Monster/Yamaha’s Philippaerts 3rd in Sweden, extends MX1 lead
Teammate Coppins sketches but holds onto 10th o/a @ Uddevalla
Monster/CAS Honda’s Mackenzie & Boniface both make top ten
CORONA, Calif., (July 7, 2008) – Monster Energy’s international motorsports competitors were limited to one event this past weekend; the Grand Prix of Sweden at the Uddevalla circuit, round nine of the 2008 MXGP Championships.
In Sweden Monster Energy/Yamaha’s David Philippaerts raced well enough to make the podium through the light but consistent rains at Uddevalla (his sixth podium in nine events), placing 3rd overall in the premier MX1 division. Monster Energy-backed teammate Josh Coppins wouldn’t be able to capitalize on his 1st place overall MX1 finish the previous weekend in Germany and had to settle for a 10th overall in Sweden.
Philippaerts, 24, overcame a poor start in the first moto and was able to avoid trouble in the first turn to place 4th behind rival Steve Ramon. The second race was much of the same for the Monster Energy-back Philippaerts as he rode a strong and consistent race on his Yamaha YZ450F back to the 4th position (4-4 3rd o/a).
“I am very happy to be back on the podium,” said Philippaerts, who extended his MX1 class lead over Ramon to 12 points. “Physically I have had some problems, with my hand and my rib, but I am getting better and chose to ride a smart race today. The ground behind the gate was very soft and I lost time with my starts; I had to close the gas at the start of the first moto because I did not want to crash but afterwards I could make some good laps. I tried in both races to pass Steve but there was only really one line. It was a good GP for the championship and now I hope I can start training normally again because it has been a hard couple of weeks since the GP of France.”
Coppins had a rough go of it in the first moto when he crashed with Loic Leonce on the first lap, racing back from the rear of the pack to 13th place in the 35 minute plus two lap moto. Another wreck in the second moto had him charging from close to the back again, but proved his meddle as caught and passed fellow Monster Energy racer Billy Mackenzie for 5th place on the last lap (12-5 for 10th o/a).
Said Coppins: “I was around 11th in the first race when Leonce made a mistake in front of me and I went into the back of him. I restarted more or less last and came back to 13th. It was a tough race, really hard to pass and very tricky with just one single fast line. In the second moto I made a better start but I went a little wide and into the soft mud where they had scraped the mud across the holes. I went down on the fourth corner trying to make a pass and get to the front too fast. I made my way to fifth purely on determination. I am pretty disappointed overall because my riding was good enough to be at the front end of the field. I knew the starts would be difficult with the soft gravel behind the gate; you need a little bit of luck and just have to drop the clutch and go for it, there is no real technique. I lost some points today and need to keep focusing on my riding not the championship; today I was thinking too much about winning instead of trying to have a good GP.”
For the Monster Energy-backed CAS Honda team it was another week of coming back from injury for Billy Mackenzie , while Steve Boniface stepped it up and led much of the first moto over eventual race winner Jon Barragan. Boniface would hold onto 6th place overall, which would help keep him in the top ten on the day (9th o/a).
Mackenzie faired a bit better, finishing 5th though still nursing an upper body injury. His 29 points at Uddevalla moved him back into the top ten in the MXGP standings (9th ) with 205 points.
“I’m happy with my results today,” said Mackenzie after the race. “I made a few mistakes but it’s getting better since my injury in France and I’m looking to improve next time.”
Added Boniface: “I was very happy with my first race, but a little disappointed to crash in the second (race).”
Next up for the Monster Energy/Yamaha and Monster Energy/CAS Honda teams on the MXGP circuit is the July 20th running of the South African Grand Prix.
Monster Energy supports the sport. Be it MotoGP, MXGP, British Superbikes, rally, rock crawling, road racing, supermoto, off-road, FMX, skate, MTB, off-road, surf, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the types – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault, Monster Khaos, the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “M-80” and the ground-breaking Java Monster premium coffee & cream supercharged with our Monster Energy blend. Everybody in Europe ’s really starting to dig ‘em – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com .
