New Zealander Josh Coppins won his second Monster Energy MX Nationals round of the 2012 season in the Australian Motocross Championship’s return to Wanneroo in Western Australia on Sunday, 20 May.

MX1 series leader Coppins extended his series lead in another impressive performance, winning motos one and three to increase his championship lead to 42 points despite riding through the pain of a pinched nerve in his neck.

“The last round didn’t go to well for us, so it’s nice to bounce back and I really want to thank CDR Yamaha for all their hard work,” the New Zealander said on the podium.

“We’ve been working really hard, they’ve been looking after me and I can’t say thanks to the team enough. It’s pretty tough out there, so I just want to try get rid of my injury, loosen up and try ride a bit better as the season goes on.”

Despite the relentless sand whoops of Wanneroo that formed throughout the round, Australia’s leading contenders pushed at 100 percent during all three of the pro motos in the series’ first visit to WA since 2009.

Josh Coppins won the premier MX1 class in the MX Nationals’ return to Wanneroo. Image: Adam Riemann

Backing Coppins up to make it a Yamaha 1-2 was teammate Lawson Bopping, who picked up his second podium of 2012 after a consistent effort. Bopping claimed second in moto one, third in moto two and sixth in the final outing.

“It was good to come out and finish with a second and a third in the opening motos, but I sort of struggled in the final one and that’s been the story all year,” Bopping explained. “I’ll really work on that this week and hopefully put it up there in the 30-minute moto during the next round.

“We’re really building momentum now and it’s coming together really good, so massive thanks to the CDR Yamaha team. This is probably the toughest track I’ve ever ridden, so it’s good to stand on the podium.”

Continuing his spectacular run of results since joining Motul Pirelli Suzuki was Todd Waters, finishing third overall in what was his third podium in four rounds. Waters was fourth in motos one and two, before a third in the final moto sealed the podium.

“Our main focus is to get on the box every weekend and keep it consistent,” Waters said. “I’ve really got to hand it to Jay [Foreman] and the team, they’ve been putting in a big effort and it’s starting to pay off.

The MX1 class gets underway in the toughest outing of 2012. Image: Adam Riemann.

“Dad was there spinning spanners for me this weekend, so that was pretty cool. I’ve really been enjoying the longer motos, they give me a chance to find my lines and just keep charging for the finish.”

Completing the top five was Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing’s Brad Anderson and Waters’ teammate Cody Cooper. Top privateer finisher was Simmonds Racing Honda rider Tye Simmonds in sixth.

The hard-luck story of the round was defending four-time champion Jay Marmont, who broke through for his first win of the season for the Monster Energy squad in moto two. His day ended early in moto three though, forced out late in the moto as his pre-season knee injury continues to take its toll.

Moto three was spectacular in the opening stages before riders raced for 30 minutes, with Coppins, Marmont and Anderson doing battle in a clash of the titles for Aussie motocross.

Motul MX2 championship leader Luke Styke picked up his second overall of the season for Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha Racing, winning motos one and two before finishing fourth in the gruelling final moto.

“After putting in hard this weekend, I just want to thank the Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha Racing team and the club for a great event,” Styke said. “It was a good weekend and it feels good that all the hard work is paying off for all of us, but it’s early in the season and we need to keep trying the best we can.”

Coppins, Marmont and Anderson battled hard in the final moto of the round. Image: Adam Riemann.

Styke won ahead of DPH Motorsport Honda’s Cheyne Boyd, who enjoyed a consistent round for his first podium of the season. After setting pole on Saturday, Boyd raced to second in moto one and third in the final two motos of the round.

Zero Seven Motorsports Suzuki rider Adam Monea was third overall, winning the final moto in a dominant performance. The Victorian was yet again back to his best in WA, edging out fellow Victorian Kade Mosig for the final position on the podium by just a single point.

Motorex/KTM’s Josh Cachia completed the top five despite battling through the day with an expected bout of appendicitis, heading another Victorian in Lewis Woods. Woods enjoyed his best round of the season by far for the Hart and Huntington/InsureMyRide team.

Title contenders Ford Dale (Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing) and Kirk Gibbs (Serco Yamaha Metal Mulisha Racing) had a day to forget, with Dale taking seventh after a troublesome day, while Gibbs will have to settle for 13th after a flat tyre in moto one forced him out of the points.

Styke now enjoys a handy 39-point lead in the series ahead of Dale, while Gibbs remains third as we approach the halfway point.

The Australian Motocross Championship will now head straight to Murray Bridge in South Australia for round five of the Monster Energy Mx Nationals this weekend on 20 May.

The MX2 category was headed by Luke Styke in his second win of the season. Image: Adam Riemann.

2012 Monster Energy MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship
Round Four – Wanneroo, WA

MX1 Overall Results:
1. Josh Coppins 72
2. Lawson Bopping 57
3.Todd Waters 56
4. Brad Anderson 50
5. Cody Cooper 46
6. Tye Simmonds 45
7. Daniel McCoy 42
8. Jay Marmont 38
9. Mike Phillips 33
10. Gordon Crockard 32
11. Dean Porter 29
12. Calle Aspegren 26
13. Dylan Peterson 24
14. Beau Ralston 18
15. Luke Davis 16
16. Paul Humberston 16
17. Anthony Hicks 15
18. Daniel Reardon 11
19. Jake Moss 9
20. Tim Vare 7
21. Shaun Cornick 7
22. Jamie Shaw 6
23. Craig Bolton 4
24. Tim Farrell 2
25. Charlie Creech 1
26. Luke Wilson 1

MX2 Overall Results:
1. Luke Styke 68
2. Cheyne Boyd 62
3. Adam Monea 55
4. Kade Mosig 54
5. Josh Cachia 46
6. Lewis Woods 44
7. Ford Dale 42
8. Scott Columb 38
9. Luke Arbon 38
10. Kirk Gibbs 37
11. Justin McDonald 33
12. Brock Winston 29
13. David Birch 19
14. Nick Murray 18
15. Errol Willis 16
16. Josh Adams 15
17. Vince van Leeuwen 10
18. Geran Stapleton 9
19. Ashley Whisler 8
20. Corey Lucas 6
21. Scott Kramer 5
22. Mitchell Taylor 5
23. Dylan Sexton 3
24. Steve Duncanson 2
25. Luca Nastrini 1

MX1 Championship Standings (after 4 of 10 rounds):
1. Josh Coppins 253
2. Brad Anderson 211
3. Todd Waters 208
4. Lawson Bopping 203
5. Cody Cooper 183
6. Tye Simmonds 178
7. Jay Marmont 177
8. Jake Moss 157
9. Daniel McCoy 125
10. Daniel Reardon 107
11. Dean Porter 106
12. Calle Aspegren 92
13. Dylan Peterson 89
14. Ben Townley 75
15. Craig Anderson 64
16. Mike Phillips 50
17. Billy Mackenzie 44
18. Beau Ralston 42
19. Darryll King 41
20. Tim Vare 36
21. Gordon Crockard 32
22. Paul Humberston 23
23. Aden de Jager 21
24. Luke Davis 16
25. Louis Calvin 15
26. Anthony Hicks 15
27. Thomas Alexander 14
28. Kyle McKeddie 13
29. Zak Newsome 12
30. Lee Ellis 9
31. Kieran Tisdale 8
32. Shaun Cornick 7
33. Luke Wilson 7
34. Jamie Shaw 6
35. Craig Bolton 4
36. Thomas Rushton 3
37. Tim Farrell 2
38. Dale Wheeler 1
39. Brock Taylor 1
40. Travis Regeling 1
41. Charlie Creech 1

MX2 Championship Standings (after 4 of 10 rounds):
1. Luke Styke 260
2. Ford Dale 221
3. Kirk Gibbs 199
4. Cheyne Boyd 198
5. Josh Cachia 195
6. Kade Mosig 194
7. Adam Monea 190
8. Justin McDonald 143
9. Lewis Woods 134
10. Errol Willis 131
11. Scott Columb 123
12. Luke Arbon 96
13. Ryan Marmont 91
14. Nick Murray 86
15. Geran Stapleton 84
16. Brock Winston 72
17. Richard Egerton 34
18. Corey Lucas 25
19. Peter Boyle 22
20. David Birch 19
21. Josh Adams 15
22. Joshua Kilvington 11
23. Sam Liekefett 11
24. Vince van Leeuwen 10
25. Sven Vallely 9
26. Joel Rizzo 9
27. Steve Duncanson 8
28. Matthew Phillips 8
29. Ashley Whisler 8
30. Ben Iles 8
31. James Booth-Elliott 7
32. Luke Weaver 6
33. Kody Wheeler 5
34. Scott Kramer 5
35. Mitchell Taylor 5
36. Cameron Eastaway 3
37. Dylan Sexton 3
38. John Prutti 2
39. Glenn Kearney 1
40. Luca Nastrini 1