Josh Coppins and Jonathan Barragan share wins in the season's opener at Valkenswaard

Josh Coppins wins the MX1 season opener. © Yamaha Racing. The season opener of the FIM Motocross World Championship got underway yesterday, on the Eurocircuit at Valkenswaard, Holland, in front of 25.000 spectators. It was a breathtaking day for the fans, who witnessed a great Josh Coppins win the MX1 Grand Prix of Benelux, the first victory in a race of Spaniard Jonathan Barragan and an incredibly fast Antonio Cairoli dominate the MX2 GP.

This was the first MX1 GP without Stefan Everts, who dominated the last six editions of the series, and finally arrived to an impressive tally of 10 World Title victories. Yamaha Motocross Josh Coppins showed both speed and consistency, and won the Grand Prix in front of KTM Red Bull's Jonathan Barragan and Suzuki WMX GP's Steve Ramon.

Coppins win the first race and finished runner up in the second race. © Yamaha Racing. Josh Coppins had a great start, but poleman Ken De Dycker passed him before the end of the opening lap. The Belgian tried to pull away with the lead, but he was caught by the Kiwi at lap seven. Ramon crashed while he was following the leaders, but he was quickly back on the bike to pass De Dycker at lap fifteen, and finally finish second behind winner Coppins. De Dycker paced himself, and finished the race in third place, ahead of countryman Strijbos, who was too far from De Dycker to aim at the top three. Barragan was fifth, ahead of a fantastic Marc De Reuver, who crashed at lap one and restarted from twentieth.

"This is a great start to the season. I didn't expect to be this fast in the sand but we have been putting in some hard work on the practice tracks and in the pre-season races and that has paid off here. I took my time in the first moto to get past Ken as I knew he would not be able to run a fast pace for the entire race. Once I was out front I controlled the race and won with quite a big gap. The second moto wasn't as easy and I tried to move in on Jonathan but he was riding really well so he deserved the win in the second moto. I am happy for the Rinaldi Yamaha team - we achieved more than our goal today," explained an elated Coppins.

Barragan scored his first win in MX1. © R. Archer. In a fantastic opening lap, David Philippaerts and Jonathan Barragan were leading the group, as Coppins and Ramon were battling their hardest for third place. Philippaerts lost the lead in lap four, then retired for technical problems, as his team mate Barragan lead the group until the chequered flag, showing an impressive rhythm. Coppins settled for second, and his team mate De Reuver completed the top three, after he passed Philippaerts and De Dycker. Strijbos raced a consistent moto, to finish fourth after he was eight at the end of the opening lap. Belgian Priem completed the top five, as countryman Ramon crashed and finished sixth.

The Spaniard fighting with Strijbos and Ramon.© R. Archer. "I had some problems with the brake in the first moto and that affected my speed but in the second I had a very good start. I was fighting with David (Philippaerts) in the early part of the race but after 10 minutes I already knew I was going to win." said Barragan. The Spaniard also paid tribute to the efforts of new team boss Stefan Everts, saying that the good winter training was now paying off.

"We had a good day, "Everts said. "But it could be even better but we tried really hard and we are working well together. I am very happy with Jonathan's and Tyla's results."

Stefan Everts, new KTM's Team boss. © R. Archer. Yamaha De Carli's Antonio Cairoli dominated the first GP, as he grasped two back to back wins. KTM Red Bull's Tyla Rattray raced two stoic motos, because he was not 100% fit after his crash in yesterday's qualifying heat. The South African was second overall, as countryman Gareth Swanepoel of Molson Kawasaki clinched his maiden podium.

Nicolas Aubin was first at the start, but Avis and Swanepoel moved past him before the end of the opening lap. Avis lead the race until lap five, then he was snatched the lead by Swanepoel. Cairoli was packed in the group after the start, but he found his way to first place thanks to an impressive pace. Rattray was coming up from eight, and raced a consistent first heat to finish second behind Cairoli. Early leaders Avis and Swanepoel had different fortunes: Avis crashed at lap ten, and finished the race in seventeenth place, and Swanepoel finished third behind countryman Rattray. Gundersen was fourth, and home rider Eggens made it to the top five by passing Aubin in the very last lap. Defending Champion Pourcel was seventh.

Althought saturday's heavy crash, Rattray secured two second finishes. © R. Archer. Avis lead the first couple of laps, then was passed by Pourcel and Searle. Pourcel was leading from Searle, who was passed by Cairoli. But the Frenchman crashed, and handed the first place to his Italian rival. Searle was second and Pourcel was right behind him in third, but they both crashed after a jump while landing. As Pourcel rejoined the race to finish third, Searle was out, but physically ok. Eggens was fourth, ahead of Gundersen, who raced another solid moto. Swanepoel raced a consistent moto and finished sixth, making it to the overall podium. Once again Rattray came up from behind -ninth at the end of lap one- and conquered another well deserved second place.

Antonio Cairoli dominated in MX2. © Yamaha Racing. "The first heat was a little bit easier than the second," said Cairoli. "I didn't start that well for the first moto but I felt better on the track because it wasn't so rough compared to the second race. My physical condition was good and I am happy because I have not been training that much in the sand this year. I thought Rattray was the closest rider to me today in terms of speed so I am lucky that he did not get good starts. I knew that Christophe's condition is still not great so I thought that I could win the second moto even before he crashed. I was waiting for his mistake, after which it made things easier."