Josh Coppins shows heart at FIM GP Motocross debut
By TMX Archives on 6th Apr 08
The 2008 FIM Motocross world championship kicked off at a demanding Valkenswaard sand circuit in the Netherlands this weekend. Factory Yamaha Monster racer, Josh Coppins, showed true courage by posting a 6-7 result, only two weeks after recent surgery to repair two broken toes. The injury sustained while practicing , threatened to put the New Zealanderout of contention however Coppins put the pain and discomfort aside and salvagedvaluable championship points in his quest for the MX1 world title.
Having qualified 8th in the Saturday timed session, Coppins had areasonable pick at the start gate and used that to his advantage as the firstheat of the Sunday program got underway. ‘Lizzard' just missed out on the allimportant ‘hole-shot' but emerged 5th on the first lap. He set consistent laptimes and moved into a podium spot when team-mate David Philippaertsmiscalculated a passing move, putting Coppins down in the dirt with only a fewminutes left on the clock. Coppins quickly restarted his machine to finish 6thafter a gutsy performance.
A well executed jump and start in the secondmoto had Coppins entering the first turn in front of the pack however a smallslip saw the Kiwi having to give away the lead. With track conditionsdeteriorating lap by lap, Coppins settled into 7th and rode his own pace tofinish the grueling 35 minute moto safely.
"All in all this has been apretty good weekend under the circumstances." stated Coppins. "Qualifying wentwell with 8th place. My starts were good in both motos however I went a bit widein the first one and slid out in the second but was up there. This weekend wasjust damage control really and I rode the best I could within the pain, tryingnot to damage the foot at all. I haven't been able to do the work to be bestprepared for this race. I am quite happy with the result which is a relief afterwhat I have gone through in the last two weeks. I'm sitting in 6th overall nowwhereas two weeks ago I was looking at the bones sticking out of my toes so I'mhappy with the position I am in. I have the stitches removed from my toestomorrow and then I plan to get some more time on the bike later in the week.We'll head to France for some guaranteed better weather and hopefully with thattime in the saddle I'll be able to build back some strength for Spain and aim tobe strong in Portugal.”
There will be a week break before round 2 takesplace at the spectacular hard-pack circuit of Bellpuig in Spain on the 19-20April.
Race results:
MX1 Race 1
1 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
2Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
3 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
4 Philippaerts, DavidITA Yamaha
5 Priem, Manuel BEL Kawasaki
6 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
7Strijbos, Kevin BEL Kawasaki
8 de Reuver, Marc NED Honda
9 Nemeth, KornelHUN KTM
10 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda
11 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki
12Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha
13 Verhoeven, Bas NED Kawasaki
14 van Daele, MarvinBEL Suzuki
15 Brown, Mike USA Honda
MX1 Race 2
1 de Dycker,Ken BEL Suzuki
2 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda
3 Barragan, Jonathan ESPKTM
4 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
5 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
6Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
7 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
8 Priem,Manuel BEL Kawasaki
9 Nemeth, Kornel HUN KTM
10 Leok, Aigar ESTYamaha
11 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
12 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM
13Brown, Mike USA Honda
14 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Kawasaki
15 Church, Tom GBRKawasaki
MX1 World championship standings:
1 de Dycker, Ken BEL50
2 Nagl, M. GER 38
3 Ramon, Steve BEL 38
4 Mackenzie, B. GBR 33
5Philippaerts, D. ITA 33
6 Coppins, J. NZL 29
7 Priem, Manuel BEL 29
8Nemeth, Kornel HUN 24
9 Strijbos, K. BEL 21
10 Barragan, J. ESP 20
11Leok, Aigar EST 20
12 Brown, Mike USA 14
13 de Reuver, M. NED 13
14Schiffer, M. GER 11
15 Leok, Tanel EST 10