Joshua "Josh" Coppins (born 11 March 1977) is a New Zealand former professional

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

rider. He competed in the

Motocross World Championship The FIM Motocross World Championship is the premier championship of motocross racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), divided into two distinct classes: MXGP and MX2. Race duration is 30 minutes plus two laps ...

s from 1993 to 2012. Coppins posted four top three results during his career including a second place in the 2002 250cc motocross world championship and a second place in the MX1 world championship. He is often regarded as one of the greatest riders that never won a world title.

Motocross racing career

Coppins was born in

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding district has a numb ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. He began his international racing career in 1996 as a privateer. Coppins was runner up to

Mickaël Pichon Mickaël Pichon (born 13 February 1976) is a French people, French former professional motocross and supercross racer. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1992 to 1994 and the AMA Motocross Championships from 1995 to 1999, befor ...

in the 2002 F.I.M. 250cc motocross world championship riding a

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

. In 2005, still on a Honda, he finished second to

Stefan Everts Stefan Everts (born 25 November 1972) is a Belgian former professional motocross racer and racing team manager. He competed in the Motocross World Championships from 1988 to 2006. Everts is notable for winning a record 10 Fédération Internatio ...

in the MX1-GP championship for 450cc

four-stroke A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directio ...

machines. He has represented New Zealand in the

Motocross des Nations The Motocross of Nations (MXON), also known by its original French name (''MXDN'') is an annual team motocross race, where riders representing their country meet at what is billed as the " Olympics of Motocross". The event has been staged since ...

since 1997. He also earned a nickname as the “Kiwi Kid”. During the

2007 FIM Motocross World Championship The 2007 FIM Motocross World Championship was the 51st F.I.M. Motocross Racing World Championship season. In the MX1 class, Steve Ramon took his second world title despite not winning a Grand Prix all season. In the MX2 class Tony Cairoli al ...

, Coppins built a 100-point lead in the championship, only to break his shoulder blade in the 12th round forcing him out of the next 3 rounds and ending his title hopes. Coppins retired from full-time racing in 2012.

Career results

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

: 6th MX1 World Championship, winner of 1 GP *

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

: 5th MX1 World Championship, winner of 1 GP *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

: 3rd MX1 World Championship, winner of 5 GP's * 2006: 7th MX1 World Championship, winner of 1 GP * 2005: 2nd MX1 World Championship, winner of 2 GP's * 2005 British Motocross Champion * 2004: 3rd MX1 World Championship, winner of 1 GP * 2004 British Motocross Champion * 2003: 11th MX1 World Championship * 2002: 2nd 250cc World Championship * 2001: 6th 250cc World Championship * 2000: 4th 250cc World Championship * 1999: 7th 250cc World Championship

References

External links

Joshua Coppins home page

Joshua Coppins racing bio at the Yamaha Racing web site
1977 births Living people New Zealand motocross riders Sportspeople from Motueka {{motorcycle-racing-bio-stub