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the early lead once again, but like the first, Everts pushed his way past to take a sizable lead rather quickly. Coppins and Ramon got into a nice battle for second place, both showing good lines. As the race wound down they began to reel in Everts, though it looked more like Everts was settling down. Josh Coppins was not surprised that Everts would be hard to beat, but did feel confident mak- ing the runner-up position in a Grand Prix, which he had done so well in last season. "I don't think it was easy to make the podium today," Coppins said. "I am still trying to improve my condition. I've struggled in the start of the sec- ond moto in previous races, but today I was strong and took two good starts; I am happy about that. I felt stiff in the first moto, but this race, for me, is Portugal (round three) for all the other riders (hav- ing missed the first rounds due to his shoulder injury). They are all dialed in and in good shape, and I know I'm not. After I saw the [lap] times, I could see I had the quicker times, so I knew I had it. I wasn't surprised when [Everts] passed me so quickly in the first moto. Stefan is riding really strong in the first part of the race. He has improved in that; I am not able to do that yet." Third-place finisher Steve Ramon showed he is working hard as he battled with Coppins in both motos. He also moved into third place in points and is now 22 points behind Kevin Strijbos in sec- ond place with five rounds remaining. "I am a little tired after today," Ramon said. "I feel better every weekend. I think in the second moto I pushed in the start to pass Josh (Coppins), but he went inside and passed me back. At the end of the race I was pushing hard. I knew if I passed Josh, I was second overall. I knew there was a place at the back I could pass him, but I got in trouble with some lappers so I finished third again." In the MX2 it was defending World Champion Antonio Cairoli (Yamaha) who showed the best speed, going 3-1 for the win and claiming his first Grand Prix victory of the season. He also moved into second place in championship points and is now 32 points behind series leader Christophe Pourcel. Second place went to Tyla Rattray (KTM) who finished 2-2 and KTM's Carl Nunn finished third. "I am very happy for this victory," Cairoli said. "I have been close to victory this year, but I didn't do it until today. This race is important for me, and I never win here, so I'm happy. I don't know what is happening this year. [There was] a lot of pressure in the start of the sea- son because I was the defending champion. Now I'm rid- ing for fun and that's working better for me." The opening moto of the MX2 was a war between two KTM riders: David Philippaerts and Tyla Rattray. Mirroring the classic battle between Philippaerts and Cairoli in Sweden two weeks ago, this was what the large local crowd was hoping for. Philippaerts seemed the have the advantage in speed, although Rattray, with the crowd behind him and his determination level on full, was relent- less on the Italian rider throughout the race. In the end, however, it was Philippaerts who won. In the second MX2 moto it was Antonio Cairoli who took the win, and once again it was Rattray who showed good speed throughout. Despite giving his all and with the support of the crowd, "Ratters" couldn't make ground on Cairoli and had to settle for second place, just ahead of Carl Nunn (who had taken the holeshot). Rattray wanted so much to take victory in his home Grand Prix. His first moto was a classic and tested him until the very end. While many might have struggled with the pressure of competing in their home Grand Prix, Rattray looked forward to it. "I didn't feel any pressure," Rattray said. "It was a good run and the crowd was going crazy, [when I was] racing for the lead with Tony (Cairoli) and David (Philippaerts). In the second race the pace was quick, Cairoli put in some good laps and was a bit fitter than me. I am still 74 points behind, so any- thing can happen. I was riding behind David and he started doing some brake checking. And then in the rhythm section, he jumped on me. We didn't need to do something like that and have two KTM riders on the ground. I talked to Georges about it after the race." Carl Nunn captured his first podium fin- ish in a long time, and the British rider (who is presently working on a new contract for 2007) finally showed the form many have expected from the KTM factory rider. "It's been a long time coming," Nunn said. "I had some podiums last year and I was getting flak from some people [saying] that I couldn't do it again, and I knew I could do it. We made some changes to the bike and it helped in the starts; that was important, of course. The first race was difficult; I was a little surprised by the pace upfront because I had not been riding there much recently, but I got used to it. I don't know what has changed for me. Obviously I have more confidence now. I want to go for a race win, and I did it last year, so I can do it again." CN GRAND PRIX OF SOUTH AFRICA SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA RESULTS: JULY 16, 2006 (ROUND 10 OF 15) MX1 MOTO 1: 1. Stefan Everts (Yam); 2. Josh Coppins (Hon); 3. Steve Ramon (Suz); 4. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 5. Ken de Dijcker (Hon); 6. Cedric Melotte (Yam); 7. Pascal Leuret (Hon); 8. Manuel Priem (Yam); 9. Kevin Strijbos (Suz); 10. Julien Bill (Yam); 11. Antti Pyrhonen (TM); 12. Jonathan Barragan (KTM); 13. Avis Wyatt (KTM); 14. Vico Garcia (Hon); 15. Gordon Crockard (Hon). MX1 MOTO 2: 1.Stefan Everts (Yam); 2. Joshua Coppins (Hon); 3. Steve Ramon (Suz); 4. Tanel Leok (Kaw); 5. Kevin Strijbos (Suz); 6. Jonathan Barragan (KTM); 7. Ken de Dijcker (Hon); 8. Pascal Leuret (Hon); 9. Antti Pyrhonen (TM); 10. Julien Bill (Yam); 11. Gordon Crockard (Hon); 12. Manuel Priem (Yam); 13. Avis Wyatt (KTM); 14. Collin Dugmore (Kaw); 15. James Noble (Hon). MX1 OVERALL: 1. Stefan Everts (50); 2. Josh Coppins (44); 3. Steve Ramon (40); 4. Tanel Leok (36); 5. Ken de Dijcker (30); 6. Kevin Strijbos (28); 7. Pascal Leuret (27); 8. Jonathan Barragan (23); 9. Antti Pyrhonen (22); 10. Julien Bill (22). FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MX1 SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 10 of 15 rounds): 1. Stefan Everts (492/10wins); 2. Kevin Strijbos (356); 3. Steve Ramon (334); 4. Tanel Leok (330); 5. Ken de Dijcker (322); 6. Jonathan Barragan (235); 7. Pascal Leuret (186); 8. Cedric Melotte (172); 9. Vico Garcia (172); 10. Manuel Priem (168). MX2 MOTO 1: 1. David Philippaerts (KTM); 2. Tyla Rattray (KTM); 3. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 4. Garreth Swaenepoel (Kaw); 5. Carl Nunn (KTM); 6. Tommy Searle (Kaw); 7. Davide Guarneri (Yam); 8. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 9. Alessio Chiodi (Yam); 10. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 11. Manuel Monni (KTM); 12. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 13. Tom Church (Kaw); 14. Jason Dougan (Hon); 15. Michael Kok (KTM). MX2 MOTO 2: 1. Antonio Cairoli (Yam); 2. Tyla Rattray (KTM); 3. Carl Nunn (KTM); 4. Christophe Pourcel (Kaw); 5. Manuel Monni (KTM); 6. Rui Goncalves (KTM); 7. Sebastien Pourcel (Kaw); 8. Tommy Searle (Kaw); 9. Davide Guarneri (Yam); 10. Garreth Swaenepoel (Kaw); 11. Billy MacKenzie (Yam); 12. Alessio Chiodi (Yam); 13. Tom Church (Kaw); 14. Jason Dougan (Hon); 15. Sacha Naude (Yam). MX2 OVERALL: 1. Antonio Cairoli (45); 2. Tyla Rattray (44); 3. Carl Nunn (36); 4. Christophe Pourcel (29); 5. Garreth Swaenepoel (29); 6. Tommy Searle (28); 7. Sebastien Pourcel (27); 8. Manuel Monni (26); 9. Davide Guarneri (26); 10. David Philippaerts (25). FIM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MX2 SERIES POINTS STANDINGS (After 10 of 15 rounds): 1. Christophe Pourcel (379/1 win); 2. Antonio Cairoli (347/1 win); 3. David Philippaerts (329/3 wins); 4. Tyla Rattray (305/3 wins); 5. Mark De Reuver (284/1 win); 6. Carl Nunn (241); 7. Billy MacKenzie (228/1 win); 8. Tommy Searle (224); 9. Garreth Swaenepoel (210); 10. Sebastien Pourcel (207). C Y C L E N E W S • JULY 26, 2006 37 Second-place finisher Josh Coppins (2), here leading Steve Ramon, is showing good strength, despite coming off a shoulder injury.