Czech Republic Motocross: Philippaerts takes the double

David Philippaerts put an end to his mid-season stutter with two storming MX1 rides at Loket.

The Italian championship contender fell on the first lap in moto one but came storming back through the pack to take third behind Nagl and Barragan and Philippaerts stayed on the bike to win from gate to flag in moto two.

With Steve Ramon taking a pair of anonymous fourths, Philippaerts’ overall victory put him back at the head of the championship with just three rounds left.

Sebastien Pourcel took the second step of the podium and could well have won it, but a fall whilst leading the first moto cost him dear – behind Pourcel was Jonathan Barragan, the Spaniard taking his fourth podium on the bounce.

Max Nagl won the opening race ahead of Barragan, but the German barely seemed to turn up in moto two, gating midpack and just paddling round for ninth.

For the second year in a row, however, the Czech GP proved to be a real kicker for Josh Coppins – the Kiwi’s title run was ended in a freak accident at the race last year, but hopes of a change in fortune proved groundless, as moto one saw Josh lose his goggles on the second lap, and a big crash in moto two whilst running third left the Lizzard under his bike.

It was a bad day for Billy Mackenzie, too – the Scot was running second in the first moto until a mid-race crash left him in pain from a suspected broken hip.

Fortunately, there was no break and the CAS Honda should be back soon.

In the MX2 class, it was a battle to the wire between championship contenders Tyla Rattray and Tommy Searle.

The young Brit lead large parts of moto one until a fall with two thirds of the race gone gave Rattray the win on a plate, but moto two saw the two of them go head-to-head for most of the race with Searle sucking up the pressure in the lead the whole time.

As if to allow Searle the opportunity to finish in style, Rattray fell on the last lap, putting the seal on Tommy’s fifth Grand Prix win of the year – it finished with the pair tied on points, with Searle taking the win courtesy of his better finish in the final moto.

Rattray’s lead is twenty points, with just three Grand Prix left… Shaun Simpson’s excellent season took a nosedive – the Scot has a fractured collarbone from a spill in qualifying, but on the bright side, Stephen Sword logged a strong pair of finishes for fifth overall.