A podium finish behind Monster Energy Yamaha rider David Philippaerts and LS Motors Honda rider Davide Guarnier proved to be a great start to a season Coppins hopes will see him win a Grand Prix and be competitive against the likes of defending World MX1 Champion Antonio Cairoli.

We have been chasing Josh for weeks, making calls, thinking he would be in Mantova, maybe catching up to him there, but in the end we finally got him on his mobile phone.

MXlarge: Josh, where you been man, I have been chasing you for weeks? I waited three hours outside the Aprilia tent in Mantova.

Coppins: Geoff, I know you, you would have waited three minutes at the maximum.

MXlarge: So you had your trip back home to New Zealand. How was that?

Coppins: I had a great time in New Zealand. I didn’t go back last year, well only for a week, and this was the first time I’ve been back with the baby and Lisa, so it made it even harder to leave and come back to Europe. While I was there I did some training and rode with Ben up at his place. It was a lot of fun, it’s always nice going home and being on the farm, and the older I get the harder it is to leave.

MXlarge: Another season and this time on an Aprilia. How are you feeling about 2010?

Coppins: I am quietly confident. I don’t expect to be mentioned by people as this time of the year and I am okay with that. It is important not to get ahead of myself, but my goal is to win a Grand Prix, and I think that is possible. I don’t think we need to worry about bikes breaking or anything like that, and there are tracks that will suit the Aprilia and we need to do well on those tracks. A place like Sevlievo will be a good one for Aprilia.

MXlarge: You had your first race last weekend in Italy and finished on the podium.

Coppins: In Italy I was happy. I had the quickest lap time in the last moto and I rode okay. One of the motos there was a close battle with Leok, Guarneri, Philippaerts and myself and at the end they got away a bit. For Aprilia to make the podium was a nice start and the bike was quick enough.

MXlarge: We missed you in Mantova. Did you keep an eye on the results at all?

Coppins: No, not really. I heard about it when I came to Italy and had dinner with Fabio my old mechanic. I don’t take Mantova too seriously. I mean last year Strijbos won and Cairoli was terrible and look what happened there. I had one year where I was outside the top 20 in Mantova and finished the season second in the World. It doesn’t really say much.

MXlarge: You didn’t miss much, although Cairoli looked really fast, faster than even last year.

Coppins: I heard that Cairoli was quick and that doesn’t surprise me. Looking at the KTM’s this year they look really good and he will get better starts on the 350cc than he did last year. Last year his starts were not good, he was coming back from 10^th place too often.

Q: Once again we are talking about a bunch of riders being competitive in the MX1 class.

Coppins: True, but last year we thought that and after a few rounds we were down to like five or six guys. I can see 15 guys this year having a chance to win in Bulgaria, I mean with Ben (Townley) and Alessi there, plus all the regular guys.

MXlarge: How do you think Ben will do in Bulgaria?

Coppins: I think Ben might struggle a little in Bulgaria. He will come to Bulgaria straight from America, and we have all been here preparing for that first round. He is coming there to test his speed, while guys like Cairoli and Desalle are going there to win and fight for the championship. For Ben it is more about seeing how his speed is and he doesn’t need to be on the top of his game in Bulgaria, he needs to be at the top of his game in May. For all of us Grand Prix riders we are testing our speed now and need to be ready in April. In saying that, Ben is Ben and he will do something special.

MXlarge: What do you have coming up in the coming two months?

Coppins: I have Valence this weekend, then another Italian Championship race; I have a few Italian Championship races and will do the last six rounds of the Maxxis British Motocross Championship. I miss the first two rounds of the Maxxis because they run the same weekend as some Italian Championship races.