The Grand Prix of Czech Republic was not an easy one to judge after rainfall on Friday and most of Saturday created a wet, soft and bumpy track. On Sunday clouds and sunshine were a welcome relief and started to dry the Loket venue, which suited Josh Coppins with his works MXV Aprilia.
After using a reduced practice and qualification programme on Saturday to dial-in his suspension settings and maximise traction, the New Zealander put in two brave performances to seal a final top ten result in the MX1 category.
Josh’s better performance was unveiled in the second moto where he drove his twin cylinder forward into the top ten and then spent the race successfully defending his position. The first outing had ended with 13th as the experienced former GP winner set about finding his pace and was a little hesitant with some overtaking moves. Josh finished the Grand Prix with 10th overall, and with three rounds remaining in the championship is close to entering the upper end of the standings; he currently rests in 12th.
It was not a satisfactory day for Manuel Priem who couldn’t find an effective feeling across the terrain and only finished the first moto just shy of the points in 21st.
MX1 Overall Classification
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 47 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 42 p.; 3. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 41 p.; 4. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 35 p.; 5. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 34 p.; 6. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 30 p.; 7. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 26 p.; 8. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 24 p.; 9. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 20 p.; 10. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Aprilia), 19 p.; 11. Tom Church (GBR, CCM), 14 p.; 12. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 14 p.; 13. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Kawasaki), 13 p.; 14. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), 10 p.; 15. Julien Bill (SUI, KTM), 9 p.; 16. Cedric Soubeyras (FRA, KTM), 9 p.; 17. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Honda), 9 p.; 18. Jimmy Albertson (USA, Honda), 8 p.; 19. Matthias Walkner (AUT, KTM), 7 p.; 20. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 7 p.; 36. Manuel Priem (BEL, Aprilia), 0 p.
MX1 World Championship tandings after 12 of 15 rounds
1. Antonio Cairoli (ITA, KTM), 531 points; 2. Clement Desalle (BEL, Suzuki), 447 p.; 3. David Philippaerts (ITA, Yamaha), 394 p.; 4. Maximilian Nagl (GER, KTM), 382 p.; 5. Steve Ramon (BEL, Suzuki), 376 p.; 6. Ken de Dycker (BEL, Yamaha), 309 p.; 7. Tanel Leok (EST, Honda), 290 p.; 8. Xavier Boog (FRA, Kawasaki), 276 p.; 9. Evgeny Bobryshev (RUS, Honda), 270 p.; 10. Davide Guarneri (ITA, Honda), 213 p.; 11. Kevin Strijbos (BEL, Suzuki), 201 p.; 12. Joshua Coppins (NZL, Aprilia), 184 p.; 13. Gareth Swanepoel (RSA, Honda), 182 p.; 14. Rui Goncalves (POR, KTM), 177 p.; 15. Anthony Boissiere (FRA, TM), 145 p.; 16. Sebastien Pourcel (FRA, Kawasaki), 106 p.; 17. Jimmy Albertson (USA, Honda), 90 p.; 18. Jonathan Barragan (ESP, Kawasaki), 78 p.; 19. Nicolas Aubin (FRA, Kawasaki), 70 p.; 20. Cedric Soubeyras (FRA, KTM), 59 p.; 29. Manuel Priem (BEL, Aprilia), 21 p.
