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Wretched luck has again cost motocross ace Josh Coppins a standing at the top of the world championship.
For the third time in nine races machine trouble has left the Suzuki star struggling to stay with the leaders, as he limped home in fifth place at the Grand Prix of Namur in Belgium.
“It’s the same problem as I had in Australia,” explained the Kiwi expat in exasperation after the gruelling event.
“The bike started cutting out on the very first lap … it just wouldn’t pull cleanly and once it cut out altogether.
“There are some huge climbs around here, where the track comes up from the bottom of the Citadel, and several times I thought I wasn’t going to get up at all.
“Coming to the big downward jumps I was terrified; if the thing had cut out as I launched I was history,” said the Motueka-born pro racer.
”It’s extremely frustrating: everyone just sees you going slow and guys passing you … it looks like you can’t beat them but in fact you’re struggling just to keep going.”
To add insult to injury Coppins’ teammate Mickael Pichon again enjoyed a flawless run to notch yet another GP victory and open a virtually unassailable lead in the title chase.
“Mickael’s riding very well at the moment, he’s pretty much unbeatable … but it helps that his bike finishes every time,” said the 24-year-old multi NZ champion.
The result leaves Coppins still struggling to capture third spot in the championship, his stated aim for the year.
With a handy fourth place today Italian Claudio Federici extended a slender three-point buffer over Coppins to five points, maintaining third overall on his Yamaha.
And Coppins now has two rivals right on his hammer.
The flamboyent young Australian Chad Reed is just one point adrift after the Kawasaki rider took second today, while third in the GP was good enough to leave German Pit Beirer a mere two points behind on a Yamaha.
“It’s real close for all of us,” commented Coppins. “I need to get a break and pull away.”
He gets his chance over the next fortnight with back-to-back events in Switzerland and Germany before a rest period leading to the three final races of the year.
Last year Coppins was fourth overall, pipped at the final round by Beirer.
World 250 Championship points after nine events: Mickael Pichon (France) Suzuki 215, Gordon Crockard (Ireland) Honda 132, Claudio Federici (Italy) Yamaha 99, Coppins 94, Chad Reed (Australia) Kawasaki 93, Pit Beirer (Germany) Yamaha 92, Fred Bolley (France) Honda 85.
