In a race to be remembered, THOR riders Josh Coppins and Marc De Reuver saw overall GP victory slip through their fingers at the infamous 'Talkessel' circuit in Teutschenthal Germany. Coppins and de Reuver both dominated timed training on Saturday with the New Zealander on pole (his first of the season) closely followed by Dutchman, de Reuver. The Factory Yamaha Rinaldi duo then went on to annihilate the rest of the field in moto 1 for another 1-2 finish.
While leading the second MX1 moto and looking set for double victory, Coppins hooked false neutral in a sand section and went down handing the lead and virtual GP victory to team-mate de Reuver. Six laps later, de Reuver saw his first GP victory hopes disintegrate when he lost his front end after his hand slipped off the bars. Italian David Philippaerts capitalized on this misfortune to win the GP and overall by 1 point over Steve Ramon and Coppins who tied on points.
Antonio Cairoli dominated the MX2 class once again with two easy moto wins in front of Frenchman Christophe Pourcel. THOR's MX2 protagonist, Gareth Swanepoel had a weekend he would rather want to forget. A broken front wheel in moto 1 and crash in moto 2 saw the South African's chances of a podium go up in smoke.
The first round of three, in the Women's World Cup also kicked off in Teutschenthal. THOR's Larissa Papenmeier qualified fastest in Saturday's timed training in front of her home crowd. The petit seventeen-year-old German, who weighs no more than 46kg, grabbed the hole-shot and victory in moto 1 after she was locked in an exciting duel with 2006 cup champion, Katherine Prumm. Her second moto result of 4th was enough to secure overall victory and the lead in the Women's World Cup.
With Japan next on the FIM World championship calendar on the 26-27 May, the world's leading motorcycle manufacturer's will be rallying for GP honors in Sugo. Josh Coppins has increased his lead in the MX1 championship to 43 points and will continue to run the red plate in his quest for an MX1 title.
Josh Coppins:
" This track is so fast which makes the racing really close. We got our first pole of the year which I was really pumped with and I was happy with my speed and the way I was riding. I made a mistake in the sand section which was really disappointing. On the bright side I have extended my lead in the championship. It could have been an easy win in the second moto but that's motocross
Marc De Reuver:
"Even in my junior motocross races did I not give away a race like that! I went into the corner and my right hand slipped off the grip. I don't know why because I always took the same rut. The bike was still running and I picked it up straightaway. I lost only two places and thought that the moto was still there for me but then Ramon pushed me over the berm and just into the fence and everyone in that group went through. I should have won it easily, with 'two fingers in my nose' even. I was riding so smoothly and it was just a stupid thing."
Gareth Swanepoel:
"This has definitely not been my weekend. The first moto was cut short when I hit Jeremy Tarroux and broke the front wheel. My start was pretty good in the second moto but I went down hard on the first lap and was stone last. I made pretty good progress through the pack and finished really strong which I was happy about. I'm looking forward to Japan in two weeks and hope to get back to where I should be."
Larissa Papenmeier:
" I never expected to win the GP and I even didn't expect to qualify on pole. I have been training hard over the winter and I guess it now shows with this result. I look forward to the next round in Uddevalla, Sweden."