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COPPINS CHASES WORLD STANDING:
Can he do it again?
Motocross hero Josh Coppins goes hunting world championship points again this weekend, barely a week after his triumphant return to grand prix racing.
The Kiwi-born star of the CAS Honda team travels east to Bulgaria for round five of the Motocross GP title hunt, looking for a repeat of last Sunday’s successful outing in Italy.
With a fighting 15th place in that grand prix, Coppins jumped to 25th in the championship … far from his world runner-up spot last year but a huge comeback for the man who had surgery on his spine, both feet and an ankle earlier this year.
“The injuries are getting better by the week and I feel like my riding is improving by the day,” commented the laidback Coppins before boarding a plane to Sofia.
“I followed the Italy ride with a couple of days on the Honda this week and my race fitness is gradually coming back.
“I’ve hardly been troubled by my back or feet at all; my biggest problem has been flow-on injuries, especially my left knee which is taking the extra strain from my ankle.
“But I’m comfortable enough and I believe I can improve my Italy placing this weekend,” added the rider nicknamed Lizzard.
Put in perspective, his return last weekend was a stunning success.
Right at the chequered flag Coppins was about to pass Jamie Dobb, the English veteran who just a year ago was reigning 125 world champion and who was touted as the hot tip to bring the premier-class title to KTM.
Dobb eventually took the decision by three-tenths of a second over the 40-minute event. Other top names were just ahead on the same minute.
Coppins has set his sights on a return to the front of the world’s glamour class before the 12-round championship ends in September.
It’s a huge ask for any rider in this first season of 450-class four-stroke bikes taking on the 250 two-strokes; for a man told a few months ago that his immediate future was in a wheelchair, the challenge is dizzying.
Sunday’s fifth round of the championship will fully test Coppins and all the other hopefuls: set on a dusty hillside near Sevlievo in the centre of the impoverished, former Communist nation, the GP is expected to be a repeat of its inaugural running last year when temperatures reached 40deg C.
Coming without the traditional two or three week break between rounds, this Bulgarian GP could prove the pivotal point of the season. The moreso since no less than three riders bested two-time 250 champion Mickael Pichon in Italy, breaking the Suzuki star’s 12-race unbeaten run.
Already this week’s tight timing has claimed Coppins’ highly-rated teammate and competitor Gordon Crockard.
Running a four-stroke CRF450R, the Irishman was unable to complete last Sunday’s Italian race because of a finger he broke a week earlier in England, and needs more recovery time.
“We are hopeful Gordon will be back for Austria in a fortnight,” said Neil Prince, manager of the UK-based CAS Honda squad.
“We are delighted with Josh’s brilliant return, but we still have only half the CAS team in Bulgaria, with Jussi Vehvilainen out of the 650 class for the longer term with a back injury similar to Josh’s.”
The team looks to Japanese rider Yoshi Atsuta to back up his eight-place form of Italy on his Honda CRF450R. He is ninth in the title chase, locked close on points with seventh-placed Crockard and a couple of others.
Motocross GP World Championship standings after four of 12 rounds:
1 Mickael Pichon (France) Suzuki 93 points; 2 Joel Smets (Belgium) KTM 86; 3 Stefan Everts (Belgium) Yamaha 75; 4 Kenneth Gundersen (Norway) Kawasaki 51; 5 Claudio Federici (Italy) Yamaha 49; 6 Brian Jorgensen (Denmark) Honda 47; 7 Gordon Crockard (Ireland) CAS Honda 40; 8 Andrew McFarlane (Australia) Kawasaki 39; 9 Yoshitaka Atsuta (Japan) CAS Honda 38; 10 Kevin Strijbos (Belgium) Suzuki 37. 25 Josh Coppins (New Zealand) CAS Honda 15.
Ian Miles
Josh’s Manager
