Josh Coppins has narrowly missed out on his third consecutive GP win at the third round of the FIM Motocross world championship in Agueda Portugal. The factory Yamaha racer had to ride through the pain barrier with a suspected broken toe sustained in the Saturday’ practice session, however Coppins still notched up a determined 1-2 result for second overall.

Feeling uneasy going into the first moto, Coppins let his adrenalin take over any pain and discomfort as he passed Kevin Strijbos around the halfway mark of the 40 minute moto. The hot weather conditions and rough circuit took their toll on the pack however Coppins managed to use these to his advantage as he took first honours.

The second moto almost ended in disaster as Strijbos drifted wide in the first turn risking taking himself and Coppins out at the same time. Coppins chased down the Belgian as both had to race through the pack and passed him to move into second spot. Strijbos retaliated a lap later and clinched the lead with Coppins hot on his heels. With ten minutes left the duo had pulled a sizeable gap on the rest of the field and it looked as if it would be a fight till the end until Coppins backed down and settled for second.

“I had some problems this weekend and couldn’t really ride how I wanted,” explained the Kiwi. “I tried not to think of the pain and did the best I could under the circumstances. I haven’t lost any points in the championship but it still would have better to keep the winning streak going. We have a bit of time before Mantova to heal so I’ll keep working hard and look forward to defending the red plate.”

The Italian GP in Mantova, will take place on the 6th of May which gives the GP teams and riders some time to recover from the long trek back from Portugal.

Race results:

MX1 Race 1

1 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha

2 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Suzuki

3 Philippaerts, David ITA KTM

4 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki

5 Noble, James GBR Honda

6 Priem, Manuel BEL TM

7 de Dycker, Ken BEL Honda

8 Nemeth, Kornel HUN Suzuki

9 Brown, Mike USA Honda

10 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki

11 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki

12 van Daele, Marvin BEL Honda

13 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM

14 de Reuver, Marc NED Yamaha

15 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki

MX1 Race 2

1 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Suzuki

2 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha

3 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki

4 Priem, Manuel BEL TM

5 Philippaerts, David ITA KTM

6 Allier, Thomas FRA Kawasaki

7 Brown, Mike USA Honda

8 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki

9 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Kawasaki

10 Nemeth, Kornel HUN Suzuki

11 van Daele, Marvin BEL Honda

12 de Dycker, Ken BEL Honda

13 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha

14 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM

15 Renet, Pierre A. FRA Honda

MX1 World championship standings:

1 Coppins, J. NZL 144

2 Strijbos, K. BEL 125

3 Barragan, J. ESP 89

4 Ramon, Steve BEL 86

5 de Dycker, Ken BEL 84

6 Pourcel, S. FRA 67

7 Nagl, M. GER 63

8 Philippaerts, D. ITA 62

9 Brown, Mike USA 62

10 Priem, Manuel BEL 61

11 Leok, Tanel EST 61

12 Noble, James GBR 61

13 de Reuver, M. NED 60

14 Nemeth, Kornel HUN 51

15 Mackenzie, B. GBR 46