Cody Cooper after another NZ Motocross Grand Prix title

TOP CLASS: Mount Maunganui's Cody Cooper (Honda CRF450) is again one of the favourites to win at Woodville. PHOTO: Andy McGechan

The focus goes on Woodville this weekend as New Zealand's elite motocross racers contest the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix.

More than 700 riders are expected to race today and tomorrow at the 56th annual Honda-sponsored New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville.

In addition to offering GP titles across several different bike categories and attracting the cream of talent from New Zealand and leading riders from overseas, the stand-alone event caters for entrants from as young as 4, to men and women in their 40s and 50s.

While plenty of international visitors have won the event in the past, it is home-grown New Zealand riders who have tended to dominate at Woodville over the years.

But it has been three years since a Kiwi last won the main crown at Woodville, with Australian Kirk Gibbs winning in 2015 and then fellow Australian Dean Ferris taking the main prize last year.

Mount Maunganui's Cody Cooper won in 2014 and is again the man favoured to deflect the Aussie invasion this time around.

Kiwi international Cooper has been national MX1 champion for the past four seasons (2013-2016) and has been on something of a golden run at home over the past few months.

But Cooper will have to overcome a power-packed crop of Australian riders at Woodville, including Ferris, Jed Beaton, Todd Waters, Luke Styke, Trae Kuehn and Daniel Banks.

Cooper also knows that Honda team-mate John Phillips, of Rotorua, is in hot form at the moment, while fellow Kiwi internationals Brad Groombridge of Taupo, Tauranga's Ben Townley, Mangakino's Kayne Lamont, Takapuna's Hamish Harwood, Mount Maunganui's Rhys Carter and Tauranga pair Roydon White and Peter Broxholme have good reason to fancy their chances too.

There is also a large contingent of leading Australians entered in the MX2 (250cc) class - with Chandler Burns, Cody Dyce, Morgan Fogarty, Wilson Todd and Mason Semmons among the standout names - although a high number of talented Kiwis will stand resolutely in their way.

New Zealand internationals such as national MX2 champion Harwood, Hamilton's Josiah Natzke, Christchurch's Dylan Walsh, Reporoa's Hadleigh Knight, Otago's Courtney Duncan, Rangiora's Micah McGoldrick, Te Puke's Logan Blackburn, Cambridge's Trent Collins and Te Puke's Tyler Steiner are each capable of winning the MX2 class this weekend.

Racing over the two days at Woodville caters for minis, juniors, women and veterans, with the novelty river race tomorrow always a crowd-pleaser.