KEY POINTS:
New Zealand rider Josh Coppins' yo-yo season in the world MX1 championships continued this morning (NZtime) when he finished 10th at the Swedish Grand Prix, dropping him one spot to third in the title chase.
After a sterling win in the seventh round in Germany last weekend, Coppins started this weekend's round just four points off leader and Yamaha teammate, David Philippaerts.
But scattered rain showers made for an unpredictable surface at Uddevalla and Coppins fell in both heats.
At the start of the first moto, Coppins spun on the start gate and exited the first turn way down the field.
He could not avoid a fallen rider on the opening laps and got caught up in the mayhem and crashed.
With track conditions making it difficult to pass, Coppins did all he could to limit the loss of points and pushed up to 13th spot by the end of a difficult race.
In the second moto, Coppins got a better start but fell a few turns later. He fought for every position and passed Billy MacKenzie on the last lap to secure 5th spot.
"It's been a tough day at the office," Coppins said.
"I'm pretty disappointed because my riding was good, I knew the starts would be tough on the gravel behind the gate.
"You need a little bit of luck and there is no technique involved in it.
"I lost a lot points and I just need to focus on the next race and not think about the championship.
"When I had the bad starts I was thinking about trying to win and not thinking about having a good race - that's something I need to change for next time."
Philippaerts leads the championship with 302 points, defending champion Steve Ramon of Belgium second on 290, and Coppins on 286.
The next round is in South Africa on July 20.
Leading Swedish MX1 grand prix results:
Race 1: Jonathan Barragan (Spain, KTM) 1, Marc de Reuver (Netherlands, Honda) 2, Steve Ramon, (Belgium, Suzuki) 3. Also: Josh Coppins (NZ, Yamaha) 13.
Race 2: Maximilian Nagl (Germany, KTM) 1, Barragan 2, Ramon 3. Coppins 5.
MX1 standings: David Philippaerts (Italy, Yamaha) 302 1, Ramon 290 2, Coppins 286 3, Ken de Dycker (Belgium, Suzuki) 266 4, Sebastien Pourcel (France, Kawasaki) 241 5.
- NZPA
