MX1 World Championship: Double Italian celebrations for Sebastien Pourcel

Kawasaki’s Sebastien Pourcel took a double victory at round 10 of the MX1 motocross championship in Italy at the weekend. 

There was double celebration for the Pourcel family as Sebastien’s brother, Christophe, won his qualifying race on Saturday.

Riders had to cope with the soaring 35 degree heat at the Grand Prix Citta di Faenza, which has not been hosted in world championship events since the 1990s.

Yamaha’s Josh Coppins once again secured his position at the top of the championship with second places in both races at the Monte Coralli circuit in front of 29,000 spectators.

The New Zealander pulled in to second place on his YZ450FM on the last lap, passing Honda’s eventual third placed rider Ken de Dycker.

In race two Josh Coppins tried to hang on to leader Sebastien Pourcel but to no avail as the Frenchman shot off in to the distance.

Britain’s Billy Mackenzie secured a podium spot with a third in race two and overall fourth with his race one ninth at the Italian circuit.

He had been in seventh for the majority of race one but made a mistake to drop to ninth.

But race two was a different story after making some suspension changes to his KX450F-SR and was able to fight it out with three other riders, including Suzuki’s Steve Ramon, for third.

After the race 23-year-old Billy Mackenzie said: “It has been a really hot day today but the bike was working great.”

“We changed the set-up from the first to the second race because the front end was too soft and I think that is what gave me the arm-pump as the bike didn’t feel level coming down the hills. In the second race it was much better and I was able to stand up in most of the ruts and it all started coming together. On this type of track you had to be so careful with the throttle.”

The track offered the riders a tough test with its traditional Italian fast, hard and dusty terrain.

Race one results – 22 Laps               
   
1. Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 38’56.573
2. Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0’3.639
3. Ken De Dycker, Honda, BEL, 0’7.226
4. Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 0’9.356
5. Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0’14.101
6. David Philippaerts, KTM, ITA, 0’16.277
7. Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0’19.546
8. Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0’35.468
9. Billy MacKenzie, Kawasaki, GBR, 0’38.093
10. Kevin Strijbos, Suzuki, BEL, 0’39.626
11. James Noble, Honda, GBR, 0’41.143
12. Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0’41.448
13. Manuel Priem, TM, BEL, 0’51.177
14. Alex Salvini, Yamaha, ITA, 0’53.057
15. Christian Beggi, Honda, ITA, 0’57.445
16. Pierre A. Renet, Honda, FRA, 1’1.776
17. Marvin Van Daele, Honda, BEL, 1’5.955
18. Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1’14.056
19. Kornel Nemeth, Suzuki, HUN, 1’18.509
20. Alessio Chiodi, Aprilia, ITA, 1’27.852

Race two – 22 Laps               
   
1. Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 39’38.053
2. Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 0’4.413
3. Billy MacKenzie, Kawasaki, GBR, 0’6.376
4. Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 0’7.476
5. Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 0’9.288
6. Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 0’10.745
7. Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 0’25.927
8. Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 0’29.295
9. Marvin Van Daele, Honda, BEL, 0’35.660
10. Ken De Dycker, Honda, BEL, 0’42.629
11. James Noble, Honda, GBR, 0’48.552
12. Kornel Nemeth, Suzuki, HUN, 0’50.685
13. Manuel Priem, TM, BEL, 0’58.123
14. Alex Salvini, Yamaha, ITA, 1’4.748
15. David Philippaerts, KTM, ITA, 1’8.429
16. Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 1’14.034
17. Kevin Strijbos, Suzuki, BEL, 1’17.080
18. Lauris Freibergs, Yamaha, LVA, 1’18.687
19. Gordon Crockard, Honda, IRL, 1’21.247
20. Danny Theybers, Suzuki, BEL, 1’25.706

 

Rider Standings after round 10:

1. Joshua Coppins, Yamaha, NZL, 445
2. Steve Ramon, Suzuki, BEL, 338
3. Sébastien Pourcel, Kawasaki, FRA, 285
4. David Philippaerts, KTM, ITA, 278
5. Jonathan Barragan, KTM, ESP, 272
6. Ken De Dycker, Honda, BEL, 256
7. Mike Brown, Honda, USA, 255
8. Kevin Strijbos, Suzuki, BEL, 250
9. Tanel Leok, Kawasaki, EST, 240
10. Billy MacKenzie, Kawasaki, GBR, 218
11. James Noble, Honda, GBR, 195
12. Manuel Priem, TM, BEL, 155
13. Kornel Nemeth, Suzuki, HUN, 152
14. Marc De Reuver, Yamaha, NED, 136
15. Maximilian Nagl, KTM, GER, 107
16. Gordon Crockard, Honda, IRL, 102
17. Marvin Van Daele, Honda, BEL, 93
18. Aigar Leok, Yamaha, EST, 84
19. Julien Bill, Honda, CHE, 83
20. Pierre A. Renet, Honda, FRA, 65

Manufacturer Standings 15/07/2007

1. Yamaha 445
2. Suzuki 385
3. Kawasaki 353
4. KTM 351
5. Honda 331
6. TM 155
7. Aprilia 9