New Zealand’s Josh ‘Lizzard’ Coppins is well on the way to claiming the Australian MX1 crown.

The man from Motueka claimed a decisive third win at the eighth round of 10 in the series, extending his MX1 Australian Motocross Championship lead to 12 points at Appin in New South Wales on Sunday.

The former world number two from Motueka, who announced his retirement from the sport during the weekend, took his CDR Yamaha YZ450F to fourth in the opening moto, second in moto two and then sealed the overall with a dominant win in the final 30-minute moto.

It was a special win for the New Zealander on an emotion-charged day, while title challenger Todd Waters was second for Motul Pirelli Suzuki. Waters started the round with a victory in the first moto, before claiming a pair of fourths in the final motos.

“In the first two motos I struggled with arm-pump, which I was surprised with because the track was really smooth,” Coppins said. “It’s always good to win and nice to take a few points back [in the race for the championship]. Hopefully we can keep it up in Moree and not make it too tense at Coolum.”

Third for the round was Honda privateer Jake Moss, a rewarding result in what is his home round of the championship. Moss was seventh in moto one, but a third and a second in the final motos landed him on the podium for the weekend.

New Zealand’s Cody Cooper was fourth for Motul Pirelli Suzuki after winning moto two in fine style, while JDR/KTM Factory Racing rider Dan Reardon completed the top five just one week after announcing his retirement.

Cooper is ranked fifth overall after eight of 10 rounds.

Rotorua’s Michael Phillips (Honda) finished the day 11th overall in the MX1 class, and he is ranked 13th in the championship standings, while Atiamuri’s Dion Picard (Suzuki) was 21st overall at Appin.

The MX2 category was won by Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing’s Ford Dale as he attempts to close in on series leader Luke Styke. Dale was a disastrous 10th in moto one, but bounced back to salvage the overall with two wins to complete the weekend.

“The first moto didn’t go to plan after I went down on the second lap,” Dale said. “The second moto was a lot better and I was able to get into the lead on the last lap, so I won that. Moto three was good as well, I just rode my own race and that’s how I ride my best.”

Moto one winner Josh Cachia was second overall and tied with Dale in a continuation of his recent form, claiming 1-3-5 results for the weekend. Cachia maintains third in the series behind Styke and Dale.

The podium was completed by Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kade Mosig in a solid performance, scoring second in the first two motos before a seventh in moto three wrapped up his weekend.

Runaway series leader Styke was fourth for the round in another consistent effort, now holding down a 31-point lead in the series with three rounds remaining.

Three Kiwis in action in this class had another tough weekend.

Queenstown’s Scotty Columb (Suzuki) finished 9-5-13 in his three outings, good enough for eighth overall on the day. He is eighth overall in the championship standings.

Christchurch’s Justin McDonald (Honda) finished 18-16-7 on the day, for 14th overall, and he is ninth in the championship standings.

Mount Maunganui’s Rhys Carter (Suzuki), making a rare appearance in the series, placed 7-10-dnf, good for 11th overall on the day.

Winner of the MXD class overall at Appin was Raceline Pirelli Suzuki rider Jay Wilson in a breakthrough performance. Wilson started off the weekend with a dream result of two wins in the back-to-back motos, and then won overall with a third in moto three.

“I’ve finally got the monkey off my back for this year,” Wilson said. “We finally got it all dialed in, the Raceline Pirelli Suzuki was sweet and I’m so happy to get this win for them. The team has been working so hard, so it’s nice to reward them with this.”

Second was Dylan Long for Choice Motorsports KTM, edging out title rival and fellow KTM contender Kayne Lamont. The Kiwi may have had his four-round win streak broken, but he enjoys a 27-point lead in the series ahead of Long.

The final moto of the weekend was won by new Axis Motorsports Kawasaki recruit Dylan Leary, resulting in a promising fourth overall on debut with the team on a four-stroke.

The Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, will now take two weekends off before continuing at Moree in New South Wales on Sunday, August 19.

 

Results from round 8 at Appin, NSW

 

MX1 Overall Results:

1. Josh Coppins 65

2. Todd Waters 61

3. Jake Moss 56

4. Cody Cooper 52

5. Daniel Reardon 51

6. Lawson Bopping 45

7. Dean Porter 40

8. Billy Mackenzie 38

9. Jay Marmont 34

10. Brad Anderson 32

 

MX2 Overall Results:

1. Ford Dale 61

2. Josh Cachia 61

3. Kade Mosig 58

4. Luke Styke 56

5. Adam Monea 47

6. Cheyne Boyd 47

7. Kirk Gibbs 46

8. Scott Columb 37

9. Keiron Hall 36

10. Geran Stapleton 26

Kiwi Kayne Lamont (left) is pictured here on the MX Development class podium with Jay Wilson (centre) and Dylan Long.

 

MXD Overall Results:

1. Jay Wilson 70

2. Dylan Long 62

3. Kayne Lamont 60

4. Dylan Leary 58

5. Kale Makeham 48

6. Mitch Norris 47

7. Nicklas Scott 39

8. Sam Martin 34

9. Corey James 34

10. Dylan Wills 32

 

MX1 Championship Standings (after 8 of 10 rounds):

1. Josh Coppins 480

2. Todd Waters 468

3. Lawson Bopping 420

4. Brad Anderson 412

5. Cody Cooper 388

6. Jake Moss 311

7. Jay Marmont 288

8. Daniel Reardon 278

9. Dean Porter 257

10. Daniel McCoy 249

 

MX2 Championship Standings (after 8 of 10 rounds):

1. Luke Styke 477

2. Ford Dale 446

3. Josh Cachia 429

4. Kade Mosig 395

5. Adam Monea 374

6. Cheyne Boyd 366

7. Kirk Gibbs 347

8. Scott Columb 286

9. Justin McDonald 282

10. Lewis Woods 255

 

MXD Championship Standings (after 7 of 9 rounds):

1. Kayne Lamont 414

2. Dylan Long 387

3. Dylan Leary 352

4. Jay Wilson 340

5. Kale Makeham 337

6. Sam Martin 323

7. Mitch Norris 237

8. Joel Milesevic 230

9. Wade Hunter 176

10. Mitch Budd 175

Photos courtesy Simon Makker