Cody Cooper and Dean Ferris in tight battle as motocross nationals head to Rotorua

CAPTION: Mount Maunganui's Cody Cooper, formerly from Opotiki, the defending champion in the MX1 class and the 2017 series leader after round one in Timaru a week ago. Photo by Andy McGechan, Bikespor

The foundations have been laid for what is quickly building into another classic Kiwi versus Aussie battle at the top of this season's motocross nationals.

The four-round Mazda and DRD magazine-sponsored 2017 New Zealand Motocross Championships moves to Rotorua this weekend, two weeks after the first round at Pleasant Point, on the outskirts of Timaru.

Bay of Plenty's Cody Cooper (Honda) fought off a determined challenge from Australian visitor Dean Ferris (Yamaha) at Timaru and the pair are separated at the top of the premier MX1 class by just five points.

Also within striking range is Mount Maunganui motocross coach Rhys Carter, the Kawasaki man finishing inside the top three in all three MX1 races at Timaru to sensationally edge out Australian professionals Todd Waters (Honda), Jesse Dobson (Honda) and Luke Styke (KTM).

Cooper and Ferris respectively finished first and second overall in the MX1 class last season, Ferris eventually missing out on the trophy by just two points, and that outcome could be traced back to the spectacular crash he suffered at the corresponding event in Rotorua last year.

Now well aware of the pitfalls on the hilly Rotorua circuit, it is unlikely that Ferris will make the same mistake this time around.

In the MX2 (250cc) class it was a similar case of the defending champion leading the way, although Takaka's national MX2 No1 Hamish Harwood (KTM) was even more comprehensive in winning his class at Timaru.

With three wins from three starts, the South Island rider, who is now based in Takapuna,
was emphatic in demonstrating that he wants to keep the MX2 crown.

Christchurch teenager Dylan Walsh (Yamaha) has just returned from two seasons of racing in the United States and he was expected to keep Harwood honest at Timaru.

He certainly did that but, with his finishing third in the first race at Timaru, behind Reporoa's Hadleigh Knight (Husqvarna), and then twice crossing the line as runner-up, he trails Harwood by 11 points at the start of this weekend.

Third best overall in this class is Knight, the 20-year-old just six points behind Walsh.
In a remarkable display of talent, strength and stamina, apprentice builder Harwood is also racing a 300cc KTM in the MX1 class and there he is currently positioned seventh overall, just six points behind fulltime professional racer Styke.

The 125cc class is developing into a two-rider fight, with Taihape's Hayden Smith (KTM) and Karaka's Kurtis Lilly (Husqvarna) scrapping over the race wins at Timaru.

This battle is the tightest of the series, with just three points to separate leader Smith from runner-up man Lilly, while Nelson's Hayden Wilkinson (Yamaha) is third overall, 14 points further back.

"It was really hard to pass on the track [at Timaru]," Smith explained as he hoped for better things at Rotorua on Sunday.

"There was really only one good line in most places at Timaru. You'd have had to go nuts to make passes in some places and it simply wasn't worth the risk."

With the extreme elevation changes at Rotorua, riders in all three championship classes will need to be at their best in mixing throttle control with aggression ... it's a track that takes no prisoners.

When the engines are switched off late on Sunday afternoon, the series will have reached the halfway stage.