Dirt Bike News - Race Results: Everts Regains Lead in FIM World Championships at Agueda GP - Dirt Rider Magazine

Bad weather, crashes and mechanical problems surrounded the third round of the MX World Championships in Agueda, Portugal last weekend. The track was very wet and swampy for the first motos until the rain subsided and the Portuguese dirt began to dry. The course was technical and bumpy and the single racing line made passing a tough prospect.Defending champion Stefan Everts made a great rebound from the disastrous Spain GP where he crashed twice and lost the points lead. Despite the residual pain in his ribs and thumb, Everts rode to an impressive 1-3 finish taking the overall win. Instead of seeing the highly anticipated rivalry of Tyla Rattray and Cedric Melotte in the MX2 class, it was Antonio Cairoli who swept both motos for the overall win. Cairoli further capitalized on Rattray and Melotte's DNFs in Agueda since his strong victory has now moved him into the points lead.New Zealander Joshua Coppins put in a strong performance, finishing 4-2, earning second overall in the MX1 class followed by Honda rider Jussi Vehvilainen in third after going 3-10 in the motos. Bad starts and falls for Ben Townley—the former MX2 World Champion—left him to finish a lack-luster 14th in the Moto1 and ultimately DNF Moto2. He has now fallen in the points and no longer sits in striking distance of the lead.Joel Smets also suffered some bad luck after losing a fuel hose from his factory Suzuki, forcing him to DNF Moto1. He went on to finish fifth in Moto2.The French Mickael Pichon (former leader of the championship) was also compelled to DNF in Moto1 due to some carburetor problems while he was 4th, then the Honda Martin rider recovered in the Moto2 and won (also thanks to Everts who slid out). That was not enough to keep the leadership which passed into Everts' hands, who has 125 points now, followed by Pichon - 109 and Coppins - 101. "The win was okay, but we should have left here leading the Championship and now we are going to have to work hard coming back again," lamented Pichon.Stefan Everts : "I had a really good start and I managed to catch Jussi right away and control the race. In the second Moto I finally took the holeshot! This is something I have been waiting for a long time and something we have been working a lot towards with the team. I made a small mistake and it was tough to get going right away. I am very happy with the overall result and this has been very positive for us in the Championship."Josh Coppins: "The season has been really up and down for me since I dislocated my shoulder at Hawkstone Park. I was in fourth behind Joel (Smets) but he was riding out of control. I passed him aggressively and then Stefan (Everts) crashed so I was second. I saved a bit of energy because I though Stefan would comeback hard but the challenge never came. I'm really happy to have taken second today."

| | MX1 MOTO1 1. S. Everts 2. L. Seguy 3. J. Vehvilainen 4. J. Coppins 5. P. Leuret 6. A. Pyrhonen 7. K. De Dijcker 8. M. Priem 9. S. Ramon 10. P. CooperMX1 MOTO2 1. M. Pichon 2. J. Coppins 3. S. Everts 4. S. Ramon 5. J. Smets 6. P. Cooper 7. Y. Atsuta 8. D. Theybers 9. J. Noble 10. J. Vehvilainen CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 3 1. Stefan Everts Yamaha BEL 125 2. Mickael Pichon Honda FRA 109 3. Joshua Coppins Honda NZL 101 4. Joel Smets Suzuki BEL 96 5. Ben Townley KTM NZL 85 6. Steve Ramon KTM BEL 75 7. Paul Cooper Honda GBR 68 8. James Noble Honda GBR 55 9. Ken De Dijcker Honda BEL 54 10. Kevin Strijbos Suzuki BEL 48

MX2 CLASSMuch was expected from the two leaders of MX2, on the contrary, both Tyla Rattray and Cedric Melotte run up against various falls and, instead of getting points, they lost them. The South African Rattray was 2nd in the Moto1, but DNF the second moto after dislocating his shoulder in a first turn crash with Mickael Maschio.I had a good jump out of the gate and was about third or fourth but Maschio started sliding in front of me and I could not stop," recounted Rattray, "The bike shot out of my hands onto the ground and pulled my shoulder out. I know I can be back for Namur and that this Championship is still there for me."As for Melotte, the crashes started on Saturday during the qualifiers where he hurt his right wrist. Then, on Sunday, more crashes further crippled his performance until he withdrew from Moto2.After winning the two Motos, spectacular and very quick Antonio Cairoli won his first GP of the season, proving to be an all-track rider, be it a hard or a sandy or a wet one, like Agueda. "I am really happy with this GP because this is the first time I have won both motos. I liked the track from yesterday and I could find my speed quickly. My starts were important today and once I was out at the front I was free."Second place went to another Italian (and Yamaha rider) , Alessio Chiodi. The veteran got back on top thanks to his plain but good performances (4-4). "The second moto was very difficult for me in the last three laps," said Chiodi, "I made a mistake on the step-up. I was too late changing a rut and endoed! I was happy to finish the race and not be injured. To finish on the podium today was important for the Championship."Cairoli is now leading the championship with 120 points, followed by Chiodi with 110 and Rattray in third with 102.

| | MX2 MOTO1 1. A. Cairoli 2. T. Rattray 3. M. Maschio 4. A. Chiodi 5. D. Guarnieri 6. C. Pourcel 7. A. Boissiere 8. R. Goncalves 9. P. Caps 10. B. MacKenzieMX2 MOTO2 1. A. Cairoli 2. B. MacKenzie 3. S. Sword 4. A. Chiodi 5. A. Boissiere 6. T. Church 7. C. Nunn 8. C. Pourcel 9. R. Goncalves 10. A. McFarlane CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER ROUND 3 1. Antonio Cairoli Yamaha ITA 122 2. Alessio Chiodi Yamaha ITA 103 3. Tyla Rattray KTM RSA 90 4. Stephen Sword Kawasaki BGR 80 5. Cedric Melotte Yamaha BEL 76 6. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha GBR 71 7. Andrew McFarlane Yamaha AUS 68 8. Mickael Maschio Yamaha FRA 61 9. Carl Nunn KTM GBR 54 10. Anthony Boissiere Yamaha FRA 53

The fourth round of the series will take place in two weeks at Namur, where the Belgium GP will share its program with the Supermoto World Championship.