Bellpuig MX GP marred by rain
By TMX Archives on 21st Apr 08
The second round of the FIM Motocross championship has been marred by rain and treacherous conditions at a muddy Bellpuig circuit in Spain. Factory Yamaha Monster rider, Josh Coppins posted a first moto 4th place before the second moto was cancelled due to impossible riding conditions.
As the riders dashed for the crucial hole-shot in moto 1, Coppins nearly lostthe front end when he hit a blanket of water going into the first turn. He savedthe crash and positioned himself comfortably in third spot behind Barragan andRamon. After passing Barragan for second and then setting after Ramon, Coppinsgot stuck before the infamous uphill step section. It took the Kiwi over half aminute to free his motorcycle from the quagmire and re-attempt the hillsuccessfully. With the race now a lottery, Coppins focused on staying on thebike and settled for fourth spot just behind the Belgian, Ken De Dycker.
With the MX2 class not able to complete their second moto it was inevitablethat a decision would be made not to race the second MX1 moto. The GP overallwas then decided by the first moto result which saw Coppins miss out on thepodium. The Yamaha Monster racer has now climbed to fourth in the championshipstandings and trails leader de Dycker by 23 points.
I'm still trying to get faster, trying to get better explained Coppins. Ihave lost two points on the lead and that for me is important at the moment. Iam not focused on which position I am in the championship, or even the resultthis weekend more important is to minimize the deficit from the lead until Iam 100% and can start winning some races and pull back those points.
I was happy with my riding and even set the fastest lap in the first moto inthese tricky conditions. I made a crucial mistake going up the hill step sectionand that cost me the win but I was also lucky that it didn't turn out worsebecause it was a lottery out there. It's still a long season and I'm prettyhappy with the result.
The GP riders and teams will trek West to Portugal and the 3rd round of thechampionship to be held in Agueda next weekend, hopefully under better weatherand racing conditions.
Race results:
MX1 Race 1
1 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
2 Philippaerts, David ITAYamaha
3 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
4 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
5 Leok,Tanel EST Kawasaki
6 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Kawasaki
7 Church, Tom GBRKawasaki
8 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda
9 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
10Freibergs, Lauris LAT Yamaha
11 Salvini, Alex ITA Suzuki
12 Nemeth, KornelHUN KTM
13 Chiodi, Alessio ITA TM
14 Noble, James GBR KTM
15 Priem,Manuel BEL Kawasaki
MX1 Race 2
CANCELLED
MX1 Championship standings:
1 de Dycker, Ken BEL 70
2 Ramon, Steve BEL63
3 Philippaerts, D. ITA 55
4 Coppins, J. NZL 47
5 Mackenzie, B. GBR46
6 Nagl, M. GER 40
7 Strijbos, K. BEL 36
8 Priem, Manuel BEL 35
9Nemeth, Kornel HUN 33
10 Leok, Tanel EST 26
11 Desalle, C. BEL 22
12Barragan, J. ESP 20
13 Church, Tom GBR 20
14 Leok, Aigar EST 20
15Freibergs, L. LAT 16
website: http://www.joshcoppins.com