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By - Ian Miles:
COPPINS & TOWNLEY FLY IN NATIONALS:
Motocross ace Josh Coppins has stormed the final round of the British championship.
The expat Kiwi, world 250 runner-up this season, dominated the day at Polesworth near Birmingham to take two victories and a second place. In his first outing in the colours of CAS Honda, the British team for which he will contest next year's world title, 25-year-old Coppins burst first out of the gates in all three events on his CR250R two-stroke.
"I should have won three from three but by the last race I had developed a big blister on my palm," commented the professional racer. "It was troubling me a bit and the track was really rough. At one stage I thought I was headed for a crash, so I backed off a little."
Victory in that third race went to Gordon Crockard, the Irishman who will be Coppins' CAS teammate next year and who today had his last ride for KTM.
It's the only round of the British Motocross Champs Coppins has contested this year, and forms an ideal preparation for his charge at the Italian championship next weekend.
Going to the sixth and final round at Asti in the north of Italy, the Motueka-born star is just one point behind the Yamaha of leader, former world champ Alex Chiodi. The pair will be training together this week in Tuscany as they prepare to do battle one last time.
Meanwhile Coppins' young protégé Ben Townley finished a stellar year on another high yesterday with a flying outing at the final round of the Dutch Motocross Championship at Mill.
Racing his 125 KTM against 250 and open class machines, the talented 17-year-old notched up a fine fourth spot in the day's grand finale and shut down a number of big names from the world champs.
In his last outing for the Big Five Vangani team, the Taupo tearaway claimed seventh overall in the Dutch 125 title despite riding just two rounds as his international duties took precedence. Townley, the find of the world championship season with sixth in the 125 class including his maiden grand prix win, will ride for the KTM factory next year.
This week he begins tyre-testing with his new team, the Dutch-based Champ squad.
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Ian advises that contrary to the published entry list for BERCY: Neither Josh nor Ben will be there.
Reason, it's right in the middle of the
off-season holiday / R&R / preparation time.
Josh was never an entrant.
Ben was entered by his former team, Big Five Vangani, for whom he had his last ride yesterday. But he was never going to ride Bercy.
