Only three weeks after the CAS Honda star dislocated his shoulder in Hawkstone Park, a resilient Josh Coppins has bounced back to sweep the second round of the British MX championship by winning both races convincingly.

Coppins started out the day on a high when he posted the fastest qualifying time, shoulder brace and all - he meant business.

A Coppins hole-shot in race won was short lived when fellow CAS Honda team mate, Jussi Vehvilainen, snuck past in the second turn. Coppins didn’t take long to regain the lead although the stony and one-lined track did not make the task any easier. The CAS Honda riders finished 1 and 2 with half of the days work done.

Another hole-shot was in stall for Coppins, only this time he made sure he stayed out front. “Lizzard” found a comfortable rhythm and pulled a sizeable lead completing the double win and a job well done. Team mate Vehvilainen just managed to pass Irishman, Gordon Crockard in the final minutes, making it a clean sweep for CAS Honda as well, much to the delight of team owner, Harry Ainsworth and the rest of his dedicated team.

“I was a bit nervous for the first race. It’s only been my second race in Europe and I haven’t had much race time on the bike. I felt much more relaxed as the day went on and my shoulder held up really well. As far as training and the bike go, we are doing well although I would have liked some more race time before Zolder,” said the reigning British champ.

Coppins has clawed back a good number of points and is not giving up on the championship he won so convincingly in 2004. The Kiwi won last year with a round to spare so if he carries on at this pace the championship could come down to the wire at the final round.

Results:

Race1

1 Josh Coppins
2 Jussi Vehvilainen
3 Paul Cooper
4 James Noble
5 Yoshitaka Atsuta
6 Neville Bradshaw
7 Mark Jones
8 Alex Rach
9 Mark Hucklebridge
10 Jody Smyth

Race 2:

1 Josh Coppins
2 Jussi Vehvilainen
3 Gordon Crockard
4 James Noble
5 Paul Cooper
6 Mark Jones
7 Neville Bradshaw
8 Glen Phillips
9 Jordan Rose
10 Yoshitaka Atsuta

Championship standings:

1 Paul Cooper 106
2 Jussi Vehvilainen 104
3 James Noble 96
4 Yoshitaka Atsuta 82
5 Neville Bradshaw 78
6 Josh Coppins 60
7 Mark Jones 49
8 Mark Hucklebridge 47
9 Glen Phillips 45
10 Gordon Crockard 40