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COPPINS WINS UK FINAL:
Expat Kiwi Josh Coppins has stormed to victory at the final round of the
British motocross championship for Honda.
The world champs star, still on the comeback from serious injury, dominated
the Sunday event to record fourth, first and first placings.
Riding his CAS Honda CR250R two-stroke, the 26-year-old was fastest in
qualifying on the demanding English circuit at Pontrilas near Hereford on
the Welsh border.
\"It\'s a lot like the New Zealand tracks I grew up on, so I felt right at
home,\" commented the rider they call Lizzard.
\"I had pole position but I got caught up in the start gate in the first
race and I was last away.
\"I had the fastest lap times of anyone in the race though, and I managed to
fight through to fourth place.\"
Coppins, New Zealand\'s top motorcycle racer, was untroubled with a
start-to-finish win in race two and seemed on target for the same in the
final race before he slipped two laps from home and was passed by his Irish
teammate Gordon Crockard.
\"Then Croc got into trouble also and I was able to get past him before the
end,\" Coppins recounted.
It was enough for Crockard to win the prestigious British title on his
four-stroke CRF450R machine for the Midlands-based CAS outfit.
Coppins was not in contention for the title after missing early rounds
while recovering from a broken back, ankle and both feet at the start of
this year. He has startled fans and pundits by bouncing back so well and so
soon to win events like this and stand on the podium at world championship
level.
The Motueka-born ace stays at the Pontrilas circuit for tomorrow\'s launch
of the 2004 Honda models, before heading to France for testing and training
in the lead-up to next weekend\'s final round of the world champs at Ernee
south-west of Paris.
Three weeks later he leads the New Zealand team at the Motocross des Nations,
the Olympics of motorcycling being held for the first time at Zolder in
Belgium.
Ian RJ Miles
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