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This is after Easter\'s third of 15 rounds in the premier 250 class, the Australian Grand Prix at Broadford.
Interesting notes:
Expat Kiwi Josh Coppins remains firmly in the group contesting second position, despite his machine problems in Australia
Coppins\' teammate on the top-rated Suzuki Corona factory squad Mickael Pichon (France) has a huge lead with three wins from three starts in this year\'s revamped format
Reigning two-time champion Fred Bolley (France) who overtook Pichon on points near the end of last year is having a dismal season on the Honda, languishing in 11th spot after pulling out of the Australian GP - he\'s expected to bounce back
German Pit Beirer, who pipped Coppins for third overall at last year\'s final GP in Switzerland, is again on the Kiwi\'s tail - now riding for Yamaha, previously Kawasaki
Kawasaki is having a miserable season with top rider Mickael Maschio (France) out injured and Australian recruit Chad Reed, still coming to terms with GP racing, the team\'s best rider in 10th spot
Not so Suzuki, again registering two of the top four spots, or Yamaha with three of the top six
Tall Irishman Gordon Crockard has repeated last season\'s big start on the Honda and currently holds second in the points chase. Last year he finished 6th, one place behind current third-runner Claudio Federici (Italy)
The shift of the World MX powerbase from Belgium south to France continues. Belgium has only KTM rider Danny Theybers in the top dozen, compared with three French
As well as Irishman Crockard, Great Britain claims 6th and also 13th with Carl Nunn (Husqvarna)
Theybers\' KTM is the only non-Japanese bike in the top 12
At each GP, first place scores 25 points, second 20, then 16, 13, 11, 10, 9 descending to 1. This is the same scoring system as the World Superbike Champs (in which Aaron Slight starred) with its two-race format, but different from Superbike road racing with one race per event. Until last year MX GP had two races but scored on the road race GP system for each. Confused?
MX points after three rounds:
1 Mickael Pichon (France) Suzuki 75 points
2 Gordon Crockard (Ireland) Honda 42
3 Claudio Federici (Italy) Yamaha 38
4 Joshua Coppins (NZ) Suzuki 37
5 Pit Beirer (Germany) Yamaha 33
6 Paul Cooper (UK) Yamaha 32
7 Jussi-Pekka Vehvilainen (Finland) Honda 25
8 Danny Theybers (Belgium) KTM 24
9 Yves Demaria (France) Yamaha 22
10 Chad Reed (Australia) Kawasaki 18
11 Frédéric Bolley (France) Honda 16
12 Marko Kovalainen (Finland) Yamaha 15
