Today, in our third mini feature about high-achieving Kiwi motocross stars, we examine the impact on international motocross of South Islander Josh Coppins.
We have looked back on the impact of fellow Kiwis Shayne King and Ben Townley, and now we consider the achievements of Coppins, which were just as great in so many ways.
It was ultimately a case of close but yet so far for Coppins as he also enjoyed a sparkling career in Europe, albeit without ever winning the ultimate prize.
The man from Motueka, a town with only a modest population of about 12,000, was for many seasons one of the fastest motocross men on the planet, and he twice finished runner-up in the MX1 world championships, in 2002 and again in 2005.
In 2002 he was beaten to the top spot by his then factory Suzuki team-mate, Frenchman Mickael Pichon, and in 2005 he was runner-up to legendary Belgian Stefan Everts, the man who the following year became a record 10-times motocross world champion before he finally hung up his helmet and boots at the end of 2007.
Coppins finished 41st (in the 250cc class) in 1995, was placed 23rd overall in ’96, 17th in ’97, 13th in ’98, 7th in ’99, 4th in 2000, 6th in 2001 and runner-up in 2002.
He moved up to the MX1 class in 2003 and finished 12th, was 3rd in 2004, was runner-up in 2005 and he finished a disappointed 3rd overall, after he crashed while at the time enjoying a massive points lead in the series, in 2007.
Coppins had been overwhelming favourite to snatch the world title in 2007. The No.1 rider for the Yamaha factory after Everts had retired, Coppins had stretched his lead at the top of the MX1 world standings to 107 points over Belgian rival Steve Ramon – giving him two full GP events up his sleeve with just the final third of the season, five of the 15 rounds remaining.
But disaster struck in round 11 of the 2007 championships in the Czech Republic when a small stone found its way into the rear brake mechanism of his bike.
This meant he scored no points in the day’s first of two races at the Czech GP in Loket. But worse was to follow as his brakes, damaged by the stone, failed him at a crucial moment during the next race, as he attempted to slow at the bottom of a steep hill. Coppins crashed and broke his shoulder blade.
He was forced to miss the next two rounds (in Belgium and Ireland) and he watched his lead shrink to just 12 points.
Josh Coppins in 2001, on Suzuki and racing in the 250cc class in the world championships. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
Coppins returned to racing at the season’s penultimate event, the British GP at Donington Park, but his bid to preserve his championship lead was short-lived and unbearable pain eventually forced him to withdraw from racing soon after the start of the day’s second race.
Suddenly Coppins was 14 points behind Suzuki rider Ramon. It was the first time since the season began that the Kiwi was not holder of the championship leader’s red number board.
Ramon was handed the red plate on the podium at Donington Park, even though he didn’t win the day there (instead it was recently-crowned MX2 champion Antonio Cairoli, making his MX1 debut, who was top dog in the MX1 class that afternoon at Donington).
Ramon stood far left on the podium, not on the No.1, No.2 or even the No.3 step at Donington Park.
He’d finished only fourth overall that day in England and yet he had now suddenly been thrust into the limelight as the “champion in waiting”.
So, with Coppins a non-starter at the final round in The Netherlands the following weekend, there was nobody to stand in the way of Ramon collecting the MX1 world title.
Of the 15 GPs that made up the 2007 season, Coppins won the most – the Kiwi winning five of them before that fateful round 11 – while the next best in the GP-winning stakes was actually Ramon’s team-mate, Belgian Kevin Strijbos.
But the record books show that Ramon won the world crown for 2007, with Strijbos finishing runner-up. Josh had slipped to third overall for the season and this was certainly not a fair reflection of his worth.
Coppins began his GP career in Australia, as a 16-year-old racing the 125cc class at the Australian GP at Manjimup, in Western Australia, on August 29, 1993.
Coppins officially signed off his Grand Prix career at the end of the 2010 season, taking his factory Aprilia bike to finish 10-7 in the two motos at the Italian GP at Fermo. He finished the season with a world ranking of 12th.
And while he began his international career in Australia, it was therefore perhaps fitting that his final professional race was also in Australia, with him wrapping up the open class title for Yamaha at the final round of that domestic series on August 26, 2012 – finishing the series ahead of Todd Waters (Suzuki) – almost exactly 19 years to the day since his Manjimup appearance.
There are so many other riders like Coppins who were considered, in their day, the fastest men on the planet and yet they did not win a world title.
Take, for example, Belgium’s Marnicq Bervoets, Frenchman Yves Demaria, German Pit Beirer, Australian Jeff Leisk and, of course, New Zealand’s Darryll King.
There’s nothing but respect for these “nearly men”, each of whom anyway achieved more in their racing careers than most could ever dream of.
As a footnote, we should add, that there have been a couple of other New Zealanders who have won motocross world titles – Katherine Prumm, Tony Cooksley and Courtney Duncan – but this article has focussed on the two main Grand Prix categories, MX1 (MXGP) and MX2 and ballooned out to quite a few too many keystrokes as it is.
Our apologies, but perhaps we can tell the stories of Prumm, Cooksley and Duncan in a future item.
© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ
Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here
And here are New Zealand’s terrific trio (this photo taken just last month, pictured from left) Josh Coppins, Shayne King and Ben Townley. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com