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Before heading home to Motueka New Zealand, Josh Coppins as flown the CAS Honda flag one more time before parking his bike for a well deserved winter rest.
“Lizzard” was tipped as one of the favourites to win the 2004 Sheffield SX edition yet the Kiwi would have some stiff competition in the form of American Mike Brown. Not having ridden SX for some time, Coppins had to qualify for the final by going through the semi-final heat which he won convincingly. A good start in the final, placed him behind Australian compatriot, Kim Ashkenazi with Brown trailing in third. Coppins made is move for the lead and the heavier 450cc machine was now out front. Brown on the 250cc two stroke Honda seemed more at home on the whoops and he made his way past his Honda team mate to steal the lead. Coppins hooked onto Brown and in the dieing stages of the race tried to make a pass on the American but could not make it stick.
“I’m a bit rusty as it’s been a long time since I’ve ridden SX,” admitted Coppins. “I battled a bit on the whoops but towards the end of the night I got faster and faster. It was really fun on the CRF450 and a cool way to finish off the year. I’m home in a few weeks time and then it’s back to work to prepare for next year.”
1. Mike Brown, USA, Honda 2. Joshua Coppins, NZL, Honda 3. Kim Ashkenazi, AUS, Suzuki 4. Kyle Beaton, CDN, Yamaha 5. Jordan Rose, GBR, TM 6. Jussi Vehvilainen, FIN, Honda 7. Ryan Voase, GBR, Kawasaki 8. Paul Cooper, GRB, Honda 9. James Noble, GBR, Honda 10. Mark Hucklebridge, GBR, KTM
