The penultimate round of the FIM Motocross championship has seen an amazing performance by Yamaha Monster racer, Josh Coppins. The resilient Kiwi tried his best to conquer the treacherous Lierop circuit however he fell victim to the sadistic sand with one lap to go in the final moto.

After qualifying 6th in Saturday’s timed practice session, Coppins was sure of a good gate pick for Sunday’s two 35 + 2 lap motos. He managed to keep out of trouble in the start of the first moto and completed the first lap in 7th spot. After jostling for positions Coppins settled into a race rhythm and tried his best to reel in the front runners. He eventually fought his way into 4th behind fellow Yamaha team-mate David Philippaerts and finished the race strongly with some extra energy still in reserve.

Coppins displayed lightening reflexes in the second moto yet he was out-powered into the first turn by German Maxi Nagl and lost his advantage on the first lap. A crash; two laps later with Dutchman Marc De Reuver almost put an end to his outing but Coppins was far from done and rejoined the race in mid pack. While Belgian , Ken de Dycker and Philippaerts were battling out front, Coppins quickly gained momentum and started an amazing comeback. He posted lap times 4 seconds faster than the front runners and with just over 5 minutes to go he was up to 6th spot and closing fast. Within 3 laps Coppins went from 6th to second place and on the final lap was setting up de Dycker to take the lead when he hit a hay bale and went down. As some slight consolation, he managed to stay out of the track bunting and remounted to end 6th, making it 5th overall for the GP.

“I felt good enough to win here but it turned out to be another disappointing weekend. I rode steady in the first race and knew that I had plenty in the tank for the second race. I had some problems with a tear-off on the first lap which lost me a few positions and I then went down when I got caught up with Marc De Reuver. It took me a little while to get going again as I had used some energy to pick up the bike but then found my rhythm and caught up to second. I didn’t even know I was in second because the last pit signal I got said 7th place. The last lap I went to pass De Dyker by doubling round the outside like I did the lap before but I got cross rutted and hit the hay bale.” explained the New Zealander.

The final and deciding round of the 15 round series will take place next weekend in Faenza, Italy. With Coppins out of title contention he will still be looking to end off the season on a high note.

Race results:

MX1 Race 1
1 de Reuver, Marc NED Honda
2 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM
3 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
4 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
5 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
6 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki
7 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
8 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
9 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki
10 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM
11 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
12 Priem, Manuel BEL Kawasaki
13 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha
14 Roos, Patrick NED KTM
15 Columb, Scott NZL Suzuki

MX1 Race 2
1 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki
2 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
3 de Reuver, Marc NED Honda
4 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
5 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
6 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
7 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM
8 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
9 Priem, Manuel BEL Kawasaki
10 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha
11 Saris, William NED Yamaha
12 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki
13 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM
14 Melotte, Cedric BEL Aprilia
15 Campano, Carlos ESP Yamaha

MX1 World championship standings:
1 Philippaerts, D. ITA 477
2 Ramon, Steve BEL 463
3 de Dycker, Ken BEL 452
4 Barragan, J. ESP 419
5 Coppins, J. NZL 415
6 Nagl, M. GER 394
7 Pourcel, S. FRA 392
8 Leok, Tanel EST 337
9 Mackenzie, B. GBR 293
10 de Reuver, M. NED 277
11 Desalle, C. BEL 263
12 Priem, Manuel BEL 245
13 Leok, Aigar EST 164
14 Bill, J. SUI 159
15 Nemeth, Kornel HUN 159