Race Report - Aussie Rockstar MX Nationals - Round 2 Former world number two Josh Coppins has captured his maiden victory in the Australian Motocross Championship in a brilliant performance in Appin, New South Wales.
The series returned to the Macarthur Motorcycle Club’s Appin complex on 03 April for the second round of the 2011 season, and it was the New Zealander who stormed to the win for CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha in an action-packed event. Coppins, who entered the round with an ankle injury sustained in the NZ national title last weekend, won the overall with 2-3-4-3 results, his consistency sealing the overall. With the series featuring four motos at all rounds this season, consistency once again proved the key and it was the experienced 34-year-old Kiwi who managed the format best in Sydney. "I knew it was going to be tough and that the track would be tricky, especially since I picked up an injury last week,” Coppins commented. "I had to be a little bit careful and I think it worked into my favour – I backed it down slightly and was really consistent. Guys kept crashing around me and I managed to pull it off.” Rockstar Motul Suzuki’s lone title contender Cody Cooper, second entering the round, was a disastrous 15th at Appin, crashes dashing his hopes after he managed to win the opening race of the round. Garry Morrow at fullnoise.co.au said: "At the drop of the gate in the second Cooper looked to be on his way to
another win until a huge crash resulted in some nasty damage to his
ribs. He did attempt the third moto but pulled off and was out for the
day."
Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing report that Kiwi, Michael Phillips, got off to a great start finishing third in the opening moto while Boyd was fifth. In the second race Phillips didn’t get the best start but still finished eighth while Boyd again finished fifth. With a gap to the next pair of Pro Open motos the Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing Team made a few tweaks to the factory Honda CRF450's before they returned to the track. Phillips, who finished third and fifth in the next two races said he was disappointed a silly mistake cost him a podium. "Fourth overall was a good result today although I made a silly mistake in the last race which cost me a podium,” Phillips explained. "It was a much better result than the opening round and I achieved my goal of recording four top ten race finishes. I got two good starts and two terrible starts but I was feeling quite ill throughout the day. I am happy I have come away with some good points and moved up a couple of spots in the championship,” Phillips concluded. Taking over the title lead after two of nine rounds is talented 20-year-old Australian Dean Ferris (Monster Energy Kawasaki), last year’s national number three finishing second overall at Appin on Sunday. Ferris finished with 10-6-1-1 results in a stellar finish to his day, missing out on the overall by just four points behind Coppins for the round. Ferris, from Lismore in NSW, now has a two-point lead in the series over teammate Billy Mackenzie, who was eighth today. "To get the red plate now that I’m leading the championship is awesome and I’ve been dreaming for a long time about this,” Ferris explained. "I don’t plan on giving it up and I’m going to put in a lot of hard work to try and keep it on my bike. "To go 1-1 in the last two motos was such a great feeling. To win races so early in the season is great because it took me until the second last round to win a race in 2010. This is a massive confidence booster for me.” Rounding out the Appin podium was Wollongong’s defending triple champion Jay Marmont (CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha), whose chances of the overall slipped through his fingers with a crash on the opening lap of the final moto. Marmont, 27, raced to 4-4-2-8 results during the day, with Kiwi Michael Phillips (Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing) and Marmont’s 26-year-old brother Ryan Marmont (JDR Motorex KTM) completing the top five. Former national Pro Lites champion Marmont, who is a rookie in the premier class, won moto two in a popular victory following a heartbreaking DNF with bike troubles in race one. 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink MX NationalsRound 2 Results: Championship Standings (after 2 of 9 rounds): |