Yamaha factory rider, Josh Coppins, has raced to a superb overall victory at the first round of the FIM MX1 GP series in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands.
Coppins had a good gate jump in moto 1 and powered his way past Belgian, Ken de Dyker, moments after the start to take the lead in front of 25 000 spectators. De Dyker retaliated in the same lap with Coppins watching his every move from behind in second. With 6 laps gone “Lizzard” pressured the Belgian and took back the lead with De Dycker fading with every lap. Coppins posted fast and consistent lap times on the rough and technical sand circuit and took the checkered flag, over 15 seconds ahead of rival Steve Ramon, for his first GP win of the season.
The final decider would see team-mates Jonathan Barragan and David Philippaerts lead the start of second 40 min + 2 lap race with Coppins pursuing in third. The Kiwi made his way past Italian, Philippaerts, however he lost too much ground on Barragan who succeeded in opening up a comfortable gap. Coppins tried to close the deficit with a few minutes left on the clock but had to settle for a strong second and his first overall win in the 15 round series.
“This is a great start to the season. I didn’t expect to be this fast in the sand but we have been putting in some hard work on the practice tracks and in the pre-season races and that has paid off here. I took my time in the first moto to get past Ken as I knew he would not be able to run a fast pace for the entire race. Once I was out front I controlled the race and won with quite a big gap. The second moto wasn’t as easy and I tried to move in on Jonathan but he was riding really well so he deserved the win in the second moto. I am happy for the Rinaldi Yamaha team - we achieved more than our goal today,” explained an elated Coppins.
The second round of the MX1 GP series will move South to sunny Spain where the hard pack circuit of Bellpuig will see Coppins start with a 6 point lead.
MX1 Results:
Race 1
1 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
2 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
3 de Dycker, Ken BEL Honda
4 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Suzuki
5 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM
6 de Reuver, Marc NED Yamaha
7 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
8 Nemeth, Kornel HUN Suzuki
9 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Kawasaki
10 Noble, James GBR Honda
11 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki
12 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha
13 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki
14 Brown, Mike USA Honda
15 Meo, Antoine FRA Honda
Race 2
1 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM
2 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha
3 de Reuver, Marc NED Yamaha
4 Strijbos, Kevin BEL Suzuki
5 Priem, Manuel BEL TM
6 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki
7 de Dycker, Ken BEL Honda
8 Noble, James GBR Honda
9 Brown, Mike USA Honda
10 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM
11 Crockard, Gordon IRL Honda
12 van Daele, Marvin BEL Honda
13 Renet, Pierre A. FRA Honda
14 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki
15 Vanni, Julien FRA Honda
MX 1 championship standings:
1 Coppins, J. NZL 47
2 Barragan, J. ESP 41
3 Ramon, Steve BEL 37
4 Strijbos, K. BEL 36
5 de Reuver, M. NED 35
6 de Dycker, Ken BEL 34
7 Nagl, M. GER 25
8 Noble, James GBR 24
9 Priem, Manuel BEL 19
10 Brown, Mike USA 19
11 Leok, Tanel EST 17
12 Renet, P. FRA 13
13 Nemeth, Kornel HUN 13
14 Mackenzie, B. GBR 12
15 Crockard, G. IRL 10