Coppins to make British Championship return.

With engines barely cool preparations have already begun for round two of the 2005 ACU Maxxis British Motocross Championship set to take place a fortnight after the season-opener at Canada Heights, on Easter Sunday at Polesworth.

The circuit near Tamworth in the midlands has stepped into the space vacated by the Pontrilas venue after poor weather conditions left the Herefordshire track partially flooded. The Pontrilas Motorcycle club shifted their operations east and Polesworth now provides the setting for the second test of eight in the '05 contest.

Almost 9000 spectators turned out at a chilly but bright Canada Heights to witness the national Championships crank into life and were not disappointed by some sizzling racing that saw podium positions for the two classes, MX1 and MX2, undecided right up until the final laps.

The brief break after Canada Heights has been appreciated the most by reigning MX1 Champion Joshua Coppins. The Honda rider and winner of the 2004 British Grand Prix has been recovering from a dislocated shoulder that forced him to miss the season curtain-raiser and now the New Zealander is ready to re-enter the class that he dominated last term.

He will find stiff opposition from round one victor Paul Cooper (lower pic) who romped to a double moto clean sweep in the Kent sand. Coppins's CAS Honda team-mate Jussi Vehvilainen and Motovision Suzuki's Yoshitaka Atsuta also scored podium results at Canada Heights and will be in contention once again for the top three.

The MX1 category sees motorcycles up to 250cc (two-strokes) and 450cc (four-stroke) engine capacity vying for honours although it seems like the four-stroke brigade hold the upper hand.

Grand prix regulars armed with 450s, such as Christian Burnham, James Noble and Mark Hucklebridge, will also be among the leading group with Yamaha's Gordon Crockard, a former multi-British Champion, trying to shake off a troublesome foot injury.

Within MX2 (125cc two-strokes and 250cc four-strokes) the competition is even hotter as five riders jostled for podium positions at Canada Heights. Victories were scored by Honda's Mike Brown and Kawasaki's Stephen Sword in the two motos with Sword taking the overall honours in a wild-card appearance.

Strong showings by Carl Nunn (KTM), Tom Church (Kawasaki), Wayne Smith and Erik Eggens (Honda) with riders like Billy Mackenzie, Jason Dougan and Brad Anderson also ready to shine, the MX2 proceedings at Polesworth promise to be another pulsating and open affair.

Polesworth underwent a major overhaul to host the final round of the 2002 series which involved the dramatic last moto battle between Stephen Sword and Billy Mackenzie for the 125cc (MX2) title.

The track hosted televised scrambles in the 1960s and has held competitions on the land since the 1950s. The terrain is a mix of dirt, clay and sand and the facility boasts some excellent spectator viewing opportunities with a large bank giving a good overall perspective of the action.

Raceday starts with practice and qualifying sessions during the morning with the first race of six (two motos for MX1 and MX2 each and two support heats) beginning at 12.30pm.