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August 23: Another pair of top-10 placings in Belgium this morning has further strengthened the position of New Zealand\'s Josh Coppins in the 250cc motocross world champoinships.
Suzuki-mounted Coppins raced to 7th and 5th at the rocky Nismes circuit today.
Stuck in traffic early on in the opening race, Coppins eventually forced his way through and closed on championship leader Pit Beirer. He finished just one second behind the German star. \"I felt really good about that,\" said Coppins.
He showed the same speed in the second 45-minute race, catching and passing arch-rival Mickael Maschio (France) before moving up on American Ryan Hughes. \"I needed another to get Hughes,\" Coppins remarked.
The 22-year-old from Motueka finished 13th last season but is now well on track to finish the 1999 season 7th overall. He is only 14 points behind 6th-placed Maschio. The penultimate round of the champoinship is the German Grand Prix next weekend.
In just his fifth season abroad, Coppins has now achieved two remarkable firsts for a Kiwi, celebrating a podium finish in the sport\'s premier class, when he was 3rd in one race at the Polish GP earlier this month, and earning himself a full factory team ride.
Impressed with his ability to regularly out-perform the established factory stars, the Winfield Suzuki Team last week signed Coppins to a one-year deal for 2000. He now shares full factory attention with Suzuki\'s other new signing for the year 2000, Frenchman Mickael Pichon.
\"This is the biggest step of my career,\" said the New Zealand champion. Coppins was previously on the fringes of the team, receiving only limited factory support.
Check out the World 250 Motocross Series points.
