Coppins just misses out on podium at British GP
By TMX Archives on 31st May 09
Josh Coppins and the Yamaha Monster Energy Team turned out at Mallory Park, England, this past weekend with the full intention of standing on the podium. For a refreshing change to his usual Black and White THOR race gear, which the fans have become accustomed to, Lizzard' decided to run some more colorful livery which looked great as he circulated around the spectacular circuit.
In the Saturday qualifier Coppins got a great start and ran up in theleading trio for the duration of the race. Crossing the finish line in3rd position the likeable Kiwi would benefit from a great gate pickfor Sunday.
As Heat 1 got underway on Sunday Coppins got a good start and ran upfront with the leaders, as the world's top MX1 riders all pushed hard for thevital points in the extremely close championship standings. With a number ofposition changes throughout the fast paced race, ‘Lizzard' eventually crossedthe finish in 5th place, racking up vital points.
Heat 2 was yet another solid start for Coppins, rounding up the openinglap in 6th position. Yet again the pace was intense out front, andwith another strong ride ‘Lizzard' was in 4th position at the finish,giving a 4th overall for the day and keeping him firmly in contentionfor the MX1 World Title.
"Not too bad today and I felt better than the last few weeks; there wasan improvement here and hopefully I will be able to get back on the box inFrance. The first moto was pretty eventful because a rock hit my left collarboneand that was pretty sore and I also broke some spokes on my front wheel when Iclashed with Desalle. The wheel was a bit wobbly and I got some arm-pump so thefront group got away. There were some good points about today."
With just 57 points separating the top 7 riders, the MX1 WorldChampionship remains wide open heading into Round 7 of the championship inFrance next weekend.
Race results:
MX1 Race 1
1 Philippaerts, David ITAYamaha
2 Desalle, Clement BEL Honda
3 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM
4Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
5 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
6de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
7 Pichon, Mickael FRA Honda
8 Leok, Tanel ESTYamaha
9 Aranda, Gregory FRA Kawasaki
10 Cairoli, Antonio ITA Yamaha
11 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Kawasaki
12 Anderson, Bradley GBR Honda
13Leok, Aigar EST TM
14 Nunn, Carl GBR Suzuki
15 Dougan, Jason GBR CCM
MX1 Race 2
1 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
2 Philippaerts, David ITAYamaha
3 Desalle, Clement BEL Honda
4 Coppins, Joshua NZLYamaha
5 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda
6 Leok, Tanel EST Yamaha
7 Pichon, Mickael FRA Honda
8 Cairoli, Antonio ITA Yamaha
9 Aranda,Gregory FRA Kawasaki
10 Nunn, Carl GBR Suzuki
11 de Dycker, Ken BELSuzuki
12 Anderson, Bradley GBR Honda
13 Campano, Carlos ESP Yamaha
14 Neugebauer, Filip CZE Kawasaki
15 Priem, Manuel BEL Aprilia
16Terreblanche, Shannon RSA Kawasaki
17 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Kawasaki
MX1 GP Overall
1 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha 47
2 Nagl,Maximilian GER KTM 43
3 Desalle, Clement BEL Honda 42
4 Coppins,Joshua NZL Yamaha 34
5 Leok, Tanel EST Yamaha 28
6 Pichon,Mickael FRA Honda 28
7 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki 25
8 Cairoli, AntonioITA Yamaha 24
9 Aranda, Gregory FRA Kawasaki 24
10 Barragan, JonathanESP KTM 20
11 Nunn, Carl GBR Suzuki 18
12 Anderson, Bradley GBR Honda 18
13 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda 16
14 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Kawasaki 14
15 Campano, Carlos ESP Yamaha 13
MX1 Championship standings:
1Cairoli, A. ITA 255
2 Philippaerts, D. ITA 221
3 Barragan, J. ESP 215
4 Coppins, J. NZL 209
5 de Dycker, Ken BEL 208
6Desalle, C. BEL 204
7 Nagl, M. GER 198
8 Leok, Tanel EST 190
9Swanepoel, G. RSA 106
10 Vuillemin, D. FRA 101
11 Ramon, Steve BEL 100
12 Leok, Aigar EST 93
13 Mackenzie, B. GBR 84
14 Strijbos, K. BEL 82
15 Aranda, G. FRA 74