New Zealand‘s Josh Coppins produced another strong showing, this time at the German motocross Grand Prix at the weekend, but, ultimately, it was not quite enough to get him on the podium.

The factory Yamaha rider finished the day third equal overall but lost out on a count-back, with the third step on the podium instead going to Belgian Suzuki star Ken de Dycker.

Coppins had to be satisfied with only fifth overall for the day — albeit with the same points scored as de Dycker and his own Yamaha team-mate David Philippaerts — and the Kiwi remains fourth overall for the series with just six rounds remaining.

De Dycker finished 7-2 in his two MX1 outings, while Philipparts went 4-4 and Coppins 3-5 — all three riders pocketing 36 points for their day’s work.

Series leader Antonio Cairoli (Yamaha) took the MX1 overall win, ahead of local hero Max Nagl (KTM), who had won the first heat after a dogfight with Cairoli.

Cairoli finished the day 2-1 to further extend his championship lead — he is now 41 points ahead of defending world champion Philippaerts — while Nagl went 1-3.

“There is still something left in this old dog” smiled a content Coppins after the race. “I was happy with my speed in both races but in the final moto I proved that I still have it in me. I passed Clement Desalle on the last lap, and I’m sure with some more time I would have had Philippaerts. I feel like I have discovered a new fight in me and look forward to the upcoming races to mix it up in the championship”

Meanwhile, 15-year-old German rider Ken Roczen (Suzuki) became the youngest GP winner ever at his home event, dominating the MX2 class with back-to-back runner-up finishes.

The MX2 podium was completed by French riders Steven Frossard (Kawasaki) and series leader Marvin Musquin (KTM).

The MX1 action was a close battle between Cairoli and Nagl, the same duo that dominated the qualifying heat where Cairoli took pole courtesy of a last lap move on Nagl.

Yamaha Red Bull De Carli’s Cairoli tried again a similar move in moto one after he closed the gap from Nagl. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s German took the holeshot and tried to pull away with the lead until he was forced to bang bars with Cairoli to defend the first spot. Eventually Nagl won followed by Cairoli.

Heat two started again with Nagl’s holeshot but Cairoli made his move on the German a lot earlier to wrap up the overall and become the Italian with the highest number of GP wins to his credit courtesy of 28 overall wins, one more than Alessio Chiodi.

Nagl remained second until four laps to go when De Dycker moved past for second. Finishing in third, Nagl took second overall for his third consecutive podium appearance and could close in on Philippaerts as the two are respectively second and third in the championship at just four points from each other.

De Dycker, who struggled in the first heat, completed the podium in third as he snatched the position from Philippaerts courtesy of the last heat’s move on Nagl. The Yamaha Monster Energy Motocross man ended fourth ahead of team mate Coppins, with the latter hitting Philippaerts in heat two and crashing soon after.

After three GPs, French former world champion Mickael Pichon ended his Martin Honda experience by finishing the day eighth overall, while Honda fellow rider Billy Mackenzie headed back to Britain for a hand operation as an injury has been affecting him since May.

In MX2, Roczen had an incredible day at only his fifth GP appearance which happened at his home venue Teutschenthal. The second youngest rider winning a GP is Dutch Dave Strijbos (16 years and 172 days) followed by French rider Sebastien Tortelli (16 years and 345 days).

Roczen took two second places in the motos, losing the victory from Frossard in heat one and battling it out with championship leader Musquin in moto two. Eventually Roczen settled for another second in the final moto to take the overall.

Frossard was second overall taking another podium at Teutschenthal after his maiden one from last year. In heat one Frossard won after fellow Frenchman Musquin handed him the race lead when he crashed. Though a difficult second moto left the Frenchman disappointed as he slipped twice and recovered to an eventual fifth.

Musquin was third in the GP which he left again with the red plate. Securing the victory in the final moto, Musquin could keep up his podium row taking the third consecutive rostrum finish.

MX1 Race 1 top ten:

1. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 40:30.499;

2. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), +0:00.584;

3. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:20.172;

4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:23.357;

5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), +0:24.782;

6. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), +0:27.502;

7. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:39.118;

8. David Vuillemin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:41.714;

9. Mickael Pichon (FRA, Honda), +0:44.450;

10. Gregory Aranda (FRA, Kawasaki), +1:04.246;

MX1 Race 2 top ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 41:07.118;

2. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), +0:06.415;

3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), +0:10.703;

4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), +0:14.935;

5. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), +0:16.036;

6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), +0:16.048;

7. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), +0:22.632;

8. Mickael Pichon (FRA, Honda), +0:43.285;

9. Aigar Leok (EST, TM), +1:03.054;

10. Julien Bill (SUI, Aprilia), +1:07.557;

MX1 Overall top ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 47 points;

2. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 45;

3. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 36;

4. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 36;

5. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 36;

6. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 31;

7. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), 29;

8. Mickael Pichon (FRA, Honda), 25;

9. Aigar Leok (EST, TM), 21;

10. David Vuillemin (FRA, Kawasaki), 20.

MX1 Championship top ten:

1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, Yamaha), 338 points;

2. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 297;

3. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 293;

4. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Yamaha), 274;

5. Clement Desalle (BEL, Honda), 268;

6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Suzuki), 264;

7. Tanel Leok (EST, Yamaha), 252;

8. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, KTM), 215;

9. Aigar Leok (EST, TM), 139;

10. David Vuillemin (FRA, Kawasaki), 137.

MX2 Race 1 top ten:

1. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 40:57.005;

2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:02.491;

3. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), +0:03.912;

4. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +0:15.040;

5. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:15.139;

6. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), +0:20.955;

7. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:22.199;

8. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:27.690;

9. Jake Nicholls (GBR, KTM), +0:29.468;

10. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), +0:32.396.

MX2 Race 2 top ten:

1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 41:06.227;

2. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), +0:02.188;

3. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:20.066;

4. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), +0:21.994;

5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), +0:30.647;

6. Anthony Boissiere (FRA, KTM), +0:40.130;

7. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), +0:46.484;

8. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), +0:52.148;

9. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), +0:56.944;

10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), +1:05.750.

MX2 Overall top ten:

1. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 44 points;

2. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 41;

3. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 40;

4. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 36;

5. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 32;

6. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 29;

7. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 26;

8. Marcus Schiffer (GER, KTM), 24;

9. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 20;

10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 19.

MX2 Championship top ten:

1. Marvin Musquin (FRA, KTM), 324 points;

2. Gautier Paulin (FRA, Kawasaki), 286;

3. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Yamaha), 264;

4. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 254;

5. Steven Frossard (FRA, Kawasaki), 246;

6. Xavier Boog (FRA, Suzuki), 197;

7. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Yamaha), 187;

8. Ken Roczen (GER, Suzuki), 164;

9. Manuel Monni (ITA, Yamaha), 153;

10. Jeremy van Horebeek (BEL, KTM), 147.

Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com