KING OF MUD: Mount Maunganui's Cody Cooper (The Honda Shop CRF450 No1) leads through the first turn on his way to winning the annual Honda Summercross near Whakatane on Sunday. PHOTO/BIKESPORTNZ.COM CODYCOOPER
KING OF MUD: Mount Maunganui's Cody Cooper (The Honda Shop CRF450 No1) leads through the first turn on his way to winning the annual Honda Summercross near Whakatane on Sunday. PHOTO/BIKESPORTNZ.COM CODYCOOPER
The rains came down but the excitement levels rose as New Zealand MX1 motocross champion Cody Cooper showed his class, shifting into a higher gear and notching up another impressive win on Sunday.
The Honda Shop Racing Team rider was unstoppable when he romped to victory at a sun-baked WaikatoMotocross Championships recently, and he followed that by winning the open class crown at the New Zealand Supercross Championships in November. But it was in extremely contrasting conditions that Cooper and his Honda CRF450 had to perform at the weekend's 42nd annual Honda Summercross near Whakatane.
Instead of the hard, dry and dusty track more typically associated with summer race action, Cooper and more that 500 fellow competitors at the two-day event had to deal with deep, porridge-like mud after overnight rain and frequents squalls throughout the day turned the usually pristine track at Matata into a treacherous quagmire.
In fact, the only thing dry about Sunday's event was Cooper's sense of humour.
"Perhaps they should rename this event Wintercross," Cooper commented as he wiped away the sludge from his face at the end of the day. "Three of the past four years here have been like this."
Organisers shaved back the race programme from three to two races per class and when Cooper shot away to a seemingly effortless win in the first MX1 class race, The Honda Shop Racing Team's lead rider was already halfway to the top of the podium. "My first race went well but race two was hard work," said Cooper. "I got a good jump off the concrete start pad but I wasn't in the right spot on the bike when I hit the mud and lost traction. Then I crashed in the second corner.
"I set out after [race leader] Brad Groombridge but then I got into a battle for second with [Paraparaumu's] Jesse Donnelly. My goggles were useless after a while and I had to go to the sidelines for a quick change (of goggles). I'm glad I did because then I was able to catch Jesse and pass him.
And that's how the race finished, Cooper's 1-2 results eclipsing Groombridge's 3-1 score-line, forcing the Taupo Suzuki rider to settle for runner-up spot overall. Kawasaki's Donnelly finished 2-3 to claim third place.
