Missing out on the hole-shot in Moto 1 to Spaniard, Jonathan Barragan, Coppins battled to find his rhythm in the opening laps and lost a few positions due to an aggressive pace. After settling into his comfort zone he put in some consistent lap times and fended off an attack by nemesis Steve Ramon.

With five minutes to go on the clock, Coppins broke the Belgian and succeed in closing down fast starter Billy MacKenzie. The Scotsman managed to hold onto his position with Coppins breathing down his neck at the checkered flag, finishing 5th.

The second moto seemed to be a carbon copy for the Kiwi as he settled into 5th position, again riding his own pace. The lead changed hands when MacKenzie threw it away to Sebastien Pourcel, putting the Frenchman in virtual GP overall victory.

While the heat took it’s toll on the riders the pace started to slow however Coppins picked up his lap times and shut down Steve Ramon with two laps to go. The Belgian let up his guard in the last turn before the checkered flag and Coppins pounced on him to snatch away third place and an overall spot on the podium.

“I could see Steve was fading and I put in some extra effort to catch him on the last lap.” explained Coppins. “He went wide and I couldn’t believe my eyes so I took the inside and made the pass right on the finish line. It’s been a tough start to the season and I don’t have the speed at the moment. All I have is consistency and I need to patient which is very hard at this time as I want to win. I’m doing the best I can and I’m sure that the next race will be much better.”

Coppins has moved to third in the MX1 standings and has reduced the points deficit to 19 from fellow Yamaha Monster team-mate David Philippaerts.

Coppins will take advantage of a free weekend to gain some more bike time before heading to Bulgaria for round 4 on the 10-11 May.

www.joshcoppins.com

Image: CDS

Race results: MX1 Race 1 1 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha 2 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki 3 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM 4 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda 5 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha 6 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki 7 de Reuver, Marc NED Honda 8 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki 9 Brown, Mike USA Honda 10 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki 11 Bill, Julien SUI Honda 12 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM 13 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM 14 de Dycker, Ken BEL Suzuki 15 Noble, James GBR KTM 16 Salvini, Alex ITA Suzuki 17 Priem, Manuel BEL Kawasaki 18 Nemeth, Kornel HUN KTM 19 Chiodi, Alessio ITA TM 20 Renet, Pierre A. FRA Suzuki 21 Campano, Carlos ESP Yamaha 22 Leok, Aigar EST Yamaha 23 Melotte, Cedric BEL Aprilia

MX1 Race 2 1 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki 2 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha 3 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha 4 Ramon, Steve BEL Suzuki 5 Brown, Mike USA Honda 6 Mackenzie, Billy GBR Honda 7 Barragan, Jonathan ESP KTM 8 de Reuver, Marc NED Honda 9 Nemeth, Kornel HUN KTM 10 Leok, Tanel EST Kawasaki 11 Desalle, Clement BEL Suzuki 12 Nagl, Maximilian GER KTM 13 Campano, Carlos ESP Yamaha 14 Noble, James GBR KTM 15 Renet, Pierre A. FRA Suzuki 16 Schiffer, Marcus GER KTM 17 Goncalves, Paulo POR Honda 18 Salvini, Alex ITA Suzuki 19 van Daele, Marvin BEL Suzuki 20 Priem, Manuel BEL Kawasaki 21 Freibergs, Lauris LAT Yamaha

MX1 Podium 1 Pourcel, Sebastien FRA Kawasaki 2 Philippaerts, David ITA Yamaha 3 Coppins, Joshua NZL Yamaha

MX1 Championship standings: 1 Philippaerts, D. ITA 102 2 Ramon, Steve BEL 96 3 Coppins, J. NZL 83 4 Mackenzie, B. GBR 79 5 de Dycker, Ken BEL 77 6 Nagl, M. GER 58 7 Barragan, J. ESP 54 8 Pourcel, S. FRA 52 9 Leok, Tanel EST 50 10 Nemeth, Kornel HUN 48 11 Desalle, C. BEL 43 12 Brown, Mike USA 42 13 Priem, Manuel BEL 40 14 de Reuver, M. NED 40 15 Strijbos, K. BEL 36