New Zealander Josh Coppins has roared into the Championship lead of the Monster Energy MX Nationals Open division after a great display at the second round at Coonabarabran, NSW.
Coppins on board his CDR Yamaha had a battle on his hands for much of the day with Jake Moss taking the opening two motos – however a fall early in the final moto damaged Moss’ overall pointscore, handing Coppins the win. Adding insult to injury, he fell behind Tye Simmonds to finish the round in third.
“It feels good to win because I didn’t really ride that well today,” said Coppins. “The first five lap races weren’t long enough for me. I knew the last longer moto would suit me, so I focused on winning that one.”
Round one winner – Ben Townley, who is due to fly out to America shortly to replace Chad Reed for the AMA MX Series was a casualty during Saturday practice, being taken to hospital with a hip injury after a nasty fall.
In the MX2 class, Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha’s Luke Styke took a clean sweep of the day, winning all three motos. He moved into the Championship lead, sliding past teammate Kirk Gibbs – who stood alongside Styke on the podium. Meantime, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Kade Mosig finished third.
Dylan Leary took his KTM to the win in the Pirelli development class over Mitch Norris and KTM privateer Joel Milesevic.
