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By Ian Miles:
COPPINS 4TH IN GERMANY:
Motocross star Josh Coppins has picked up a solid fourth placing at today’s German Grand Prix to consolidate third place in the world 250 championship with two rounds remaining.
The beleaguered Kiwi expat pushed his Honda CR250R through a start-studded field at Gaildorf near Stuttgart to continue his string of top placings in a topsy-turvy season.
With 178 points, 25-year-old Coppins is just five adrift of hard-charging German Pit Beirer who managed second place today, his first podium for several races.
Keeping Coppins out of the top three was French Yamaha rider Fred Bolley who has announced he is quit motocross to go road racing next year.
Runaway victor at this Grand Prix of Deutschland, Mickael Pichon of France sealed his second consecutive world title for Suzuki.
The yellow brand also leads the constructors championship ahead of the red of Honda for whom Coppins has been the major points-scorer.
Cleared last week of a doping charge over hay fever treatment, the likeable Coppins moved away from his trouble-plagued Italian team this weekend to ride directly for Honda Europe.
“There’s been a lot of drama off the track and today I didn’t quite get going the way I wanted,” commented the Motueka-born pro racer. “But I’m still right there for runner-up place in the championship … now that Mickael has wrapped it I can concentrate on overhauling Pitbull. “Today is the first time he’s beaten me, virtually since the start of the year.”
Two events remain on the championship calendar: Czech Republic in a fortnight and Russia a further two weeks later.
In contrast to the floods raging further east, a cool 17-degree but breezeless day hosted a large crowd at the Auf der Wacht circuit in the south-western corner of Germany.
World 250 championship points after nine of 12 rounds: 1 Mickael Pichon (France) Suzuki 238 points; 2 Pit Beirer (Germany) Honda 183, 3 Josh Coppins (NZ) Honda 178; 4 Fred Bolley (France) Yamaha 146; 5 Jamie Dobb (England) KTM 139; 6 Kenneth Gundersen (Norway) Kawasaki 134; 7 Gordon Crockard (Ireland) KTM 124.
