Tarawera 100: Cooper's still boss

A race that took 25 minutes longer to complete than it did a year ago provides the first clue about a considerably tougher 2011 edition of the Tarawera 100.
Saturday's 34th annual Tarawera 100 saw international motocross racer Cody Cooper (Papamoa) achieve his third victory, completing the 160km of forest trail and farmland riding in just over 3 hours 25 minutes. Last year Cooper raced through a similar, but smoother, course in just under three hours.
"It was a little bit harder than last year," said Cooper. "Even on the first lap I could see it was still rough from the year before and hadn't been graded or anything. Then, at the end of the first lap, I ran out of petrol. I had to ride the last part of the lap on part throttle. The bike cut out a couple of times and I had to push it into the pits."
With a standard 6.5 litre tank the 38km lap becomes marginal for the big four-stroke MX bikes. A few minutes of pre-race warm up, the extra couple of kilometres in the start loop and a 49 minute opening lap proved right on the edge of the 450s range. Cooper didn't experience a repeat of the problem on the other laps.
There was also a quick tumble for Cooper while challenging Darryll King for the lead just after the start but, with the first lap dramas out of the way, Cooper - who in spite of his fuel problems already had a 1m 46secs lead over King at the end of lap one - easily controlled the race.
Cooper's Moto City Suzuki team-mate and training partner Rhys Carter - on a 250cc machine - was just over four minutes behind at the finish, comfortably achieving his goal of a podium finish.
And Tauranga's Reece Burgess (Husaberg 450) led the ranks of enduro and cross country riders, achieving a career-best third place as he'd closed to just 26secs behind Carter at the finish.
Carter had an eventful start to the race.
"Just after the first gateway a guy crashed right in front of me and I hit him and went down. And just before the trees there was a jump where I hit a strainer post which put me straight over the bars."
Carter estimates he was about 30th when he remounted.
"I did a lot of passing in the first half a lap and the guys were really good and moved over when they heard you coming through."
Carter was fourth at the end of lap one, moved up to second ahead of King and Burgess on the second lap and maintained position in the second half of the race.
Having recently won the three-round Dirt Guide cross country series, Burgess took good form into the Tarawera 100 and was running a strategic race with quick pit stops and a consistent pace on his Husaberg 450.
"The track wasn't too much different to last year but there a lot of sharp bumps which was bottoming out the front and rear suspension, which is really abnormal for my bike," said Burgess.
"I kept to plan pretty much from the start although I lost time right at the start when I couldn't shift into third gear."
Burgess was third at the end of lap one - jumping ahead of Darryll King into second in the pits - and a close fourth within sight of Carter and King after lap two. He passed King in the pits on the final stop and began the last lap with the twin objectives of closing on Carter and staying ahead of King.
"I got up on the pegs and pushed a bit harder on the last lap," said Burgess.
But with half a lap he had a heavy crash.
"I ran a bit wide and the rear stepped out and clipped something. I saw stars for a moment. Then I caught my breath again - if you're still moving it's all good.
"The handlebars and the front wheel were bent at about 30 degrees and I nearly came off again working out how to steer."
At the end of the race Burgess was only 26secs behind Carter.
"I think there was a chance of second place till I crashed but I'm not disappointed at all. I'm really pleased with the result."
The Tarawera 100 field was slightly smaller this year with 178 riders facing the starter. Rotorua's Cam Negus made the fastest start but Darryll King on a Yamaha YZ250 was in front by the time the short start loop had been completed.
Later, King was in bike trouble with a nut working loose on his front forks so he was effectively riding the course with only half of the usual front suspension damping. The Yamaha team contemplated a fork change at the third pit stop but King elected to battle on and finished fourth and also won the 0-300cc 2-stroke class.
Yamaha enduro racer Adrian Smith (Mokau) was one of only a handful of riders to post his fastest lap on the final lap as he climbed the order to finish in fifth place ahead of Huntly's Michael Vining (KTM).
In the under-19 category Whakatane riders were to the fore with Peter Smit (Honda) taking over the lead from Quade Young (Honda) on the final lap on his way to seventh overall.
Tauranga motocross racers Scott Barr-Smith and Peter Broxholme were both delayed at the start.
Broxholme was 66th at the end of the start loop and Barr-Smith was just behind, 72nd. They rode through the pack with Broxholme advancing to eighth overall on his Honda 450 and Barr-Smith was 15th and won the small 2-stroke class (0-200cc) on a KTM 200XC.
"I didn't get the start I wanted. It took four kicks to get the bike going and I ended up going down in a big pileup just after the start," said Broxholme.
"I was covered head-to-toe in mud with my seat and my gloves all covered in mud as well.
"I threw my gloves off during the first lap because I could hardly hold on and I didn't want to stop at the pits because I had the big tank on and I didn't need to stop for fuel. In the end it just killed my hands and I couldn't keep pace."
Barr-Smith, the recent runner-up in the 125cc MX Nationals, was making his first Tarawera 100 start.
"I got a horrible start," he said. "The bike wouldn't start and when I looked across there were only four other bikes still left on the line.
"I passed 30 or 40 that were all stuck in the bog hole just after the start and than I started to ride up through the field.
"It was definitely a challenge. In the tight stuff it's only two or three handle bars wide so most of the time you can only follow.
"And on a smaller bike you'd pass some guys but some of them on bigger bikes would pass you back on the next long straight so you'd have to pass them again."
Bay Honda Tarawera 100 results:
1 Cody Cooper (Papamoa) Suzuki RMZ 450, 3h 25m 38s; 2 Rhys Carter (Papamoa) Suzuki RMZ 250, 3h 29m 56s; 3 Reece Burgess (Tauranga) Husaberg FX450, 3h 30m 22s; 4 Darryll King (Hamilton) Yamaha YZ250, 3h 31m 38s; 5 Adrian Smith (Mokau) Yamaha YZF 250F, 3h 32m 09s; 6 Michael Vining (Huntly) KTM 450EXC, 3h 33m 03s; 7 Peter Smit (Whakatane) Honda CRF 250R, 3h 33m 26s; 8 Peter Broxholme (Tauranga) Honda CRF 450R, 3h 37m 02s; 9 Mark Penny (Te Awamutu) Suzuki RMZ 250, 3h 37m 53s; 10 Reuben Vermeer (Masterton) Yamaha YZF 450, 3h 39m 38s.
Tough Trucks
Local motorsport action this weekend includes three days of extreme four-wheel-drive competition at the TECT All Terrain Park. The Runva Tough Truck Challenge is a round of the North Island Winch Challenge series and spectator access is open Saturday 8am-5pm and Sunday 8am-noon.
On Sunday the BOP Kart Club runs the fourth round of its fun series at Fagans Valley Raceway near Te Puke.
The opening round of the VIP Pet Foods 12 Hour Endurance Series scheduled for the Taupo circuit this weekend has been cancelled.