This weekend’s MXGP and MX Euro at Lommel, Belgium is regarded as the most gruelling sand track on the MXGP circuit.
The deep sand base offers the toughest conditions for riders to maintain rhythm, speed and momentum challenging the technical, physical and mental abilities of all but the best Pro riders.
NZ’s former Vice-World Motocross Champion 2x Josh Coppins accumulated wealth of experience training and racing on Europe’s MXGP circuit including Lommel.
I asked Josh Q and A on how tough Lommel is:
SC: What makes Lommel so challenging for riders competing in MXGP and MX Euro?
Josh: ‘The technicality of the track is very high. It has fast and slow sections that challenge the rhythm of the riders’.
SC: Racing Lindberg GP in 2010 on Aprilia you battled with the best MX riders in the world.
Q: Rhythm, tight turns, lines, top competition- what does it take for a MX rider to stay on top of their game at Lommel?
Josh: ‘They need to find their rhythm and be comfortable with their bike set-up. Lommel is a really tough track. If you battle to be comfortable you will use a lot of energy and Lommel will beat you every time. With rhythm comes consistent speed and then confidence and it just builds from there. You have to prepare very well for this race. Good results just don’t happen’.
SC: MXGP season is proving to be a stunner, particularly for NZ’s rider Josiah Natzke currently standing 2nd Overall in MX Euro 125cc class. At 16 years of age and plenty ahead of him, his performance to date would stand him in good stead for the future.
Q: Do you think the inclusion of MX Euro Junior classes 65cc through to 300cc offers the opportunity for young up-coming riders to gain experience at entry level for racing MXGP in the future?
Josh: ‘Yes, definitely. It enables the riders to get time on technical tracks while they are young and progressing. It teaches them many of the tools they need to make it to the top early on and provides a pathway to get there’.
SC: Looking at your own stellar MX career competing in Europe, can you name top 3 learning experiences which put you on your path to Professional Motocross success?
Josh: ‘Early in my career I learnt a lot from my Team-mate Marniqe Bervoets. He was a top rider and I followed him closely with training and riding together. I learnt what it took to make it like him’.
‘In 2002 I raced for Carado Maddii his Team was based in Florence. I learnt a lot at this time about bike set-up and how to go faster. It was here that I went from a good rider to one of the best in the World’.
‘And lastly my mechanic Fabio Santoni. He taught me about work ethic, respect and kept me calm in the key moments of racing. He knew his stuff and had all my confidence. As an athlete at any level in any sport or even business confidence is key’.
My thanks to Josh Coppins for his time.
Words: Sharon Cox
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