Coppins World 2008 FIM Thread

[NordieBoy]

Mininova has the Germany torrent up

[paturoa]

Josh was 9th in Timed Practice (1 second only) and Scott was 21st.

[paturoa]

Race 1 13th 8 pts
Race 2 5th 16 pts

overall 24 for the day

Now 3rd overall on 286 points, 14 pts off the lead.

Interesting part is that both Philipparts and Ramon (now 1st & 2nd) had patchy results too, though a 3, 3 by Ramon being the best.

Scott was 22nd & 19th for 2 points and is now 30th overall.

[denill]

Date: 6 July 2008
Press release:

Tough Swedish MX GP for Coppins.

Mixed weather conditions have seen Yamaha Monster racer, Josh Coppins, fight to stay in the MX1 championship hunt. The New Zealander suffered crashes in both motos at the picturesque circuit of Uddevalla in Sweden, and with track conditions making it harder on the Kiwi to come through the pack, Coppins had to settle with 10th overall for the GP.

Scattered rain showers made the slippery underground unpredictable for the riders, and from the start of the first moto, Coppins had his work cut out for him. He spun on the startgate and exited the first turn way down the field. He could not avoid a fallen rider on the opening laps and got caught up in the mayhem and crashed. With track conditions making it difficult to pass Coppins did all he could to limit the loss of points and pushed up to 13th spot by the end of a difficult race.

Knowing that the start would be detrimental for a good result, Coppins had a great jump but was cut off by Spaniard Jonathan Barragan in full speed down the start straight. A few turns later Coppins was down in the dirt and once again had a mammoth task ahead. He fought for every position and passed Billy MacKenzie on the last lap to secure 5th spot.

“It’s been a tough day at the office.” admitted Coppins. “I missed my start when I spun off the gate and then ran into the back of Loic Leonce when he crashed in front of me on the second lap. I re-started more or less last and worked my way through the field. It was hard to pass, one lined and really tricky. I improved on my start in the second moto but then got pushed wide and lost some places. I pushed too hard to get to the front too quickly and went down in the fourth turn. I’m pretty disappointed because my riding was good, I knew the starts would be tough on the gravel behind the gate. You need a little bit of luck and there is no technique involved in it. I lost a lot points and I just need to focus on the next race and not think about the championship. When I had the bad starts I was thinking about trying to win and not thinking about having a good race. That’s something I need to change for next time.”

With a welcomed week’s break in the 15 round series, the GP teams and riders will head to the continent of Africa for the South African GP in Nelspruit for round 9 on the 20th July.

Race results:

MX 1 Race 1

1 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM

2 de Reuver, Marc NED Honda

3 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki

4 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha

5 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki

6 Boniface, Steve FRA Honda

7 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda

8 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki

9 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki

10 Bill, Julien SUI Honda

11 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki

12 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM

13 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha

14 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha

15 Noble, James GBR KTM

MX1 Race 2

1 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM

2 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM

3 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki

4 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha

5 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha

6 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda

7 Bill, Julien SUI Honda

8 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki

9 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki

10 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki

11 Boniface, Steve FRA Honda

12 Nemeth, Kornel HUN KTM

13 Noble, James GBR KTM

14 Church, Tom GBR Kawasaki

15 Correira, Luis POR Suzuki

MX1 World championship standings:

1 Philippaerts, D. ITA 302

2 Ramon, Steve BEL 290

3 Coppins, J. NZL 286

4 de Dycker, Ken BEL 266

5 Pourcel, S. FRA 241

6 Barragan, J. ESP 239

7 Nagl, M. GER 213

8 Leok, Tanel EST 209

9 Mackenzie, B. GBR 205

10 de Reuver, M. NED 178

11 Desalle, C. BEL 162

12 Priem, Manuel BEL 137

13 Bill, J. SUI 131

14 Nemeth, Kornel HUN 115

15 Brown, Mike USA 107

[denill]

Yamaha Press Release: 16/07/2008

Coppins-Yamaha collaboration enters third term

Former double world championship runner-up Josh Coppins will enter a third year with Yamaha and the Yamaha Monster Motocross Team after putting pen to paper to extend his current deal this week.

The popular New Zealander, who presently sits third in the 2008 FIM MX-1 series as the calendar reaches its tenth stop this weekend in South Africa, has won six Grand Prix in a potent combination with the YZ450FM, including a memorable debut success at Valkenswaard for the opening round of 2007 and almost clinching the ’07 title before an unfortunate injury halted his progress deep into the season.

The 31 year old has walked the podium 12 times and won 11 motos in the space of a year and a half and 21 Grand Prix with the factory team. His alliance with the YZ has proved incredibly effective and he topped charts of: Moto wins, Grand Prix wins, Podiums accumulated and rounds led (13) in 2007.

He dominated the Grand Prix of Germany several weeks ago and is just 16 points behind team-mate David Philippaerts. Thanks to his efforts and that of the Italian alongside him – who is already confirmed for 2009 - Yamaha lead the Manufacturers’ standings and retain a realistic and viable chance of world championship success this year.

Josh Coppins: “Once I had made the decision I wanted to race another season and another world championship there was no other option in my mind than to continue with Yamaha,” said the Kiwi. “We have had success in a short period of time and that is partly due to the excellent way the team work. The world championship was so close for us last year and we are right there for the 2008 title. I know that the team and Yamaha are right behind me and I could not wish for a more professional set-up. Signing the new deal was pretty quick, I’m glad to get things sorted out early so we can push on with doing the business this season.”

“For Yamaha it is a very logical decision to continue with David and Josh next year as we are very happy with the current rider line up,” said Yamaha Motor Europe’s Racing Division Manager Laurens Klein Koerkamp. “Josh is a very experienced rider with an amazing fighting spirit and dedication for the sport and that is very valuable for Yamaha. I am confident that he will be a title contender both this year and the next. The aim for 2008 and for 2009 is to win the Rider and Manufacturer’s title, and have both riders at the top of the ranking..”

[NordieBoy]

Sweet .

[camchain]

Like the sound of that. Totally focussed on job at hand now. Go Lizzard.

[paturoa]

Racing this weekend - all quiet on the news front today.

[paturoa]

Josh 6th in timed practice, is Scott not racing this weekend?

[arj127]

Ramon is on pole, Coppins was three seconds of the pace of the front runners.

Wins are what he needs now - go Josh

[paturoa]

hhmmmmm

9th and 4th for 30 points

That leaves him in 3rd overall now on 316, 23 off the lead.

[Pierce]

hhmmmmm

9th and 4th for 30 points

That leaves him in 3rd overall now on 316, 23 off the lead.

Not looking that great at the moment is it

[denill]

Date: 20 July 2008

Press release:

Unsuccessful South African MX GP for Coppins.

A change of scenery has seen the 10th round of the FIM MX World championship move to South Africa and the city of Nelspruit situated in the Mpumalanga Province.

Yamaha Monster racer, Josh Coppins, was expecting to claw back valuable championship points after a disappointing Swedish result two weeks prior however the New Zealander was plagued once again with bad starts and a first turn crash that forced him out of a podium spot.

With 20.000 enthusiastic spectators turning out to the well groomed Alkmaar racing circuit, Coppins was positioned well on the start line for the first MX1 moto. He didn’t get the best jump and tried to make up in the first turn but was hit from behind when Frenchman Sebastien Pourcel collided with the Kiwi. Both Coppins and Pourcel had to remount and fight their way through the 30 man field. Coppins managed to break into the top ten by the halfway mark and secured 9th spot by the end of the 35 minute + 2 lap race.

Knowing the importance of a good start for the second race, Coppins shot out the gat but was cut off by fast starter Jonathan Barragan. Coppins kept his calm and emerged in 7th on the opening lap. He quickly honed in on first race winner, Steve Ramon, and pressured the Belgian until he found a way past with ten minutes gone on the clock. Coppins carried his momentum disposing of fellow team-mate David Philippaerts with a great pass around the halfway mark. He went on to post the fastest lap of the race in trying to shut down Sebastien Pourcel, however he had to settle for fourth position.

“The two heats at the last GP in Sweden and the first heat here in South Africa I either crashed in the start or on the first lap which really put a dent in my confidence. I can’t afford to come from the back and I need to get around the first lap safe and try and pull some wins back. I had a good line over the second triple in the second race and managed to pass Steve, David and Billy there and then I worked hard on catching Pourcel. Obviously I am disappointed again, but I’m busting my butt and want to win badly – my fitness is good, my speed is good I just need to get better starts.” vowed Coppins.

The calendar allows a week’s break before the demanding sand circuit of Lommel will host round 11 in Belgium on the 3rd of August.

Race results:

MX1 Race 1

1 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki

2 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha

3 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM

4 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM

5 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki

6 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki

7 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda

8 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki

9 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha

10 Priem, Manuel BEL Kawasaki

11 Bill, Julien SUI Honda

12 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM

13 Boniface, Steve FRA Honda

14 Noble, James GBR KTM

15 Campano, Carlos ESP Yamaha

MX1 Race 2

1 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM

2 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM

3 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki

4 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha

5 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda

6 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha

7 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki

8 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki

9 Priem, Manuel BEL Kawasaki

10 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki

11 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki

12 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM

13 Boniface, Steve FRA Honda

14 Noble, James GBR KTM

15 Church, Tom GBR Kawasaki

MX1 World championship standings:

1 Philippaerts, D. ITA 339

2 Ramon, Steve BEL 328

3 Coppins, J. NZL 316

4 de Dycker, Ken BEL 296

5 Barragan, J. ESP 284

6 Pourcel, S. FRA 274

7 Nagl, M. GER 253

8 Mackenzie, B. GBR 235

9 Leok, Tanel EST 234

10 de Reuver, M. NED 178

11 Desalle, C. BEL 173

12 Priem, Manuel BEL 160

13 Bill, J. SUI 141

14 Nemeth, Kornel HUN 115

15 Brown, Mike USA 107

[NordieBoy]

Not looking that great at the moment is it

Another way of looking at it is that he's only 23 points off the lead, his race pace is good and like he says, just needs to get around that 1st lap intact.

[paturoa]

Another way of looking at it is that he's only 23 points off the lead, his race pace is good and like he says, just needs to get around that 1st lap intact.

Thats a good point (I've been taking that view too - glass half empty).

Looking at the reports of his start crashes the vast majority (all) were others taking him out.