VOL.98 MONDAY 21 JULY 2008 USA NEWS Cody Cooper (Biloxi Suzuki City/OTSFF/Rockstar) was 3rd overall in the AMA Motocross Championship at Unadilla this morning - Round 8 of the 12-race series. We had awoken to the news that Coops had qualified 2nd to James Stewart for the gate pick - by just under 4 seconds. In Race 1 Coops started 11th then lap by lap moved up to 6th where he moved up and down to finish 5th behind Stewart, Byrne, Ferry and Short. He was 38 secs behind Stewart and 18 behind Short. A great result especially when you hear the household names of AMA Motocross behind him. In Race 2 Coops chased Stewart all the way to the flag and was only 6.673 secs behind him. Stewart's fastest lap was a 2:34.387 and Coops was second with a 02:36.833 Images will be in overnight from GuyB.
SSangYong's Russell Burling rang after he had spoken to him by phone and said: "Cody was very excited to be the first to push Stewart in the last 16 races. The good old Kiwi Farmer relished it in the mud." he continued. Ben Townley was there with him so he was in the right frame of mind and made sure he had the right tyres."
This is the AMA Official Media Release - slightly edited but they had good things to say on Coops: In one of the wildest AMA Toyota Motocross Championship in recent memory, Monster Energy Kawasaki's James Stewart and Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Ryan Villopoto, endured extreme conditions and close competition to come out on top and keep their spectacular seasons intact at the Unadilla. The day began with two relatively uneventful first motos in which both competitors cruised to victory by over 10 seconds, but Mother Nature attempted to steal the show as the AMA Motocross Lites class began its final moto of the day. Skies opened up and lightning threatened the safety of fans and riders alike, forcing the AMA officials to red flag the second moto of AMA Motocross Lites after nine minutes of racing. Action was put on hold for nearly 20 minutes as the storm cell and lightning passed through the Unadilla Valley, allowing the Lites competitors to re-enter the starting gate. As the rain continued to fall, Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Ryan Dungey took his second holeshot award and opened an early lead over a hard-charging Villopoto. The Suzuki rider held the defending champion at bay for two laps until a fall relegated him to second as the two continued to pull away from the rest of the field. Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki's Brett Metcalfe brought home third in the second moto and third overall on the day after a sixth-place finish in moto one. "This weekend was one of the toughest with the rain coming in," said Villopoto. "You didn't know what to expect. The track was good before the red flag. (The rain) blew in really quick and next thing we know the red flag was out. When we restarted, I just tried to get out front and make a break for it. The biggest problem with restarting is having the ball rolling (before the restart) and then having to stop and do that all over again in different conditions." Stewart was able to sweep the holeshot award for the second week in a row as the AMA Motocross began their final moto. Track conditions continued to deteriorate with consistent rain. Suzuki City Biloxi, MS/OTSFF Suzuki's Cody Cooper, capitalised on a great start to grab second and battled with Stewart for the top spot. A native of New Zealand, Cooper excelled in the conditions and kept Stewart in sight the entire moto. A mid-moto fall by Stewart brought Cooper within striking distance but the Kawasaki rider kept his head down and prevailed to improve to 16-0 in motos and 8-0 in overall victories. "This track has always been tough for me, especially the last three years," explained Stewart. "This is the first moto I've finished since 2004. I stuck with it in the second moto, so you have no idea how excited I am right now. I had to pull my goggles off like five laps into the moto. I got roost in my face and then spun (my tire) off the face of a jump and went down. "I had to spin the mud off (my tyres) and as soon as I got going I knew I needed to push because Cody (Cooper) was going to be right there. I just need to keep going race by race. If I keep that mindset I'll be better off (towards the championship)." Rockstar/Makita Suzuki's Michael Byrne continued his recent run of strong performances to finish third. Combined with a third place in the first moto, he finished second overall. Cooper's impressive showing helped him reach his first career podium in third after a fifth-place finish in the opening moto. Stewart currently holds a 120-point lead over teammate Ferry in the AMA Motocross standings. In AMA Motocross Lites, Villopoto has a 109-point advantage over Dungey. 
Ryan Villopoto was not only the fastest MX2 rider in practice, he was also the fastest overall, edging out James Stewart for the overall fastest time. Copy and image: GuyB www.vitalmx.com  Ryan Dungey had the fastest laps in the second practice session. Quite a bit of sand has been brought in and mixed with the current track material. But the roost is still heavy and rock-laden. Nearly all the riders have some kind of hand protection added to their bikes, and many are also wearing upper body armour. Copy and image: GuyB www.vitalmx.com
James Stewart was the quickest guy among the MX1 riders, and only a few ticks slower than Ryan Villopoto for the overall fastest time. Copy and image: GuyB www.vitalmx.com Motocross (Moto Finish) - James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 1-1
- Michael Byrne, Newnan, Ga., Suzuki, 2-3
- Cody Cooper, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 5-2
- Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 3-6
- Antonio Balbi, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 8-4
- Sean Hamblin, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 7-7
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Texas, Honda, 4-14
- Josh Hill, Yoncalla, Ore., Yamaha, 14-5
- Jimmy Albertson, Ozark, Mo., Honda, 12-10
- Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., KTM, 10-12
Motocross Class Point Standings - James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Kawasaki, 400
- Timmy Ferry, Largo, Fla., Kawasaki, 280
- Andrew Short, Smithville, Teas., Honda, 246
- Michael Byrne, Newman, Ga., Suzuki, 240
- Mike Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Suzuki, 221
- Davi Millsaps, Tallahassee, Fla., Honda, 203
- Nick Wey, Dewitt, Mich., KTM, 182
- Cody Cooper, Tallahassee, Fla., Suzuki, 172
- Jeff Alessi, Victorville, Calif., Honda, 151
- Sean Hamblin, Murrieta, Calif., Yamaha, 141
Motocross Lites (Moto Finish) - Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 1-1
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 2-2
- Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 6-4
- Nico Izzi, Saint Clair, Mich., Suzuki, 8-5
- Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Honda, 3-12
- Matt Goerke, Lake Helen, Fla., KTM, 7-9
- Jake Moss, Temecula, Calif., Yamaha, 10-8
- Trey Canard, Elk City, Okla., Honda, 5-13
- Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., KTM, 13-6
- Martin Davalos, Cairo, Ga., KTM, 39-3
Motocross Lites Point Standings - Ryan Villopoto, Poulsbo, Wash., Kawasaki, 391
- Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., Suzuki, 282
- Brett Metcalfe, Murrieta, Calif., Kawasaki, 231
- Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Honda, 199
- Nico Izzi, Saint Clair, Mich., Suzuki, 183
- Trey Canard, Elk City, Okla., Honda, 173
- Ryan Sipes, Vine Grove, Ky., KTM, 153
- Austin Stroupe, Lincolnton, N.C., Kawasaki, 152
- Kyle Cunningham, Fort Worth, Texas, Honda, 127
- Matthew Lemoine, Pilot Point, Texas, Yamaha, 124
As predicted last Friday the 2008 Team USA, Motocross of Nations team, was announced at Unadilla: James Stewart (MX1 and Team Captain), Ryan Villopoto (MX2) and Timmy Ferry (MX3/Open) It's an all Kawasaki team - the first time since 1986 that the team is all on one brand - then it was an all Honda affair.  Here's James Stewart, Timmy Ferry, and Ryan Villopoto with their entry forms for the 2008 Motocross of Nations. The Chamberlain Cup is at the left and obscured is the USA Team Manager Roger DeCoster who has been involved in nearly 30 of the events, both as a rider and Team Manager. Copy and image: GuyB www.vitalmx.com
The American Suzuki Motor Corp. (ASMC) has announced that David Vuillemin (aka DV12) with the professional advonda ice of his team has decided to sit out the remainder of the AMA Motocross Nationals to enable him to recover fully from his many injuries sustained throughout what has been a frustrating year.
SOUTH AFRICA NEWS Youthstream Media Release: Rattray and Searle build on MX2 Championship lead while Cairoli faces bad luck NELSPRUIT (SOUTH AFRICA), 20 July 2008 - The Alkmaar Raceway at Nelspruit proved to be a great venue for the popular South African Motocross GP sponsored by Leatt Brace. Under hot weather conditions, Jonathan Barragan took his second consecutive MX1 GP win after battling it out with KTM fellow rider Max Nagl, second overall. Defending Champion Ramon completed the podium right ahead of series leader David Philippaerts. In the MX2 class Tommy Searle came back to victory from local star Tyla Rattray and Nicolas Aubin. On the other hand reigning Champion Antonio Cairoli injured his left knee and took no points, dropping down to third in the Championship with a 59 point gap from leader Rattray. Don't go looking for Scott Columb - the team did not travel to S.A. MX1: Despite taking two storming starts and leading the first part of each Grand Prix moto, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Max Nagl was second on today's podium behind AXO KTM Silver Action's Jonathan Barragan. The latter secured his second consecutive win and third of 2008 by winning the final moto. After winning the opening moto, Teka Suzuki WMX1's Steve Ramon ended third on the podium just one point ahead of series leader David Philippaerts of Yamaha Monster Motocross. GPKR's Sebastien Pourcel rounded off the top five from Josh Coppins as both were caught up in a first corner accident during heat one. Top five overall: 1. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 45 points; 2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 40 p.; 3. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 38 p.; 4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 37 p.; 5. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 33 p. MX1 RACE 1: Nagl led the group into turn one and set the pace until lap 17, when Ramon took over the lead to win eventually. Nagl had some troubles in the final laps, dropping down to fourth as both Philippaerts and Barragan moved past him. Philippaerts took second from Barragan, with the Italian ending close to Ramon when the flag was waved. De Dycker rounded off the top five from Tanel Leok and Mackenzie, who made Philippaerts' life difficult in a tough fight for third. Pourcel and Coppins were eighth and ninth after a first corner crash. MX1 RACE 2: Nagl took another holeshot and led until ten minutes to go. Barragan made a final move on the German to take the victory and the overall, while Nagl faced Pourcel's attacks. The latter came so close to Nagl in a corner that he made a mistake to avoid a crash; Pourcel then lost ground and brought the bike home in third. Coppins was a solid fourth ahead of Mackenzie and Philippaerts, who did not find an open door to pass the Brit. De Dycker and Ramon completed the top eight. 
Results courtesy of Youthstream. 
Left to right: Max Nagl, Jonathan Barragan and Steve Ramon podium - image courtesy KTM Racing - photographer Ray Archer.  Team Teka Suzuki's Steve Ramon. Image courtesy Suzuki-Racing. MX2: Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Tommy Searle took his third GP win of 2008 snatching the home success from team mate Tyla Rattray. The two won one moto each, with the South African taking the final moto but missing the overall result due to a first moto crash. Ricci Racing Yamaha's Nicolas Aubin took his first season podium from French countryman Steven Frossard of CLS. KTM UK's Shaun Simpson rounded off the top five. Reigning MX2 Champion Antonio Cairoli tangled up with another rider in the first heat, damaging his left knee and dropping out of both motos after a brave try to race. MX2 RACE 1: Aubin started strong to lead the first half of the heat from a hungry Searle. In the remaining ten laps Searle took the first place and opened up a gap from Aubin, who finished second. Rattray recovered to third after a crash and finished ahead of Simpson and Frossard. Cairoli put together just four laps before retiring. MX2 RACE 2: Rattray made up for moto one and took a start to flag win of the final heat in front of Searle. The latter tried to catch Rattray unsuccessfully, ending second from Frossard who secured the top three by moving past Simpson. The Brit ended fourth from Aubin. After a great start, Cairoli tried to race with Rattray but at the end of the third lap he pulled out of the race. 
Results courtesy of Youthstream WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS STANDINGS Ramon took one point off his gap from Philippaerts as the duo are still second and first in the Championship respectively. Barragan moved up to fifth in the Championship with Pourcel dropping to sixth. MX1 top ten: 1. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 339 points; 2. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 328 p.; 3. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 316 p.; 4. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 296 p.; 5. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 284 p.; 6. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 274 p.; 7. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 253 p.; 8. Billy Mackenzie (GBR, Honda), 235 p.; 9. Tanel Leok (EST, Kawasaki), 234 p.; 10. Marc de Reuver (NED, Honda), 178 p.; Rattray is still leading the MX2 Championship with Searle second. Cairoli dropped back to third and he currently has a 59 point gap from the South African. Simpson and Aubin round off the top five. MX2 top ten: 1. Tyla Rattray (RSA, KTM), 416 points; 2. Tommy Searle (GBR, KTM), 395 p.; 3. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 357 p.; 4. Shaun Simpson (GBR, KTM), 287 p.; 5. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 243 p.; 6. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 241 p.; 7. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 211 p.; 8. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 197 p.; 9. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 196 p.; 10. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 187 p. WHAT'S NEXT: The first of the remaining five Grand Prix's will take place at Lommel, Belgium, on August 3. Early in that week the MX Rookie will also take place, on August 1.
Update from Josh Coppins: Josh was expecting to claw back valuable championship points after a disappointing Swedish result two weeks prior however the New Zealander was plagued once again with bad starts and a first turn crash that forced him out of a podium spot. With 20.000 enthusiastic spectators turning out to the well groomed Alkmaar racing circuit, Coppins was positioned well on the start line for the first MX1 moto. He didn't get the best jump and tried to make up in the first turn but was hit from behind when Frenchman Sebastien Pourcel collided with the Kiwi. Both Coppins and Pourcel had to remount and fight their way through the 30 man field. Coppins managed to break into the top ten by the halfway mark and secured 9th spot by the end of the 35 minute + 2 lap race. Knowing the importance of a good start for the second race, Coppins shot out the gate but was cut off by fast starter Jonathan Barragan. Coppins kept his calm and emerged in 7th on the opening lap. He quickly honed in on first race winner, Steve Ramon, and pressured the Belgian until he found a way past with ten minutes gone on the clock. Coppins carried his momentum disposing of fellow team-mate David Philippaerts with a great pass around the halfway mark. He went on to post the fastest lap of the race in trying to shut down Sebastien Pourcel, however he had to settle for fourth position. "The two heats at the last GP in Sweden and the first heat here in South Africa I either crashed in the start or on the first lap which really put a dent in my confidence. I can't afford to come from the back and I need to get around the first lap safe and try and pull some wins back. I had a good line over the second triple in the second race and managed to pass Steve, David and Billy there and then I worked hard on catching Pourcel. Obviously I am disappointed again, but I'm busting my butt and want to win badly - my fitness is good, my speed is good I just need to get better starts." vowed Coppins.
NEW ZEALAND NEWS I ventured down to Pirongia on Saturday to report for MNZ on the New Zealand Junior Elite Squad training for the 2009 Junior World Champs. That will be a separate release asap.
Sunday I was at Pukekohe MCC's Mercer sand track where despite the horrid weather 200 riders turned out. Rain squalls and a track that turned to pea soup in places resulted in only two rounds. Tony Cooksley had marked out a track that differed slightly from the practice track we marked out the week before. Whilst warming his faithful YZ250 two stoker the clutch engaged and the bike lunged off the stand. He would then switch to Scott Henderson's YZ125 which was in the race before the Vets but that too 'died' in Race 1 and was pushed back to the pits - water in the carby the apparent problem. Chris Bailey came to the rescue with his YZ450F and TC grabbed the holeshot and the race. In Race 2 TC went out on the YZ125 and whilst about 8th in the holeshot and came back over the hill in 3rd. He pressed on to take the win again by a whopping 44 seconds. Great training for the next round of the World Vets in the sands of Lommel on 03 August, so he went out in the last round of the National Under and Over Class and came home 4th. In that Class there was dnf's galore and the unders was won by Sam Leighton on a CRF250 and the overs by Luke Temple (YZ450) by 2 points from Jimmy Sutherland KTM250F. Zane Grigg won the Support/Novice and Natasha Peyman the Womens. In the 12-16yrs 125/250 Class Paxton Tibbetts (YZ125) was literally flying and won the 125 Class overall. In Race 1 Carl Rice (KTM125) was only 4 secs behind him but 50 in Race 2. Sam Kneebone (YZ250F) won the 250 Class. At times there were more bikes down in the slop than there was upright. Interestingly Paxton Tibbetts had the 4th fastest lap in Round 2 when the track was at it's toughest. Garthy Amrein took out the 11-12yrs 85cc and Ayden Dunn the 13-16yrs 85cc from Brandon Tipene. The 8-10 85cc was won by Benjamin Broad. Katherine Prumm was their supporting brother Matt. She has the plate taken out of her wrist this Friday and then the knee Specialist will take over and sort her ACL out. The double op saves about five weeks of recovery time. Kath showed me her scar for her plated collarbone which is about 12cm long but very tidy and will fade.
AUSTRALIA NEWS 2008 Rockstar MX Nationals - Round 8 - Newry - Victoria yesterday. Had a call from Steve Sweeney at 5pm our time - he was just leaving a wet and cold Newry. Luke Burkhart had led the first Pro Open moto then went down and came back in 7th for six laps, down to 11th,12th, 11th then back to 10th for the last 3 laps. Daryl Hurley spent half the first race in 5th then moved into 4th where he stayed. Anderson had won it from Boyd and Jay Marmont. Hamish Dobbyn in the Pro Lites had just finished 13th, which according to Steve was a fair result. A comment on Fullnoise's forum summed it up. "Firstly cold then wet,wet,wet.....No huge hole-shots to speak of, slippery as start straight straight and a variety of preparations on the start line, from heat guns to half a rubbish bin of sawdust to spinning the back wheel - which ones worked was anyone's guess but 10/10 for trying. McCoy didn't know which day it was after his crash and Lewis Stewart was sucking on the green stick not looking at all comfortable. The racing was brilliant and all races had a little something with plenty of battles to keep the keen as spectators at the fences all day. I guess the podium for the riders and teams at the end is what is was all about but hell, if you missed it and could have made it, you missed some real good mud racing with fast times. Under 19's:  From Honda Thor Racing: Josh Cachia qualified 6th fastest, the 16-year-old rookie powered through to take the lead on the opening lap of the first moto. A slight error in the early stages of the race allowed series leader Tye Simmonds to close in on the back of Cachia's CRF250R. Under attack from Simmonds, the young Honda racer maintained his composure and his track position and eventually pulled away to take the victory with an impressive 8.197-second advantage, setting the fastest lap time along the way. As the weather and track conditions deteriorated for moto two, the opening lap saw Cachia come around in a strong fourth place. Delivering a mature performance, Cachia mastered the wet, slippery track conditions and was in third place by the mid point of the race. An error from Simmonds on the last lap and Cachia climbed another position to greet the chequered flag in second place and secure the overall round win.  Josh Cachia - U19 winner at Newry. Pro Lites: 
Pro Open: 
The new Chad Reed / Mike Porra website for Super X is up: www.superx.com.au/home/ Upcoming Dates: -
04th October 2008 Perth 18th October 2008 Adelaide 25th October 2008 Geelong 8th November 2008 Sydney 15th November 2008 Wollongong 22nd November 2008 Townsville 29th November 2008 Brisbane
FREESTYLE NEWS From Luke Smith who won the Relentless Cardrona Games (in snow) over the weekend: Last year was my first time riding on the snow it helped me get the flip monkey off my back, so this year with a new improved setup I was ready to step it up a notch. This year there would be 5 riders competing for a huge prize pool and instead of a step up the jump would be a regular 75ft gap so more spectacular for the fans. Practice got underway and I wasted no time getting my first flips out the way and playing with combo's before the show started. On the first night it was a show format doing two twenty min demos, I busted out a variety of regular tricks plus a few backflip combos Cordova, superflip, super Indy so was pumped going into Saturdays competition. Saturday we was blessed for another great day with little wind which helps so much up the top of the mountain( more for me not freezing to death) come six o clock the crowd was forming and ready for the FMX big air comp to start. We had a brief ten minute practice to warm up and make sure the snow was hard enough, then we had five jumps each knocking it down to a three rider final with two best tricks. First jump I went out and through a huge super Indy flip barely getting back to the pegs, but pulled it (see pic) then for my final jump I was saving something big and went for my first ever underflip, I had been doing them into the pit before I came down so thought there was no better for place to step up, I came around perfect just over rotated a little at last second washing my front end out on landing, it would have been good to ride away but I am just happy I made it to the wheels, I know I can do it now so will get it perfected this week. So I took it out for another year in a row had a blast and can't wait for next year, I would like to thanks my sponsors for all their help: Yamaha, Moto World, Demon Energy, Xbox, Nixon, VZ, Fleshgear, Kmc Wheels, Kicker, Moto Mayhem, Dc, Pitster 
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