Coppins on the top step with a double victory in Sweden.

In yet another perfect weekend for Kiwi Motocross, Josh Coppins took away the win in both MX1 races to make it a perfect double at the Swedish MX GP in Uddevalla. Coppins’ victory marks his first of the season as he closes in on the MX1 championship lead.

As race one got underway, Coppins held a tight line into the first start corner and came out second behind fast starter Jonathan Barragan. He tried to get pass the Spaniard as fast as possible but was being blocked at every opportunity. A few laps later, Barragan went down handing the lead to Coppins with fellow countryman, Ben Townley, following suit. “Lizzard” put together a string of consistent laps and proceeded to pull a slight gap over Townley. With three laps to go, thousands of Swedish spectators were cheering from the overlooking rock face as Townley was slowly closing the gap on the CAS Honda. A spectacular race ensued with Coppins holding off every advance from his younger challenger. It was a race to the wire with Coppins withstanding the pressure as he deservedly took home his first GP win of the season.

The CAS Honda rider rocketed out of the start in race two to grab the all important hole-shot. “Lizzard” succeeded in pulling a sizeable gap over second place Joel Smets and Kiwi mate, Townley. He looked totally in control and on his way to a magnificent victory when a small crash on the final lap almost cost him the GP. Coppins quickly got going and claimed what was rightfully his.

Marking his first ever double GP victory Coppins said: “It’s great to be on top and I made the points I need to challenge for the championship. I’ve left it a little bit late but I’m going to keep working hard and keep pressure on Everts. He has had some problems and there are some holes in his game at the moment so I need to keep pushing on and try and crack him and try to push for the championship. The team has been working very hard on the bike and we have got it set up now that I can push very hard. My biggest improvement today was my first laps – I was riding good from the start and managed to carry that through – I’m looking forward to South Africa but now I’m going to enjoy the moment.”


Results

Race 1

1 Coppins Joshua, Nzl, Honda, 40:13.675
2 Townley Ben, Nzl, Ktm, 40:14.111
3 Barragan Jonathan, Spa, Ktm, 40:46.799
4 Everts Stefan, Bel, Yamaha, 40:57.900
5 Ramon Steve, Bel, Ktm, 41:04.649
6 Leok Tanel, Est, Kawasaki, 41:11.943
7 De Dijcker Ken, Bel, Honda, 41:18.030
8 Noble James, Gbr, Honda, 41:20.139
9 Leuret Pascal, Fra, Honda, 41:22.137
10 Pyrhonen Antti , Fin, Tm, 41:23.605
11 Priem Manuel, Bel, Yamaha, 41:24.779
12 Atsuta Yoshitaka, Jpn, Suzuki, 41:26.154
13 Nemeth Kornel, Hun, Suzuki, 41:26.907
14 Theybers Danny, Bel, Suzuki, 41:28.339
15 Seguy Luigi, Fra, Yamaha, 41:31.847

Race 2

1 Coppins Joshua, Nzl, Honda, 40:40.278
2 Smets Joel, Bel, Suzuki, 40:47.524
3 Townley Ben, Nzl, Ktm, 40:50.744
4 Everts Stefan, Bel, Yamaha, 40:51.590
5 Ramon Steve, Bel, Ktm, 41:00.072
6 Noble James, Gbr, Honda, 41:36.809
7 Leuret Pascal, Fra, Honda, 41:38.303
8 Theybers Danny, Bel, Suzuki, 41:39.733
9 Atsuta Yoshitaka, Jpn, Suzuki, 41:40.086
10 Nemeth Kornel, Hun, Suzuki, 41:51.598
11 Barragan Jonathan, Spa, Ktm, 42:03.646
12 De Dijcker Ken, Bel, Honda, 42:10.192
13 Seguy Luigi, Fra, Yamaha, 42:13.713
14 Leok Tanel, Est, Kawasaki, 42:26.075
15 Safronov Andrey, Rus, Ktm, 42:30.118


MX1 Championship standings

1 Everts Stefan, Bel, Yamaha, 411 points
2 Coppins Joshua, Nzl, Honda, 366 points
3 Townley Ben, Nzl, Ktm, 346 points
4 Smets Joel, Bel, Suzuki, 318 points
5 Pichon Mickael, Fra, Honda, 299 points
6 Ramon Steve, Bel, Ktm, 264 points
7 Noble James, Gbr, Honda, 188 points
8 Leuret Pascal, Fra, Honda, 185 points
9 De Dijcker Ken, Bel, Honda, 171 points
10 Jorgensen Brian, Den, Yamaha, 166 points
11 Barragan Jonathan, Spa, Ktm, 165 points
12 Theybers Danny, Bel, Suzuki, 161 points
13 Leok Tanel, Est, Kawasaki, 154 points
14 Pyrhonen Antti, Fin, Tm, 140 points
15 Van Daele Marvin, Bel, Honda, 136 points