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Visit Josh @ his JoshCoppins.Com: Website.
It features the Kiwi`s latest news, pictures, profile etc.
COPPINS RIDES NZ SUPERCROSS:
Motocross star Josh Coppins rides one last event in New Zealand this
weekend before returning to Europe for the new world championship season.
Sunday\'s opening round of the national supercross champs is preceded by the
South Island title on Saturday and the Honda ace will ride both.
It\'s a chance for his home town crowd at Motueka in the sunny Golden Bay at
the top of New Zealand\'s South Island to the see the world champ-in-waiting
on a four-stroke Honda CRF450R similar to the Grand Prix bike he will use
through 2004.
Coppins will also race a smaller four-stroke, the CRF250R.
\"The event\'s at the Rat Track where I grew up as a rider,\" commented
26-year-old Coppins.
\"I\'ve raced a lot at this circuit and it\'s still one of my favourites
anywhere in the world.
\"I always like to ride here to support the local club when it fits with a
visit home to see my family. This year I\'m just lucky it\'s a round of the
nationals, plus it comes at an ideal time in my buildup for Europe.\"
Coppins says riding four-stroke machinery on the demanding supercross track
will be a departure for him.
\"I\'ve ridden two-strokes all my life until the very end of this past
season, and Golden Bay people have never seen me on a thumper.
\"But I\'ve put in quite a bit of training on four-strokes now and I\'m
looking forward to getting both bikes onto the Rat Track.\"
The nation\'s top motorcycle racer, Coppins flies out next week to begin his
European preparation for the world championship beginning in March.
Riding for the Honda factory, he is a leading contender in the glamour
class MX1. He took runner-up spot two years ago but was sidelined by serious
injury in 2003.
Ian RJ Miles
