    |
 |
|
|
|
Josh Coppins’ wretched run of luck continues in the world 250 motocross championship.
In a rerun of the wipeout which cost him third place in last year’s title, the expat Kiwi was crashed out of the placings in today’s Swiss Grand Prix.
In a first corner melee Coppins was crushed against pit wall under three motorcycles. His mechanic Blair Selfe of Oamaru leapt the wall to disentangle the 24-year-old pro rider.
By this stage the field was half a lap ahead and although Coppins remounted and finished the 40-minute race in pain to show the flag for his factory Suzuki team and sponsors he was out of the points.
“There was just nothing I could do,” Coppins recalled after the torrid event in blazing sunshine.
“A noddy on a Honda came under me as we went into the first turn and ran me wider and wider.
“The pit wall was coming up so I leaned on him, then bang I was hit from behind.
“Next thing I was upside down with bikes all over me, and I could hear someone moaning Johnny Aubert I think it was, he’s hurt worse than me.”
Coppins spent the late afternoon nursing an injured hip, but he expects to be fit for next weekend’s German Grand Prix as he desperately chases points in the final four rounds to resurrect something from a disastrous season.
The news got worse for Coppins as the race progressed.
The riders with whom he was vying for third spot in the championship took top placings in the Grand Prix and have left him languishing in a lowly seventh spot overall.
Meanwhile his Corona Suzuki squad which leads the manufacturers standings received a double whammy. Coppins’ teammate Mickael Pichon took an early tumble and finished 8th a far cry from the seven first and two second placings the Frenchman has recorded so far to lead the championship by a country mile.
“Some days it just doesn’t pay to get out of bed,” quipped Motueka-born Coppins.
“As the old racing saying goes, if I didn’t have bad luck I’d have no luck at all.”
The GP victory went to Italian Claudio Federici on a Yamaha from the Honda of Ireland’s Gordon Crockard and Kawasaki rookie Chad Reed of Australia.
World 250 Championship points after 10 events: Mickael Pichon (France) Suzuki 223, Gordon Crockard (Ireland) Honda 152, Claudio Federici (Italy) Yamaha 124, Chad Reed (Australia) Kawasaki 109, Pit Beirer (Germany) Yamaha 102, Fred Bolley (France) Honda 96, Coppins 94.
