Racing on Motocross tracks at Pro level overseas has its challenges. Pro riders past and present state it takes time to adjust from the known home country tracks to the new terrain tracks of Europe, USA and Australia’s Championship Series.
Breaking it down, riders not only have to make technical adjustments to master racing on varying dirt and layout circuits but also make mental adjustments racing outside their zone of comfort.
Which begs the question: what is key to nail the wins on tracks riders aren’t familiar with?
I asked NZ’s Vice World MX Champion 2x Josh Coppins for his thoughts on what it takes to race Pro Motocross overseas.
Q: Having completed your Professional MX career racing overseas what adjustments do riders have to make to race tracks different from their home country?
Josh: ‘They have to be very open minded and watch and learn from the better riders they are around. It’s tough to adapt and there are ways. Most important you have to keep an open mind to change your riding technique’.
Q: With World MX Championships in Europe, AMA Championships in USA and Australia’s MX Nationals Series- what challenges arise for riders competing on the global stage?
Josh: ‘Everything from food to language to being homesick, you have to live for your sport and be ready to make a lot of sacrifices. In this day and age of technology it’s a lot easier to adapt and stay in contact with home but your life is still very different. The main thing is to learn and keep an open mind with everything you do’.
Q: NZ already has a history of successful World MX Champions: yourself, Ben Townley, Shayne King, Tony Cooksley, Katherine Prumm– to gain this level of success what special qualities in terms of character does a rider need to possess?
Josh: Passion and desire to succeed is the main thing. It’s a tough road and although someone like Josiah has done very well so far his biggest challenges still lie ahead so you have to be very strong and work ethic is important…so many things contribute it’s hard to pin point any one thing’.
NZ has just witnessed 16 year old Josiah Natzke take Round 5 EMX 125cc win at Villars sous Ecot in France with gap times of 7 seconds and 6 seconds in Race 1 and 2. European tracks certainly vary in conditions from soft sand to hard pack to rocky- Josiah really likes racing on Europe’s MXGP tracks.
Q: In what ways is this a beneficial attribute to have for his future MX success?
Josh: European tracks are the most technical to race on, you need a big skill set to be successful on them. But it’s still very rewarding to do well and if you can master their tracks I believe you can master any tracks in the world. So to start young and learn the ropes there is in my opinion the best start for any young rider’s MX career’.
My thanks to Josh Coppins (Altherm JCR Yamaha) for his time.
Words: Sharon Cox
Comments are closed.