Coppins 07 World FIM thread

**paturoa** · 9th June 2007, 09:33

Round 7 in France this weekend

**paturoa** · 10th June 2007, 08:40

Josh 7th fastest qualifer but only 0.8 secs behind the top qualifier.

**denill** · 10th June 2007, 09:04

Originally Posted by paturoa

Josh 7th fastest qualifer but only 0.8 secs behind the top qualifier.

Which puts Josh in a strong position to win - as most will agree, Josh is the best 'racer' presently in that class.

**paturoa** · 11th June 2007, 06:43

1st and 2nd for 47 points and his lead is now out to 90 points.

**denill** · 11th June 2007, 07:09

Date: 10 June 2007.

Press release:

Josh Coppins back on top of MX1 podium.

Yamaha factory racer, Joshua Coppins, has won the French Motocross GP in front of a sellout partisan crowd in St Jean d’Angely. The New Zealander won the first moto convincingly and a steady runner up spot in the second has seen the Kiwi extend his MX1 championship to an astounding 90 points by the halfway point in the championship.

A magnificent hole-shot aboard his factory YZ450FM saw Coppins come out with guns blazing in the first MX1 moto. “Lizzard” controlled the race and his rhythm perfectly as he set consistent lap times around the hilly St Jean d’ Angely circuit. Unchallenged, Coppins raced to victory in front of Italian, David Philippaerts, and Belgian, Steve Ramon, gaining important points in the MX1 championship as championship rival Kevin Strijbos failed to score any points due to an ongoing knee injury.

Coppins took advantage of another great hole-shot in moto 2 however it was short lived as Billy Mac Kenzie stole the lead just a turn later. Crowd favourite, Sebastien Pourcel, snuck by as well but Coppins kept his composure and struck back on the third lap. Five minutes later he attacked Scotsman Mac Kenzie and took over the lead. A fast moving Ramon managed to latch onto Coppins and capitalized on a series of mistakes to pass the Kiwi with just over ten minutes left on the clock. Coppins settled for second choosing not to risk anything by chasing after the Belgian.

“I feel sorry for Kevin Strijbos,” explained Coppins after the Belgian had failed to start the second moto. “I have also had my fair share of knee problems in the past so I know how he feels. He is a very good rider and I’m sure he will come back strong. It is a shame for the championship as people would like it to be much closer but at the same time I am happy with the lead. My choice of lines let me down in the second moto and I used too much energy on them. I finally found some good lines after Steve passed me but he was riding well and deserved the win . The championship is looking good for me and I just want to try and win some more GP’s. Of course it would have been great to win both heats but it’s winning the GP that counts.” affirmed Coppins

As the FIM Motocross GP series passes the halfway mark, Coppins heads to round eight of fifteen in Sevlievo, Bulgaria next weekend. (16-17 June)

Race results:

MX1 Race 1

1 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha

2 Philippaerts, David ITA KTM

3 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki

4 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki

5 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Kawasaki

6 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM

7 Brown, Mike USA Honda

8 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki

9 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM

10 Noble, James GBR Honda

11 Nemeth, Kornel HUN Suzuki

12 Priem, Manuel BEL TM

13 Crockard, Gordon IRL Honda

14 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha

15 Bill, Julien SUI Honda

MX1 Race 2

1 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki

2 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha

3 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki

4 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Kawasaki

5 Philippaerts, David ITA KTM

6 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM

7 Brown, Mike USA Honda

8 Priem, Manuel BEL TM

9 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki

10 van Daele, Marvin BEL Honda

11 Bill, Julien SUI Honda

12 Nemeth, Kornel HUN Suzuki

13 Renet, Pierre A. FRA Honda

14 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha

15 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki

MX1 Championship standings:

1 Coppins, J. NZL 321

2 Ramon, Steve BEL 231

3 Strijbos, K. BEL 211

4 Philippaerts, D. ITA 186

5 Pourcel, S. FRA 184

6 Barragan, J. ESP 173

7 Brown, Mike USA 169

8 Leok, Tanel EST 159

9 Mackenzie, B. GBR 154

10 de Dycker, Ken BEL 150

11 Noble, James GBR 139

12 Priem, Manuel BEL 125

13 de Reuver, M. NED 115

14 Nagl, M. GER 107

15 Nemeth, Kornel HUN 99

**NZsarge** · 11th June 2007, 08:19

Thanks for the results Denill, now I know I can be bothered to watch it.

Congrats to Josh yet again.

**NordieBoy** · 11th June 2007, 08:22

All I can say is

**Danger** · 11th June 2007, 10:02

Good one Josh. However I would like to see him stretched a bit more in prep for the MXoN this year. I'm hoping that Daryl Hurley can find form and give us a decent shot at the event in the US.

**scott411** · 11th June 2007, 10:56

90 point lead at half way is really good, no one has been anywhere near consistant enough to put up a fight, josh is top 3 every race bar one,

shame to see Kevin Stribos hurt tho, he is the only one who seems to be able to fight Josh

**paturoa** · 11th June 2007, 12:48

Originally Posted by Danger

Good one Josh. However I would like to see him stretched a bit more in prep for the MXoN this year. I'm hoping that Daryl Hurley can find form and give us a decent shot at the event in the US.

Or even Scott Columb - talking of which, where was he?