Coppins retains British title.

CAS Honda rider Josh Coppins extended his winning streak to ten races at Matchams Park during the eighth and final round of the 2005 Maxxis British Motocross Championship and accordingly sealed the MX1 title for the second year in succession.

The New Zealander rolled out a comprehensive winner in both of the 30 minute and 2 lap motos at the sunny and warm circuit just outside of Bournemouth.

Coppins held a three point lead over fellow Honda riders James Noble and Paul Cooper (eight points) entering the event, but with his main rivals taking third and second place respectively in the overall classification, the 28 year old finally re-confirmed the number one plate for 2006 by fourteen points.

The technical, rough and demanding sandy Matchams dirt saw the gulf between grand prix stars and national series regulars widen considerably - indeed Coppins would lap everybody up to 7th and 8th in the races - but the 2005 World Championship runner-up was simply on another level even compared to his GP peers, taking victory by 34 and 42-seconds respectively.

"I was a little bit disappointed not to have taken pole position but Paul was on fire in qualification," began Josh. "I had good start for the motos; I was second in the first race and then had the lead out of the gate in the second. I have been trying to improve on my riding and I was happy with my first moto performance, I did not let-up and kept pushing.

"I made a big mistake half-way through the second because the sun was quite low and getting all the jumps right was difficult but I regained my composure and pulled out a big lead to win by the end.

"Winning ten motos in a row is a record for me but when I came back from injury I wanted to win them all and I knew it would be possible but I did not have a good day at Lyng and thankfully since then it has been a gradual improvement. I want to thank the team, my mechanic and all the people who helped us take this championship," he concluded.

Former multi-British Champion Cooper looked to challenge his Honda compatriot but could not follow the pace of the South African and Swedish Grand Prix winner. The Team Multitek representative earned two fairly straightforward second positions and enjoyed his best meeting since round six at Landrake.

RWJ's Noble managed to briefly hassle the veteran in the opening race after recovering from a poor start but his eagerness to give Coppins a run-for-his-money in the final moto of the year proved costly when he nudged the start gate and then fell on the first corner.

An admirable comeback to fifth position ultimately saw second place in the Championship evaporate when a collision with a backmarker and another fall on the last lap dropped him to seventh; his lowest result of the entire campaign.

Motovision Suzuki Racing's Yoshitaka Astuta ended a four year stint in the British series before returning to Japan in the winter by grabbing third spot and his fourth podium of the series, helping him rise to a championship berth of fourth.

Already crowned Champion of the MX2 class for the first time in his career, Carl Nunn had to settle for second place in the season finale after engaging in an exciting battle with overall winner Billy Mackenzie.

"It was good to finish the year this way with a strong double win and without any injury," said Mackenzie. "I think I ended up equalling Carl when it comes to victories but I am disappointed not to have won the Championship.

"I felt good on the track today and had to make some decent moves to take the lead in both motos. It was really rough but the suspension was working perfectly. It was nice to ride like that in front of everyone who has supported me this season."