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 Zealander out of contention however Coppins put the pain and discomfort aside and salvaged valuable championship points in his quest for the MX1 world title.

Having qualified 8th in the Saturday timed session, Coppins had a reasonable pick at the start gate and used that to his advantage as the first heat of the Sunday program got underway. ‘Lizzard’ just missed out on the all important ‘hole-shot’ but emerged 5th on the first lap. He set consistent lap times and moved into a podium spot when team-mate David Philippaerts miscalculated a passing move, putting Coppins down in the dirt with only a few minutes left on the clock. Coppins quickly restarted his machine to finish 6th after a gutsy performance.

A well executed jump and start in the second moto had Coppins entering the first turn in front of the pack however a small slip saw the Kiwi having to give away the lead. With track conditions deteriorating lap by lap, Coppins settled into 7th and rode his own pace to finish the grueling 35 minute moto safely.

“All in all this has been a pretty good weekend under the circumstances." stated Coppins. "Qualifying went well with 8th place. My starts were good in both motos however I went a bit wide in the first one and slid out in the second but was up there. This weekend was just damage control really and I rode the best I could within the pain, trying not to damage the foot at all. I haven’t been able to do the work to be best prepared for this race. I am quite happy with the result which is a relief after what I have gone through in the last two weeks. I’m sitting in 6th overall now whereas two weeks ago I was looking at the bones sticking out of my toes so I’m happy with the position I am in. I have the stitches removed from my toes tomorrow 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 that time in the saddle I’ll be able to build back some strength for Spain and aim to be strong in Portugal.”

There will be a week break before round 2 takes place at the spectacular hard-pack circuit of Bellpuig in Spain on the 19-20 April.

Race results:

MX1 Race 1
1 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
2 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
3 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
4 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
5 Priem, Manuel BEL Kawasaki
6 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
7 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Kawasaki
8 de Reuver, Marc NED Honda
9 Nemeth, Kornel HUN KTM
10 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda
11 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki
12 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha
13 Verhoeven, Bas NED Kawasaki
14 van Daele, Marvin BEL Suzuki
15 Brown, Mike USA Honda

MX1 Race 2
1 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
2 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda
3 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM
4 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
5 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
6 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
7 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
8 Priem, Manuel BEL Kawasaki
9 Nemeth, Kornel HUN KTM
10 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha
11 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
12 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM
13 Brown, Mike USA Honda
14 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Kawasaki
15 Church, Tom GBR Kawasaki

MX1 World championship standings:
1 de Dycker, Ken BEL 50
2 Nagl, M. GER 38
3 Ramon, Steve BEL 38
4 Mackenzie, B. GBR 33
5 Philippaerts, D. ITA 33
6 Coppins, J. NZL 29
7 Priem, Manuel BEL 29
8 Nemeth, Kornel HUN 24
9 Strijbos, K. BEL 21
10 Barragan, J. ESP 20
11 Leok, Aigar EST 20
12 Brown, Mike USA 14
13 de Reuver, M. NED 13
14 Schiffer, M. GER 11
15 Leok, Tanel EST 10