Josh Coppins fights to the end!

Josh Coppins has completed his 15 – year- long MX GP career with an inspirational result at the final round of the FIM MX World championship in Fermo, Italy. The 33-year- old New Zealander piloted his factory Aprilia MXV 450 to another top ten result however it was his final moto spurt that had over 22.500 spectators in awe of the Kiwi’s tenacity and ‘never - say – die’ spirit. On completing his final moto in an astounding international career, Coppins’s impressive resumé lists 2 x Vice world championship placings, 12 x GP wins with over 50 GP podiums and 2 x British MX Championship titles.

“Today has been very emotional for me” admitted Coppins. “On the one hand I’m going to miss this competitive level of racing, not to mention all the friends and kind people I have met over the years in all the different countries but on the other hand I was really happy to cross the finish line and put an end to a memorable career in Grand Prix Motocross.”

After posting 10th in moto 1 on the spectacular hillside Fermo circuit moto 2 had the entire GP paddock routing for “The Lizzard’ as he almost grabbed the hole-shot and trailed Belgian Clement Desalle. A three way battle ensued between Desalle , Nagl and Coppins with Steve Ramon joining the foray. Coppins gave his all and eventually had to succumb to the superior speed of the leading group. He savoured the moment and gave 100% to the checkered flag to secure 7th spot for a well deserved 7th overall placing.

“I really had a great time in the second moto. The bike was working really well and I wanted to make my final moto a tribute to the Aprilia team for the effort they have put in over the season. I have really enjoyed my time with them working on the MX project and feel we have achieved good results together. ” commented Coppins.

Having represented Team NZ since 1993, Coppins now travels to Denver, Colorado to join Ben Townley and Brad Groombridge for the MX of Nations to be held on the 25-26th of September.

Image: CDS

Race results:

MX1 Race 1
1 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
2 Boog, Xavier FRA Kawasaki
3 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki
4 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
5 Barragan, Jonathan ESP Kawasaki
6 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
7 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
8 Guarneri, Davide ITA Honda
9 Goncalves, Rui POR KTM
10 Coppins, Joshua NZL Aprilia
11 Aranda, Gregory FRA Kawasaki
12 de Reuver, Marc NED Suzuki
13 Albertson, Jimmy USA Honda
14 de Dycker, Ken BEL Yamaha
15 Leok, Tanel EST Honda

MX1 Race 2
1 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki
2 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki
3 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
4 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
5 Boog, Xavier FRA Kawasaki
6 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha
7 Coppins, Joshua NZL Aprilia
8 Goncalves, Rui POR KTM
9 Monni, Manuel ITA Yamaha
10 Aranda, Gregory FRA Kawasaki
11 Guarneri, Davide ITA Honda
12 Albertson, Jimmy USA Honda
13 Balbi, Antonio BRA Kawasaki
14 de Reuver, Marc NED Suzuki
15 Bonini, Matteo ITA Yamaha


MX1 GP Overall:
1 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki 43
2 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki 43
3 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki 42
4 Boog, Xavier FRA Kawasaki 38
5 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM 35
6 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha 29
7 Coppins, Joshua NZL Aprilia 25
8 Goncalves, Rui POR KTM 25
9 Guarneri, Davide ITA Honda 23
10 Aranda, Gregory FRA Kawasaki 21
11 Monni, Manuel ITA Yamaha 17
12 Albertson, Jimmy USA Honda 17
13 de Reuver, Marc NED Suzuki 16
14 Barragan, Jonathan ESP Kawasaki 16
15 Leok, Tanel EST Honda 10

MX1 Final World championship standings:
1 Cairoli, A. ITA 625
2 Desalle, C. BEL 537
3 Philippaerts, D. ITA 502
4 Nagl, M. GER 498
5 Ramon, Steve BEL 491
6 Leok, Tanel EST 356
7 Boog, Xavier FRA 337
8 de Dycker, Ken BEL 331
9 Guarneri, D. ITA 290
10 Bobryshev, E. RUS 270
11 Goncalves, Rui POR 269
12 Coppins, J. NZL 256
13 Strijbos, K. BEL 201
14 Swanepoel, G. RSA 182
15 Pourcel, S. FRA 157

www.joshcoppins.com