PODIUM IN BELGIUM
New Zealand‘s Josh Coppins raced his way onto the podium at round two of the Belgian Motocross Championships at Kester, near Brussels, at the weekend.
Changing weather conditions tested the skills of a handful of the MX1 Grand Prix stars, with Monster Energy Yamaha star Coppins riding consistently in all three heats to take third overall for the day.
In heat one the man from Motueka got a great start as he chased Belgian series leader Ken De Dycker around the opening lap, with Belgian Honda rider Clement Desalle hot on his heels. On strong form at the moment, Desalle got passed both Coppins and De Dycker, putting Coppins into third, where he remained until the end of the race.
In heat two it was a string of GP stars up front in the opening laps as all the riders fought hard for position.
Coppins managed to get past MX1 world championship leader Antonio Cairoli (Yamaha) and Estonian Aigar Leok as he pulled himself through into third position. With De Dycker and Desalle out front, the Kiwi hero rode another smooth race to cross the line in third place.
Heat three was a bad start for the New Zealander as he closed the opening lap in 10th position. Wasting no time at all, Coppins quickly blasted his way through to 4th position, where he ultimately finished the race, giving him third overall for the day.
Next weekend Coppins heads to Teutschenthal in Germany to take part in round nine of the MX1 World Championship.
Results
Heat 1
1 DESALLE Clement
2 DE DYCKER Ken
3 COPPINS Joshua
4 LEOK Tanel
5 LEOK Aigar
6 VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy
7 ROELANTS Joel
8 VAN DAELE Marvin
9 CAPS Patrick
10 DIERCKX Dennis
Heat 2
1 DE DYCKER Ken
2 DESALLE Clement
3 COPPINS Joshua
4 CAPS Patrick
5 LEOK Aigar
6 PRIEM Manuel
7 LEOK Tanel
8 CAIROLI Antonio
9 VAN DAELE Marvin
10 ROELANTS Joel
Heat 3
1 DE DYCKER Ken
2 DESALLE Clement
3 VAN DAELE Marvin
4 COPPINS Joshua
5 LEOK Tanel
6 CAPS Patrick
7 VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy
8 LEOK Aigar
9 SALAETS Kristof
10 VERBRUGGEN Dennis
Overall on the day
1 DE DYCKER Ken 72
2 DESALLE Clement 69
3 COPPINS Joshua 58
4 LEOK Tanel 48
5 VAN DAELE Marvin 45
6 CAPS Patrick 45
7 LEOK Aigar 45
8 VAN HOREBEEK Jeremy 38
9 ROELANTS Joel 32
10 LAEREMANS Bengt 29
Championship standings after round 2
1 De Dycker 140
2 Desalle 127
3 Coppins 106
4 Van Daele 78
5 Caps 77
6 Roelants 76
7 Philippaerts 64
8 De Reuver 49
9 T. Leok 48
10 Verbruggen 46
Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com