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Home / Rotorua Daily Post / Sport

Motorsport: Day packed with high drama

By Andy McGechan
Rotorua Daily Post·
2 Apr, 2013 09:14 PM3 mins to read

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Rotorua's Cameron Vaughan (Yamaha) finished top of the 125cc class while Mount Maunganui's Cody Cooper (Suzuki) won the MX1 class and Queenstown's Scotty Columb (Yamaha) won the MX2 (250cc) title when the 2013 New Zealand Motocross Championships wrapped up in Taupo over Easter Weekend.

The Backflips Clothing-sponsored championship wound up at the fourth and final round at Taupo's Digger McEwen race circuit.

Vaughan led at the start of racing at Taupo but only by a slim four-point margin from Te Puke's Logan Blackburn (Yamaha) and, as expected, that class went down to the wire.

Blackburn was best at Taupo, finishing 2-1-1, but he still came shy of snatching the crown, Vaughan doing just enough by finishing 1-2-2 on Sunday, sufficient to take his first national title by just one point.

All three riders began the day with the lead in their respective classes, but it was only after a day packed with high drama that they could each finally cement those rankings.

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Cooper is no stranger to winning at this level, having previously won motocross titles in Australia and New Zealand, and he had won the MX1 class here once before too, in 2011, and so his result this season perhaps came as no surprise.

His dominance this season was undeniable - he won nine of the series' 12 races and finished no lower than third in the other outings.

He started the day 31 points ahead of Scottish visitor Billy MacKenzie (Yamaha) and, after scoring a hat-trick of wins in Taupo on Sunday, he was able to extend his advantage to 48 points at the conclusion of the championship, with Australian Todd Waters (KTM) taking third on the podium, six points further back.

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Cooper now prepares to mount an assault on the Australian national championships, starting in just two weeks' time, and his form indicates he'll be a contender across the Tasman.

Meanwhile, in the MX2 class, Queenstown's Columb was intent on winning his first national motocross title and he enjoyed a 14-point advantage over Australian KTM rider Brock Winston at the start of the day's racing in Taupo.

Despite his campaign briefly derailing when he lost his rear brakes at the start of race one on Sunday - and this saw him struggle to the finish in an unaccustomed ninth position, he fought back to win race two and then settled for a "safe" ninth spot in the final race, to end the series 16 points ahead of eventual runner-up Winston.

Eventual third overall in this class was Mount Maunganui's Rhys Carter (Suzuki), whose brilliant day at Taupo allowed him to zoom up to within just two points of catching Winston.

Leading final standings in the 2013 New Zealand Motocross Championships:

MX1 class:

1. Cody Cooper (Mount Maunganui, Suzuki) 289 points;

2. Billy MacKenzie (Scotland, Yamaha) 241;

3. Todd Waters (Australia, KTM) 235;

4. Daryl Hurley (Hawera, Suzuki) 182;

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5. Justin McDonald (Christchurch, Honda) 174.

MX2 class:

1. Scott Columb (Queenstown, Yamaha) 233;

2. Brock Winston (Australia, KTM) 217;

3. Rhys Carter (Mount Maunganui, Suzuki) 215;

4. Ethan Martens (Waitakere, Yamaha) 195;

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5. Peter Broxholme (Tauranga, Honda) 181.

125cc class:

1. Cameron Vaughan (Rotorua, Yamaha) 270;

2. Logan Blackburn (Te Puke, Yamaha) 269;

3. Aaron Wiltshier (Tauranga, KTM) 203;

4. Cohen Chase (Taupo, KTM) 187;

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5. Cam Negus (Rotorua, Husqvarna) 172.

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