The worst was feared for track conditions after heavy thundershowers during the night threatened to make the German GP another mud-bath. CAS Honda star, Josh Coppins, capitalised on is consistency and the tricky conditions to go 4-4 and place second overall at the ‘Talkessel’ circuit. Riders and spectators were pleased to see bouts of sunshine on Sunday which would help dry out the circuuot and make for a good days racing.

Coppins lost his good start advantage and second place when he was bumped by Joël Smets shortly after the first turn in race one. He quickly regained his composure and the pressure of fellow Kiwi, Ben Townley, to slot into fourth position. Coppins battled to get past Finnish rider, Antti Pyrhonen, while still having to fend off Townley. Eventually Pyrhonen tired and Lizzard moved into third. A potential podium finish was short lived when Coppins stalled his bike, handing third to his compatriot. “Lizzard” didn’t lose much time in re-starting his motorcycle and gave chase. As time was running out, the CAS Honda, was not gaining on the front runners and crossed the finish line in fourth.

Race two would be a reverse situation with Coppins rubbing shoulders with Smets this time. Belgian, Steve Ramon, snuck past on the third lap relegating ‘Lizzard’ to fifth however he soon found his rhythm and both he and Ramon reeled in last years GP winner, Brian Jorgensen to move up a position. With ten minutes to go, Coppins was all over Ramon and trying to get by. A minor mistake by Coppins, gave Ramon some breathing room however “Lizzard” was happy to come home in fourth and claim second overall.

“ It’s good to be back on the podium,” said Coppins “The weekend started off a bit slow for me – in the first heat I was not riding so well. Our team boss had a pep talk with me after the first race and told me to get more aggressive. I took his advice and we also made some changes to the bike which worked really well in the second moto. I’m going to take some time off next week and then we leave for Japan on Monday. We plan to visit the Honda museum which I’m really looking forward to.”

Results MX1

Race 1

1 Pichon Mickael, Fra, Honda, 39:47.721
2 Smets Joel, Bel, Suzuki, 40:03.428
3 Townley Ben, Nzl, Ktm, 40:17.606
4 Coppins Joshua, Nzl, Honda, 40:20.503
5 Noble James, Gbr, Honda, 40:29.103
6 Jorgensen Brian, Den, Yamaha, 40:30.465
7 Leok Tanel, Est, Kawasaki, 40:31.274
8 Meo Antoine, Fra, Husqvarna, 41:09.142
9 Pyrhonen Antti, Fin, Tm, 41:26.281
10 Van Daele Marvin, Bel, Honda, 41:29.119
11 Everts Stefan, Bel, Yamaha, 41:34.044
12 Theybers Danny, Bel, Suzuki, 41:34.916
13 Leuret Pascal, Fra, Honda,41:41.228
14 Barragan Jonathan, Spa, Ktm, 41:48.527
15 Atsuta Yoshitaka, Jpn, Suzuki, 41:55.676

Race 2

1 Pichon Mickael, Fra, Honda, 40:28.596
2 Everts Stefan, Bel, Yamaha, 40:48.072
3 Ramon Steve, Bel, Ktm, 41:00.077
4 Coppins Joshua, Nzl, Honda, 41:05.213
5 Leok Tanel, Est, Kawasaki, 41:14.272
6 De Dijcker Ken, Bel, Honda, 41:16.074
7 Jorgensen Brian, Den, Yamaha, 41:24.175
8 Smets Joel, Bel, Suzuki, 41:30.184
9 Noble James, Gbr, Honda, 41:31.698
10 Barragan Jonathan, Spa, Ktm, 41:52.709
11 Van Daele Marvin, Bel, Honda, 41:56.847
12 Priem Manuel, Bel, Yamaha, 41:57.760
13 Pyrhonen Antti, Fin, Tm, 42:09.473
14 Townley Ben, Nzl, Ktm, 42:14.564
15 Nemeth Kornel, Hun, Suzuki, 42:15.813

MX1 World Standings

1 Everts Stefan, Bel, Yamaha, 204 points
2 Pichon Mickael, Fra, Honda, 195 points
3 Smets Joel, Bel, Suzuki,167 points
4 Coppins Joshua, Nzl, Honda,167 points
5 Townley Ben, Nzl, Ktm,148 points
6 Ramon Steve, Bel, Ktm, 120 points
7 Jorgensen Brian, Den, Yamaha,104 points
8 Noble James, Gbr, Honda, 104 points
9 De Dijcker Ken, Bel, Honda, 87 points
10 Cooper Paul, Gbr, Honda, 81 points
11 Van Daele Marvin, Bel, Honda, 74 points
12 Pyrhonen Antti, Fin, Tm, 73 points
13 Leok Tanel, Est, Kawasaki, 71 points
14 Leuret Pascal, Fra, Honda, 64 points
15 Theybers Danny, Bel, Suzuki, 63 points