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Kiwi motocross whiz Josh Coppins has kept the European flag flying against an American invasion in Italy.
With a fine fifth place, the 23-year-old expat Kiwi was the first of the European-based world championship riders at the Arsago Fast Cross near Milan.
In front of 30,000 spectators four US-based visitors took the big money, including the legendary Jeremy McGrath just one spot in front of Coppins.
\"I got a bad start and passed a lot of riders in the early stages, but the race ran out before I could get any further up,\" said the Motueka-born pro rider who finished fourth in this year\'s premier 250 world championship.
\"It was a long track in supercross style, quite challenging and bit dangerous at times.\"
\"Quite a few European riders crashed and I was being careful not to do anything silly, it\'s just a one-off event and there are no titles or anything at stake,\" said the young star of the Suzuki Corona team.
Coppins hopes to catch some rest and relaxation amid his training, promotional and testing engagements over the next month in a buildup to the three-round World Supercross Championship.
