everts. My biggest improvement today was the first moto—I never won an opening race in my GP career! I’m looking forward to South Africa, but right now I’m going to enjoy the moment.”Ben Townley: “I had two consistent rides but the second start I pretty much blew it and it cost me the win. I was happy that Josh won. It’s amazing, there were three New Zealanders racing here today with Katherine Prumm in the Woman’s cup [Katherine Prumm finished second overall in the FIM Women's World Cup in second place]. New Zealand is such a small country and to have three people on the podium today is really amazing,”Stefan Everts: “I blew it with my starts today and that has been my problem this year. Josh is gaining a lot of points at the moment and this is not a good situation. I am having a difficult time but I am sure I will turn things around sooner or later and get back on top. I will use the week-and-a-half break to go riding and try and do better in South Africa.”
| MX1 Moto1 1. J. Coppins 2. B. Townley 3. J. Barragan 4. S. Everts 5. S. Ramon 6. T. Leok 7. K. De Dijcker 8. J. Noble |
MX1 Moto2 1. J. Coppins 2. J. Smets 3. B. Townley 4. S. Everts 5. S. Ramon 6. J. Noble 7. P. Leuret 8. D. Theybers |
Championship After Round 10 of 17 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 411 2. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 366 3. Ben Townley KTM NZL 346 4. Joel Smets Suzuki BEL 318 5. Mickael Pichon Honda FRA 299 6. Steve Ramon KTM BEL 264 7. James Noble Honda GBR 188 8. Pascal Leuret Honda FRA 185 |
MX2 ClassAntonio “Young goblin” Cairoli took sweet revenge after his nightmare GP in France (he was disqualified from the GP by the International Jury). Cairoli won the Sweden GP with 1-1 results ahead of Australian Andrew McFarlane (2-2) and Italian David Philippaerts with a 3-3 score.Moto1
As usual, Antonio Cairoli holeshot and proceeded to break away from Andrew McFarlane and Carl Nunn. After a good charge, David Philippaerts finished third followed by Cedric Melotte, Mickael Maschio and Davide Guarneri.Moto2
Moto2 was a carbon copy of Moto1: Cairoli holeshot again, followed by McFarlane. Carl Nunn and David Philippaerts fought for third after David Guarneri crashed at the end of the first lap. Philippaerts eventually overtook Nunn to take third place.Former three-time World Champion Alessio Chiodi had a terrible GP and lost his opportunity to attack the championship lead. In the first Moto he collided with MacKenzie, sending them both to the ground. He lost too much time trying to re-start his Yamaha and DNF. In Moto2, the Italian suffered with his rhythm and finished sixth.Antonio Cairoli: “For sure this GP is the best of the year for me. I didn’t have much confidence coming here because I didn’t race at all last weekend. The track was not that difficult because there are not many jumps and I could win here easily. I had a lot of motivation for today after last week and I really wanted to win.”Andrew McFarlane: “I am never happy unless I win but to take two second places here today is good for the Championship. It was a difficult race because Antonio rode well; when he gets a start like that it is hard for me! The track was tricky and had many square-edged bumps but it made for good racing. It is a long championship and the season has just entered the second half. What is important is to stay fit and injury free and try to take good points at each GP.”David Philippaerts: “I started far back in both motos but I was able to come through and take another podium and that result meant a lot to me. I want to go for my fifth podium in a row in South Africa.”
| MX2 Moto1 1. A. Cairoli 2. A. McFarlane 3. D. Philippaerts 4. C. Melotte 5. M. Maschio 6. D. Guarneri 7. C. Nunn 8. C. Pourcel |
MX2 Moto2 1. A. Cairoli 2. A. McFarlane 3. D. Philippaerts 4. C. Nunn 5. C. Pourcel 6. A. Chiodi 7. M. Nagl 8. W. Avis |
Championship After Round 10 of 17 1. Andrew McFarlane Yamaha AUS 345 2. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 320 3. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 310 4. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 267 5. Stephen Sword Kawasaki GBR 262 6. David Philippaerts KTM ITA 258 7. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 198 8. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 188 |
The World Championships now enjoys a brief pause, the eleventh round will take place at Sun City in South Africa on July 17th.
