KEY POINTS:
The see-saw season continues for New Zealand's Josh Coppins after another mixed day of racing in South Africa at the weekend.
The city of Nelspruit, about three hours' drive north of Johannesburg, was host to this 10th round of 15 in the 2008 Motocross World Championships. But despite the ideal conditions, the sun-kissed event was not kind to the factory Yamaha star.
With Coppins third in the championship standings, it was imperative the Kiwi did not let the men ahead of him - his own factory Yamaha teammate David Philippaerts and defending world champion Steve Ramon (Suzuki) - stretch their legs and edge further ahead.
But that's exactly what happened at Nelspruit on Sunday. Coppins is still third in the championship but he is now 12 points behind Ramon and 23 behind Philippaerts.
The man from Motueka was caught up in first-turn mayhem in the first of two MX1 races, injuring his leg and leaving him with a massive job to catch up to the pack, headed by a fast-disappearing Max Nagl (Germany, KTM) and Belgian rider Ramon.
Coppins was in 17th place at the end of lap one and his position was hopeless for a normal man.
But Coppins is no normal man and as he squinted into the low, harsh South African sun he knew he had to dig deep to minimise the harm.
In the end he had to settle for ninth as Ramon broke through to take the win and Philippaerts finished runner-up.
"I backed off in the end, to save my energy for the next race," said Coppins.
His start in the next race was better - seventh at the end of the first lap - but he still faced a tough task to catch Nagl, Spaniard Jonathan Barragan (KTM) and Scotsman Billy Mackenzie (Honda).
Coppins settled into a rhythm and then, at about the midway point, launched his attack, passing Ramon, then Philippaerts and Mackenzie in quick succession.
When the chequered flag fell, Coppins was up to fourth, closing in on French Kawasaki rider Sebastien Pourcel but out of time to make another pass.
"I guess it was all about damage limitation after that terrible first race," said Coppins.
"I'm not giving up [on the world title] yet. For three races in a row now I've had bad starts. It's been a rough few weeks. I just need to improve my starts. I certainly have the speed to win but you can't expect to come from last and win at this level."
The next round is in Lommel, Belgium, in a fortnight. Lommel has traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Ramon, so Coppins will pray he can get a quick start at this energy-sapping sand track.
SPEED STARS
Leading standings after 10 rounds of the MX1 world championships:
1. David Philippaerts (Italy, Yamaha) 339 points.
2. Steve Ramon (Belgium, Suzuki) 328.
3. Josh Coppins (New Zealand, Yamaha) 316.
4. Ken De Dycker (Belgium, Suzuki) 296.
5. Jonathan Barragan (Spain, KTM) 284.
6. Sebastien Pourcel (France, Kawasaki) 274.
7. Max Nagl (Germany, KTM) 253.
8. Billy Mackenzie (Scotland, Honda) 235.
9. Tanel Leok (Estonia, Kawasaki) 234.
10. Marc de Reuver (Netherlands, Honda) 178.
