Coppins Second at Weston Beach Race
Josh Coppins has lined up against a field of over 1150 off road riders for his Weston Beach Race debut this past weekend. In his second to last event before returning home to NZ, the Kiwi battled it out with fellow Motocross rival, Steve Ramon, chasing the Belgian over the rutted and sandy Weston Beach dunes in what is considered the largest off road event in the UK.
“I didn’t know what to expect at this race.” admitted Coppins. “I have heard a lot about the Weston Beach race and now that I have one under my belt I’m going to be back for more. I rode a complete standard YZ450F 2008 model and was amazed how well the bike pulled and held up in the deep sand. We ran stock suspension and a standard fuel tank so I just had to stop more often to re-fuel which is obviously where I lost some time.”
Perfect weather conditions made the circuit somewhat easier on the competitors nonetheless the race was cut 30 mins short for safety reasons which saw Coppins follow home Steve Ramon in second place.
“I took it easy on the first lap and was around 20th position after the start. Mike Brown and Steve Ramon were long gone but then ‘Brownie’ cooked his clutch and after the first hour I was 2 minutes off of Steve. I got a rhythm going and closed down the gap to 50 seconds by the time the organisers red flagged the race so I was pumped with my riding and fitness.”
Coppins returns to NZ on Tuesday only to catch a connecting flight to Australia where he will take part in the International Oceania Motocross Championships in Barrabool on the 27-28 October.(www.oceaniamx.com)
Podium results:
1.Steve Ramon
2.Josh Coppins
3.Brad Anderson
