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From - Ian Miles:
COPPINS STAYS ON 250:
Two-stroke or four, screamer or thumper? World motocross runner-up Josh Coppins has made his decision.
The expat Kiwi will stay with his two-stroke 250 in the new Motocross GP world championship class next year, defending his number two spot for Honda.
Coppins will be aboard a special factory CR250R, riding with the respected CAS team out of the UK when the flag falls on 14-round series on 30 March.
The 25-year-old pro racer says it was a tough decision and tempting to swap his 250 for the 450 four-stroke which is admitted under new rules for 2003.
\"The 450 has its appeal and Honda\'s CRF is an extremely good bike in only its first year . I\'ve won on it already,\" Coppins said. \"But on the other hand I\'ve ridden two-strokes all my life and that\'s how I made my name in world racing. \"After speaking with Harry Ainsworth and the team at CAS, and with input from the Honda factory in Japan, we decided the 250 is the bike for me.\"
The mighty Honda factory, through its highly successful racing arm HRC, has pledged strong support for Coppins, the brand\'s highest performer in world motocross this year and the only rider to challenge Suzuki\'s two-time champion Mickael Pichon of France.
The world\'s largest motorcycle maker, Honda is rewarding the New Zealander for his loyalty as he stays with brand following financial and other troubles within his Italian Honda team this year.
\"We\'ve been offered greater factory support for the CR250 than we received in Italy this year,\" Coppins added. \"Already the bike being built up for me has a lot of special parts.\"
Coppins\' decision sets up a tantalising spectacle for fans in 2003, as he and Pichon stay on the two-strokes and former 500 class stars bring their four-strokes to what is now the undisputed senior battle in world championship racing.
Chief among the challengers will be the winningest rider in history, Stefan Everts of Belgium, who this year picked up world title number six when he dominated the 500 class on a Yamaha similar to the one he ride next year.
\"There will be tracks where the four-stroke has an edge,\" Coppins explained. \"And I\'m sure Stefan will be quick to remind us. \"But in other places the 250 will be favoured and overall I think it will serve me better. \"It\'s consistency that counts at this level and that\'s certainly been the secret to my success . I believe that\'s what the CR250 offers for next year,\" said the rider nicknamed Lizzard.
It\'s still unclear whether Everts\' countryman, four-timer world champ Joel Smets, will also migrate from the old 500 class with a 450 from his backer KTM.
If so the new pinnacle of world motocross promises the clash of the new century: Pichon v Everts v Smets v Coppins. What a prospect.
The provisional 2003 calendar:
30 March Bellpuig, Spain
13 April Valkenswaard, Netherlands
4 May Teutschenthal, eastern Germany - to be confirmed
18 May St Jean-d\'Angély, France
1 June Montevarchi, Italy
8 June Sevlievo, Bulgaria
22 June Karntenring, Austria - to be confirmed
6 July Uddevalla, Sweden
20 July Moscow, Russia - to be confirmed
3 August Rushmoor Arena, Great Britain
10 August Lierop, Netherlands
24 August Gaildorf, western Germany - to be confirmed
31 August Loket, Czech Republic
14 September Ernee, France
Also:
5 October Motocross des Nations - Zolder, Belgium
