The opening round of the FIM Motocross GP series got underway at the spectacular Sevlievo circuit in Bulgaria this weekend.

In his maiden MX GP on the factory Aprila Racing Team, Josh Coppins, put in a strong performance in his qualifying heat when he came through the pack to finish 9th.

With Sunny skies welcoming a partisan crowd the first MX1 moto Coppins almost grabbed the hole-shot from German Maxi Nagl but was forced wide and eventually emerged in 8th spot on lap 1. Coppins dueled with Jonathan Barragan before having to let the hard charging Spaniard go. Lizzard settled for 9th.

Another good start for Coppins had him positioned in the top 10 jostling for positions. With track conditions more difficult and a lot of rough lines formed, Coppins used his experience to put in some consistent lap times. At the end of the 35min + 2 lap moto Coppins crossed the finish line in 10th position for another commendable result.

“ My goal was to go top ten this weekend. I qualified 9th and went 9-10 in the races so I was on track with my expectations. We still have some work to do but all in all we are sitting were we wanted to be. I was happy with my starts, they were impressive. I think I opened some eyes this weekend with this result and we will build on it from here.” said Coppins.

Round 2 of 15 round series will take place in Mantova, Italy next weekend
Image: CDS

Race results:
MX1 Race 1
1 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
2 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
3 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
4 de Dycker, Ken BEL Yamaha
5 Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM
6 Barragan, Jonathan ESP Kawasaki
7 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
8 Boog, Xavier FRA Kawasaki
9 Coppins, Joshua NZL Aprilia
10 Guarneri, Davide ITA Honda
11 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Honda
12 Leok, Tanel EST Honda
13 Monni, Manuel ITA Yamaha
14 de Reuver, Marc NED Suzuki
15 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Suzuki

MX1 Race 2
1 Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM
2 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
3 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
4 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki
5 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
6 Barragan, Jonathan ESP Kawasaki
7 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
8 de Dycker, Ken BEL Yamaha
9 Boog, Xavier FRA Kawasaki
10 Coppins, Joshua NZL Aprilia
11 Boissiere, Anthony FRA TM
12 Guarneri, Davide ITA Honda
13 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Honda
14 Monni, Manuel ITA Yamaha
15 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS Honda

MX1 GP Overall and World championship classification:
1 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM 47
2 Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM 41
3 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki 36
4 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha 36
5 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki 34
6 de Dycker, Ken BEL Yamaha 31
7 Barragan, Jonathan ESP Kawasaki 30
8 Boog, Xavier FRA Kawasaki 25
9 Coppins, Joshua NZL Aprilia 23
10 Guarneri, Davide ITA Honda 20
11 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki 18
12 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Honda 18
13 Monni, Manuel ITA Yamaha 15
14 Leok, Tanel EST Honda 13
15 Boissiere, Anthony FRA TM 10