Auckland MX Champs
B
by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
ay of Plenty man Cody Cooper could
never be accused of being boring,
but the ease with which he won again
at the annual Auckland Motocross
Championships does make the Honda
Racing Team crew very relaxed indeed.
The 34-year-old national MX1 champion from
Mount Maunganui showed once again why he has
the big No.1 emblazoned on his Honda CRF450
bike, his riding faultless as he romped to three
convincing MX1 class wins at Tuakau in November.
The fastest out of the starting gate each time,
Kiwi international Cooper seemed barely to raise
a sweat as he stretched out his advantage in
front, each time eventually crossing the finish
line a long way ahead of the three separate
individuals who finished runner-up to him.
Mangakino’s Kayne Lamont (Altherm JCR
Yamaha YZ450F) was second to Cooper in race
one, crossing the line 26.7 seconds behind the
Honda star; Takapuna-based Takaka rider Hamish
Harwood (CML KTM 300) was runner-up in race
two, finishing 21.6 seconds adrift of Cooper and
Beachlands rider Blake Gillard (MR Motorcycles KTM
SXF 450) was runner-up in race three, 18.6 seconds
behind the unruffled and untroubled Cooper.
“It was a really good weekend for the team,” said
Cooper afterwards. “We were using this event as
part of our build-up for the main part of the season.
“The bike felt really good and we now have
settled on some great suspension settings. The
bike feels a lot better than it did at MX Fest (in
Taupo over Labour Weekend). It’s all coming
together pretty well now,” said Cooper, who also
dominated the MX1 class at the recent Waikato
Motocross Championships near Te Kuiti.
“My body is feeling better now too after having a
break from the sport in the early part of October.
It doesn’t feel sore when I go to the gym”, he
laughed. “I’m right back into my training again now.”
Oparau’s James Scott is not a greedy person, but
he does feel the time might be right for him to claim
another national motocross title. The 16-year-old
won the New Zealand junior 13-16 years’ 85cc class
crown in April last year and since then he has been
Oparau’s James Scott
(KTM 125), in out-
standing form at the
Auckland Motocross
Championships