Spanish MX GP mixed misfortunes for Coppins

17000 spectators lined the spectacular Bellpuig hillside circuit in Spain this weekend to witness the 5th round of the FIM MX World championship series. Factory Aprilia Racer, Josh Coppins, experienced a weekend of mixed misfortunes but still managed to climb one position higher in the championship standings and now sits in 11th overall.

The New Zealander’s first moto did not get off to a good start as a first turn pile-up saw Lizzard at the bottom of the heap as the pack disappeared into the distance. He remounted and gave chase to the field putting in some strong consistant lap times and making good passes as he climbed the standings. Coppins was able to take advantage of a fallen Steve Ramon one corner from the chequered flag to secure 14th spot.

A much better start in race 2 had Coppins placed in the top ten. Carrying good lines and setting consistent lap times, ‘Lizzard’ looked set for a great result when technical gremlins effected his machine. Coppins nursed home a broken fuel pump to finish 13th for 12th overall.

“I’m a bit gutted about the second moto. “ admitted Coppins “The team and I have been working hard on putting two strong results together but it did not happen this weekend. We have improved our starts which has been an important goal as it is hard to come through the pack with such a strong field. Hopefully we’ll have these technical issues ironed out for the US GP. I’m looking for to racing in Glen Helen”.

Coppins will be afforded a week’s break before heading to Sacramento, California for round 6 on 29-30 May.

www.joshcoppins.com


Race results:

MX1 Race 1
1 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
2 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
3 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
4 Boissiere, Anthony FRA TM
5 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS Honda
6 Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM
7 Leok, Tanel EST Honda
8 de Dycker, Ken BEL Yamaha
9 Aubin, Nicolas FRA Kawasaki
10 Guarneri, Davide ITA Honda
11 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Suzuki
12 Lozano Rico, Alvaro ESP Yamaha
13 Boog, Xavier FRA Kawasaki
14 Coppins, Joshua NZL Aprilia
15 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki

MX1 Race 2
1 Leok, Tanel EST Honda
2 Boog, Xavier FRA Kawasaki
3 Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM
4 de Dycker, Ken BEL Yamaha
5 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
6 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
7 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
8 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Suzuki
9 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
10 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS Honda
11 Swanepoel, Gareth RSA Honda
12 Goncalves, Rui POR KTM
13 Coppins, Joshua NZL Aprilia
14 Boissiere, Anthony FRA TM
15 Soubeyras, Cedric FRA KTM

MX1 GP Overall:
1 Leok, Tanel EST Honda 39
2 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha 38
3 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM 37
4 Cairoli, Antonio ITA KTM 35
5 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki 35
6 de Dycker, Ken BEL Yamaha 31
7 Boog, Xavier FRA Kawasaki 30
8 Bobryshev, Evgeny RUS Honda 27
9 Boissiere, Anthony FRA TM 25
10 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Suzuki 23
11 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki 20
12 Coppins, Joshua NZL Aprilia 15
13 Goncalves, Rui POR KTM 14
14 Lozano Rico, Alvaro ESP Yamaha 14
15 Aubin, Nicolas FRA Kawasaki 12

MX1 World championship standings:
1 Cairoli, A. ITA 214
2 Nagl, M. GER 198
3 Philippaerts, D. ITA 171
4 Desalle, C. BEL 158
5 de Dycker, Ken BEL 145
6 Ramon, Steve BEL 144
7 Boog, Xavier FRA 136
8 Leok, Tanel EST 135
9 Bobryshev, E. RUS 106
10 Guarneri, D. ITA 84
11 Coppins, J. NZL 78
12 Pourcel, S. FRA 75
13 Strijbos, K. BEL 70
14 Swanepoel, G. RSA 67
15 Boissiere, A. FRA 62