Josh Coppins became one of MX folklore ’ s “ nearly men ” in 2007 . Made the No . 1 rider in , arguably the top factory team in the paddock , after 10-time world champion Stefan Everts retired from the GP scene at the end of 2006 , Coppins was clear favourite in 2007 to finally claim the main prize that had eluded him since he first embarked upon his European adventures in 1993 . He led the 2007 series by a whopping 107 points with just five GPs to go , but it all turned to custard at the Czech GP . A crash was to have massive ramifications and three GPs later ( he skipped both the Belgian and Irish GPs ), at the British GP at Donington Park , pain from his shoulder injury forced Coppins to withdraw . He could only watch as his lead evaporated and eventually had to settle for third overall in a season that probably should have been his . The photos on page 51 , 52 and to the right on this page ( the cover shot for his sports biography , written by Andy McGechan ) show him on that fateful weekend in the UK .
THE DOOR HAD BEEN OPENED There are so many other riders like Coppins who were considered , in their day , the fastest men on the planet and yet they did not win a world title . Take , for example , Belgium ’ s Marnicq Bervoets , Frenchman Yves Demaria , German Pit Beirer , Australian Jeff Leisk and , of course , New Zealand ’ s Darryll King . There ’ s nothing but respect for these “ nearly men ”, each of whom achieved more in their racing careers than most could ever dream of .
These pioneers opened the door for many a Kiwi dreaming of the world stage . There have been a couple of other New Zealanders who have won motocross world titles too – Katherine Prumm , Tony Cooksley and Courtney Duncan – but this article has focused on the two main Grand Prix categories , MX1 ( MXGP ) and MX2 and it ’ s ballooned out to quite a few too many keystrokes as it is . So , our apologies , but we ’ re excited to tell the stories of Prumm , Cooksley and Duncan in a coming issue .
54 KIWI RIDER