Since his GP debut back at the Grand Prix of Australia the New Zealander has grown from a boy to a man and along the way has battled hard with legends of the sport in Mickael Pichon, Joel Smets and Stefan Everts.

We sat down with Josh and asked him about the present situation in the MX1 and MX2 Grand Prix’s and of course about the May 30 USGP.

MXlarge: Josh, it seems like the intensity of the Grand Prix riders has again improved, what do you think?

Coppins:  It is a combination of a couple of things. Speed has gone up intensity has gone up. Last year we started with like 12 possible GP winners and pretty quickly we were down to five or six. This year no guys have got injured yet, I mean last year we had a lot of guys injured. Also with the 23 year old rule for the MX2 class the depth in the MX1 class is really deep. You have the first bunch of four or five guys like Cairoli, Nagl, Desalle, Philippaerts, and then you have the next bunch which is Ramon, Barragan, Pourcel and Boog and then you have like 10^th to 20^th, which is myself, Albertson, Swanepoel, Leok and a few others. The speed has improved. Yamaha has a better bike, the KTM 350 is working good, Nagl’s bike is good, a lot of good bikes. Even though I am on a good bike, I am not riding as well as I could. I am a year old, different bike, a couple of injuries.

MXlarge: In my opinion the MX2 class is more intense than any time in the history of the sport. Musquin, Roczen and Herlings are just amazing to watch. Have you watched a lot of it?

Coppins: I’ve watched a lot of it, all of it in fact. And I agree, and what has happened is the MX2 class has improved because of the age limit in the MX2 class. I thought the 23 year old rule would weaken the class, and maybe the depth isn’t there like previous years, when they would fight for the top twenty places, it’s not really like that this year. The top three are riding amazingly good, then you have Frossard, Van Horebeek, Gautier will also be in there, then you have the battle between Osborne, Nicholls, Simpson. Even in 12^th place there are good riders, it’s still deep and strong, but the first three are making it look spread out because they are so fast.

MXlarge: I was talking with Jake Nicholls yesterday and the feeling we had was that those first few riders in MX2 are actually pulling the other guys to a better level.

Coppins: One hundred percent and that is what Youthstream wanted. A lot of people raised their eye brows and thought what are Youthstream doing with the new age rule, but in general for Motocross it’s better. The MX1 class is the premier class and it is stacked with class riders, then you have the MX2 which is like you said, it’s got the top guys who are going so fast and they are dragging the next group on, who are dragging the next group on and so on. It’s a great support class for the MX1 class and a great breeding ground. These kids are so young; honestly I think Motocross in Europe is the best we have ever seen. The future is great for the sport.

MXlarge: It seems like the USGP has given the paddock a nice atmosphere, do you notice that?

Coppins: Everyone was down in the dumps because of the economy last year, but now everyone is looking up a little. I think the reasons the atmosphere in the paddock is good because it’s great for the teams that have energy drink sponsorship to go and show the companies like Monster, Rockstar and Red Bull what they are doing for the sport. Also the teams like CCM, Aprilia, KTM, TM, they all go and show off their bikes. The Grand Prix in America is great, even if we went to Budds Creek that would also be great, but because we are going to the heart of the American motorcycle industry right into California, that is huge for the Grand Prix series. Also the cost thing it’s an issue to some teams, but I mean it costs 500euro to flight to America, it also cost 300euro to fly to Bulgaria and the costs in America are less, hotels are less, food is less, so I don’t go with the idea that it costs too much, that doesn’t wash with me.

MXlarge: Are the top MX2 riders as fast as or faster than Cairoli and the leading MX1 riders?

Coppins: You can’t put it that way. To answer your question, I think yes, but the 250 will be faster on some tracks and the 350 and 450’s will be faster on others. I think put those guys on an MX1 bike and they won’t beat Cairoli. If you see a lot of the MX2 guys they go fast on the MX1 bike initially, but then a little later they start to struggle physically and then they have some crashes and find out the MX1 hurts more. Still on some tracks I think they would be quicker than Antonio, and on other tracks they wouldn’t be. But then again Cairoli would also be faster if he was riding a 250cc.

MXlarge: Imagine Cairoli battling Musquin, Roczen and Herlings, that would be something else?

Coppins: That time will come, well Musquin is going to America, but the others will end up racing Antonio in the MX1 class. For some of those guys they will step up and race the MX1 class. The sport is moving so quickly, if you think when Ben (Townley) and myself moved up to race the likes of Joel (Smets) Mickael (Pichon) and Stefan (Everts) we were well into our 20’s and the transition was a slow process.