As his 2005 season was drawing to a close we took a few minutes to talk to CAS Honda
Captain Josh Coppins. Giving World Champion Stefan Everts a run for his money this year in the MX1 class, the fired up New Zealander helped make this years racing more exciting than ever. Next years MXGP MX1 class will be jam packed with talent all hungry to take away Stefan Everts' Crown. If Coppins can get a consistant year he will surely be a contender for the title.

RMX: Hello Josh, Have you got all of your sponsorship deals done for next year?
JC: Yes, basically the same as this year – CAS Honda, Alpinestars, Scott, Suomy.

RMX: This season is all but over, can you kind of give us a rundown on how this season went for you?
JC: Up and down, as much up as down. It was good but it can be better. I just need to be a little bit more consistent and consistently better to be honest with you. But it was good.
RMX: In previous years when you’ve ended up second in the Championship and I know after riding in Europe for so long it’s kind of frustrating not to have won a Championship. Are you planning on staying until you finally win a Championship?
JC: Yeah more or less, I think that to win this year would be more important than winning in 2002. I think the field and the class is much tougher now, you’ve got Pichon who beat me then but this year I’m in front of him. There’s only Stefan Everts in front of me, I’ve beaten Joel Smets, Ben Townley, and Steve Ramon. So I mean in the top 5 of the MX1 class there is like probably 15 or 16 World Titles and I’m second, so I think that is good.
RMX: So how old are you now?
JC: 28, so I think I have some good years ahead of me.

RMX: Which races this year were your absolute favorites?
JC: Sweden and South Africa, but also the Nismes was really good, I came from last to third and had really good lap times, was riding super fast and it was good for me. And also the Isle of Wright in the second heat was awesome. I didn’t win but did really well.

RMX: And your worst race this year?
JC: Zolder was terrible. Yeah, it was terrible; the year didn’t start out as I wanted it to.
RMX: In the last few years there have been many changes with Youthstream coming in to promote GP Motocross, what are some of the things that are better now than they were two years ago?
JC: Well, the TV coverage and the online Internet coverage, that’s just awesome it’s unbelievable. Just the professionalism I think is much better. The only thing which is not so good is the prize money for the younger riders, but I mean everything is tough, every sport is tough and if they’re really good they will come through. Like Pascal Leuret and the young Pourcels, if you’re good you are going to make it and if you’ve got heart, desire, and passion you’ll make it.

RMX: You still think that it’s important to have prize money for the young guys?
JC: It is but it isn’t, I think that you should see to it that the sport becomes better, so they are investing in the sport and this is a good thing. I don’t think the younger guys on the circuit are doing too badly; there are sponsorships out there to help them. And now they have that system that Youthstream started to support the privateers, so I think now everything is on the way up.
RMX: Motocross – The US versus Europe. It’s been said that the top 5 riders in Europe could place top 5 in the US Outdoor races. Do you think that is accurate?
JC: I’m sure of this.

RMX: Do you think the speed will ever be even between the US and the GPs?
JC: I think the top rider will stay the same; Ricky Carmichael is the fastest in the world. That’s not to say this isn’t the case, IT is the case. (laughs) There are no arguments there. But take RC and Bubba out of the equation and I think our top riders can run with Kevin Windham. You’ve got guys like John Dowd and Doug Henry coming back and showing the younger guys how it’s done and that’s never going to happen here in Europe. I think for one thing the racing is better here. In the US, RC is winning by a minute or whatever and over here that is not happening. In the GPs this season you’ve seen some really, really good fights for the lead and that is what the spectators want to see. But I think that as a whole we are quite close (in speed) to the top in the US.
RMX: Do you have any opinions as to why the US riders have typically been so fast?
JC: I think because of the support and money. With more money comes more effort and top results are demanded. I think this is becoming more so in Europe and I think you’ll see that at the Motocross des Nations.

RMX: How so?
JC: I mean you already saw that at the Motocross des Nations in 2003 with RC, Tim Ferry, and Ryan Hughes. I mean they were never going to come here and smoke us one-two-three. Only RC was going to beat us. I think you’ll see it again in Ernee.

RMX: Are you still keen on going to the States at all?
JC: Oh I’d love to do a year of Outdoor only, but I’ve got unfinished business here. I want to win a Championship here before I stop, that’s for sure.

RMX: Sebastien Tortelli is coming to ride the GPs next year, any thoughts on that?
JC: He’ll be good, really good. But you know the start of every year is always the same. Everyone’s like Tortelli is better, Everts is better, Smets is better. Like this year they were saying Pichon this, Pichon that, but at the end of the day I managed to do a good job so I think I’ll be able to do a good job next year. Of course Tortelli will be good, he’s a great fighter, he’s a good guy and he wants to come back here and get some confidence. I will say one thing- I would rather race Sebastien Tortelli and Mickael Pichon with them riding a KTM, than I would if they were riding a Suzuki and a Honda.

RMX: Back to the Motocross des Nations, are you exited about the upcoming race?
JC: Yeah pumped! I want to see if I can run with Kevin Windham, because I think I can.

RMX: Who are your top 3 picks for the des Nations?
JC: Oh that is tough because no one team is really dominant. No one team has three awesome riders.

RMX: OK, OK, but if you had to pick a top 3?
JC: France-Belgium-New Zealand.

RMX: Really? And leave the US completely out of the top three?
JC: It’s a team event remember.

RMX: Ok Josh, thanks, and we’ll see you in Ernee.
JC: Ok see you there!