Former world number two Josh Coppins has captured his maiden victory in the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals, Australian Motocross Championship, in Sydney today.

The series returned to the Macarthur Motorcycle Club’s Appin complex on 3 April for the second round of the 2011 season, and it was the New Zealander who stormed to the win for CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha in an action-packed event.

Coppins, who entered the round with an ankle injury sustained in the NZ national title last weekend, won the overall with 2-3-4-3 results, his consistency sealing the overall.

With the series featuring four motos at all rounds this season, consistency once again proved the key and it was the experienced 34-year-old Kiwi who managed the format best in Sydney.

“I knew it was going to be tough and that the track would be tricky, especially since I picked up an injury last week,” Coppins commented. “I had to be a little bit careful and I think it worked into my favour – I backed it down slightly and was really consistent. Guys kept crashing around me and I managed to pull it off.”

Taking over the title lead after two of nine rounds is talented 20-year-old Australian Dean Ferris (Monster Energy Kawasaki), last year’s national number three finishing second overall at Appin on Sunday.

Ferris finished with 10-6-1-1 results in a stellar finish to his day, missing out on the overall by just four points behind Coppins for the round. Ferris, from Lismore in NSW, now has a two-point lead in the series over teammate Billy Mackenzie, who was eighth today.

“To get the red plate now that I’m leading the championship is awesome and I’ve been dreaming for a long time about this,” Ferris explained. “I don’t plan on giving it up and I’m going to put in a lot of hard work to try and keep it on my bike.

“To go 1-1 in the last two motos was such a great feeling. To win races so early in the season is great because it took me until the second last round to win a race in 2010. This is a massive confidence booster for me.”

Rounding out the Appin podium was Wollongong’s defending triple champion Jay Marmont (CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha), whose chances of the overall slipped through his fingers with a crash on the opening lap of the final moto.

Marmont, 27, raced to 4-4-2-8 results during the day, with Kiwi Michael Phillips (Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing) and Marmont’s 26-year-old brother Ryan Marmont (JDR Motorex KTM) completing the top five.

Former national Pro Lites champion Marmont, who is a rookie in the premier class, won moto two in a popular victory following a heartbreaking DNF with bike troubles in race one.

Rockstar Motul Suzuki’s lone title contender Cody Cooper, second entering the round, was a disastrous 15th at Appin, crashes dashing his hopes after he managed to win the opening race of the round.

JDR Motorex KTM’s Matt Moss made it two victories from two attempts since returning to Australia for this season, the 2009 champion proving victorious in the Motul Pro Lites.

In what is his home round on the calendar, the 22-year-old scored 1-1-5-3 results, good enough to stretch his championship lead to a comfortable 47-point advantage after two of nine rounds.

“It’s pretty much my home race, so I really wanted to win today in front of my family and friends,” Moss reflected. “I won the first two pretty convincingly, but in the final motos I just made some silly mistakes.

“I got back to where I needed to be to win overall and now I’ve got a 47-point lead in the series. I just need to eliminate the mistakes and I think I can keep stretching my lead – it’s all about plugging away so I can get back to the U.S. next year.”

Second behind Moss was South Australian Kirk Gibbs (Serco Yoshimura Yamaha), who enjoyed a consistent round with 2-2-4-5 results to boost himself to second in the title chase.

Rounding out the podium was American import Phil Nicoletti (Monster Energy Kawasaki), managing to take his first ever race victories in Australia during motos three and four. Nicoletti was eighth in moto one, but had a costly DNF in moto two.

Fourth overall was another local in Cody Mackie (Team 07 Axis Motorsports Honda), while Orangeville’s Daniel McCoy (Rockstar Motul Suzuki) rounded out the top five.

Erroll Willis took a triumphant clean-sweep of the Pirelli Under 19s development category, the Raceline Pirelli Suzuki rider proving the dominant force at Appin.

With his victory, Willis took over the title lead from round one winner Luke Arbon (GYTR Rockstar Yamaha), who finished fourth overall today in the series’ second round.

“I’ve been working my whole life to come out and do something like this, so it’s an amazing feeling,” Willis said. “Now that I have the red plate and a 26-point lead in the series, I couldn’t ask for much more.”

Second overall at Appin was Arbon’s teammate Shaun Redhead with 3-2-2-12 results, while Dylan Peterson (Team 07 AXIS Motorsports Honda) rounded out the podium overall after taking 5-6-6-2 finishes in a consistent effort.

Round three of the 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals will be contested at Raymond Terrace in New South Wales on Sunday, 10 April. Practice and qualifying will commence at 8:30am with the official opening ceremonies taking place at approximately 10:30am.

Visit www.mxnationals.com.au on the web for complete series and round information on the 2011 season.

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2011 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals

Round 2 Results:
Rockstar Energy Drink Pro Open
1. Josh Coppins (CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha) 80
2. Dean Ferris (Monster Energy Kawasaki) 76
3. Jay Marmont (CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha) 71
4. Michael Phillips (Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing) 69
5. Ryan Marmont (JDR Motorex KTM) 60
6. Cheyne Boyd (Carlton Dry Honda Thor Racing) 54
7. Lawson Bopping (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki) 51
8. Billy Mackenzie (Monster Energy Kawasaki) 48
9. Louis Calvin (Herb Watson Racing KTM) 47
10. Lewis Woods (Top Gear KTM) 42

Motul Pro Lites
1. Matt Moss (JDR Motorex KTM) 86
2. Kirk Gibbs (Serco Yoshimura Yamaha) 78
3. Phil Nicoletti (Monster Energy Kawasaki) 63
4. Cody Mackie (Team 07 Axis Motorsports Honda) 60
5. Daniel McCoy (Rockstar Motul Suzuki) 59
6. Ford Dale (Serco Yoshimura Yamaha) 58
7. Josh Cachia (JDR Motorex KTM) 58
8. Luke Styke (Yamaha) 54
9. Keiron Hall (Team 07 Axis Motorsports Honda) 53
10. 48 Kade Mosig (Berry Sweet Strawberries/Lucas Oil Honda) 50

Pirelli Under 19s
1. Errol Willis (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki) 100
2. Shaun Redhead (GYTR Rockstar Yamaha) 73
3. Dylan Peterson (Team 07 Axis Motorsports Honda) 68
4. Luke Arbon (GYTR Rockstar Yamaha) 61
5. Kyle McKeddie (Mornington Kawasaki) 57
6. Dylan Long (Top Gear KTM) 51
7. Anthony Feliks (Honda) 47
8. Joshua Melis (Gecko KTM) 46
9. Corey Lucas (Suzuki) 42
10. Mitch Norris (JDR Moss Institute Suzuki) 41

Championship Standings (after 2 of 9 rounds):
Rockstar Energy Drink Pro Open
1. Dean Ferris 139
2. Billy Mackenzie 137
3. Josh Coppins 134
4. Ryan Marmont 128
5. Cheyne Boyd 123
6. Lawson Bopping 121
7. Jay Marmont 118
8. Michael Phillips 113
9. Louis Calvin 99
10. Cody Cooper 96

Motul Pro Lites
1. Matt Moss 180
2. Kirk Gibbs 133
3. Josh Cachia 124
4. Phil Nicoletti 120
5. Cody Mackie 120
6. Brenden Harrison 111
7. Daniel McCoy 111
8. Ford Dale 107
9. Luke Styke 100
10. Kade Mosig 99

Pirelli Under 19s
1. Errol Willis 181
2. Luke Arbon 155
3. Shaun Redhead 131
4. Dylan Peterson 113
5. Kyle McKeddie 99
6. Jacob Mcleod 89
7. Kale Makeham 84
8. Jacob Wright 83
9. Jake Emanuelli 83
10. Anthony Feliks 79