Josh Coppins was always expected to do well in the deep sands of Wanneroo on Sunday, the CDR Yamaha rider meeting expectations to take home a brilliant victory in the MX1 class of the Monster Energy MX Nationals.

Now holding down a handy 42-point lead in the series as we move toward the halfway point, Coppins is on track for the premier class title that he came agonisingly close to one season ago.

MotoOnline.com.au spoke to the Kiwi today while he remains in WA, preparing for this weekend’s fifth round of 10 at Murray Bridge in South Australia.

You took your second round win of the year in WA to extend your points lead, another good result and heading in the right direction once again. Congratulations.

Yeah, I’m pretty happy. Wonthaggi didn’t go so well for me, I had a few issues there, so it was important to try come back and extend my points lead. I had a bit of a goal where I wanted to be sitting prior to the six-week break and after Wonthaggi that took a bit of a hammering. So, it’s good to get back on track.

You said before the round that you really wanted to try and work on those shorter 15-minute motos to start each round. You managed to win the first one and took second in the next one, so was that the sand helping you there, or has your focus on the shorter motos paid off?

It was a bit of everything, to be honest. That’s my first opening moto win since riding for CDR – I’d never won one before. I’d always started off a bit slow, so that was a good milestone for me. It was a bit of a combination of the injury I had at Wonthaggi and also working hard on those issues as well.

What did you think of Wanneroo’s sand? We knew you would be strong over there, but was it different than you expected?

It was heavier than I thought, I mean I knew it was going to be sandy, but it was a little bit sandier than I anticipated. Australians talk about sand and usually talk about tracks like Coolum and whatnot, but that’s not really European sand. This track in WA was proper sand, as sandy as it gets in Europe.

So Wanneroo’s pretty much on par with what you’ve experienced in Europe?

Yeah, it’s as tough as Lommel, that’s for sure. I didn’t expect that, but it was still a fun track and the club did a great job.

The interesting thing for me was to see yourself, Jay Marmont and Brad Anderson battling for position, especially in that final moto, and all three of your were pre-season title favourites. What was it like to go head-to-head with those guys? There were some pretty good battles taking place…

Yeah, it was good – I enjoyed it. I felt pretty comfortable the whole time and I think I had a little bit more experience than the other two, so I was able to maintain it for the win. I enjoyed it – it was good fun.

Yourself and Lawson Bopping went 1-2 on the weekend, a great result for Craig Dack and Yamaha. Has the YZ450F been an improvement this year, or is it the fact that the team’s gelling so well?

No, I think it’s a whole combination. It’s a combination of yes, the bike has improved, but the team’s working really well and we’re gelling together. I’m trying to help Lawson and Craig’s also got a lot of experience.

I was thinking about it after the weekend and I think all the success that the team has had is not just luck, it comes down to preparation and work from the whole team. The proof is in the results.