Josh Coppins and Kevin Strijbos share the win in Portugal -ozzy go- motocrossmx1.com

Josh Coppins has narrowly missed out on his third consecutive
GP win at the third round of the FIM Motocross world
championship in Agueda Portugal. The factory Yamaha racer had
to ride through the pain barrier with a suspected broken toe
sustained in the Saturday’ practice session, however Coppins still
notched up a determined 1-2 result for second overall.

Feeling uneasy going into the first moto, Coppins let his adrenalin
take over any pain and discomfort as he passed Kevin Strijbos
around the halfway mark of the 40 minute moto. The hot weather
conditions and rough circuit took their toll on the pack however
Coppins managed to use these to his advantage as he took first
honours.

The second moto almost ended in disaster as Strijbos drifted
wide in the first turn risking taking himself and Coppins out at the
same time. Coppins chased down the Belgian as both had to race
through the pack and passed him to move into second spot.
Strijbos retaliated a lap later and clinched the lead with Coppins
hot on his heels. With ten minutes left the duo had pulled a
sizeable gap on the rest of the field and it looked as if it would be
a fight till the end until Coppins backed down and settled for
second.

“I had some problems this weekend and couldn’t really ride how I
wanted,” explained the Kiwi. “I tried not to think of the pain and
did the best I could under the circumstances. I haven’t lost any
points in the championship but it still would have better to keep
the winning streak going. We have a bit of time before Mantova
to heal so I’ll keep working hard and look forward to defending
the red plate.” story from joshcoppins.com

MX1 Portugal Grand Prix podium
1. Kevin Strijbos (Belgium/Suzuki) 2-1
2. Josh Coppins (New Zealand/Yamaha) 1-2
3. Tanel Leok (Estonia/Kawasaki) 3-4

2007 World MX1 Championship standings after round 3 -of 15
1. Josh Coppins (New Zealand/Yamaha) 144pts/4 wins
2. Kevin Strijbos (Belgium/Suzuki) 125pts/1 win
3. Jonathan Barragan (Spain/KTM) 89pts/1 win

click on ozzy go for the complete coverage of the Portugal MXGP