Coppins concedes in Sweden

Factory Yamaha Rinaldi rider, Josh Coppins has experienced his
toughest GP of the 2007 World Motocross championship at a re-
designed Uddevalla circuit in Sweden.

Suffering from a bout flue coming into the event, Coppins knew
his goal would be to limit any loss of points in the MX1 title chase.
He battled to get a quick jump in the first moto with a newly laid
gravel start and lost his rhythm in the opening laps as riders
were jostling for positions. Coppins settled in 6th place and
focused on catching championship rival Steve Ramon. He pushed
past the Belgian with four laps to go and secured 4th spot at the
checkered flag.

Coppins missed out on a much needed good start in moto 2 and
had his work cut out from the time the gate dropped. He traded
positions with Tanel Leok and Billy McKenzie losing time to
leaders Ken de Dycker and Steve Ramon. With Ramon moving
to the front in the later stages of the race, Coppins posted a 6th
place finish, losing championship points to the Belgian.

“It’s been a bad weekend for me,” admitted Coppins. “I had no
physical power and never felt good all weekend - I just struggled.
The other guys were all really fast and were attacking and I
couldn’t retaliate. I didn’t get good starts in any of the moto’s
which didn’t help out all. I have managed to limit the amount of
points lost and still have a comfortable lead but am disappointed
with today.”

The New Zealander still holds the championship red plate with an
89 point advantage over Belgium’s Steve Ramon, going into the
10th round which will be held in Faenza, Italy in two weeks time.