Josh Coppins shows good speed in Nismes

Yamaha Monster Energy racer, Josh Coppins, has taken part in Round 3 of the 6 round Belgian Championship today, held on the hard pack circuit of Nismes in the very South of the country.

In the first of the three short motos, ‘Lizzard’ got a flyer out the gates, accelerating his Yamaha YZ450FM towards the first turn alongside Belgian favourites, Desalle and De Dycker. Dropping down the hill and into turn 2, the New Zealander out braked himself, running wide and losing a handful of positions. Coppins soon got into his rhythm though and before long was charging through to try and catch the leaders. At this stage it was De Dycker out front being hounded by Desalle with Ramon a little further back in 3rd place. Coppins caught and managed to pass Ramon, but moments later made a mistake allowing Ramon back past. For the final laps Coppins charged hard but was not able to re-pass Ramon again and crossed the line in 4th place.

In the 2nd moto it was not a good start for Coppins as he head through the first turn around mid pack. Quickly getting through most of the pack on the opening laps Coppins soon sat in 4th place with a charging Ramon not far off in 5th. Lap after lap Coppins and Ramon battled it out, but towards the end of the race the extreme fitness of Coppins started to pay off, and he managed to get a small gap on Ramon. On the final lap the Yamaha Monster Energy rider was able to go one better as he made his move into 3rd place, where he crossed the line.

In the final moto of the day Coppins had a great jump out the gate, but was hit by another rider going through turn two which left the disappointed ‘Kiwi’ on the floor. Getting back up and on the gas Coppins screamed his way through the field, posting some blistering lap times on his way back through to 5th place, where he crossed the finish line.

“My riding was good today, I was very fast on the bike, I just had bad starts. The way I am riding right now I know if I get the start I have the speed and fitness to run up front. I’ll be focusing on my sand riding leading up to Lommel and look forward to getting a good result close to home.” commented Coppins.

Race Results

Moto 1

Desalle
De Dycker
Ramon
4. Coppins
Verbruggen
Moto 2

Desalle
De Dycker
3. Coppins
Verbruggen
Ramon
Moto 3

Desalle
Ramon
De Dycker
Priem
5. Coppins

Overall

Desalle
De Dycker
Ramon
4. Coppins
Verbruggen