KX450 Archives - Kawasaki NZ

FATHER AND SON PAIR DOMINATE AT TT NATIONALS

May 18, 2023/in LATEST, LOCAL /by Admin

MAY 18, 2023: Like father, like son – winning national motorcycling titles became a family affair at the 2023 edition of the New Zealand Motocross TT Nationals at Taupiri at the weekend.

Throttles were twisted to the stops on the mostly-flat grassland course at Taupiri, north of Hamilton at the weekend and riding skill, bravery, bike reliability and a perhaps a small element of luck were the key ingredients in determining the eventual title winners.

Hosted by the Patetonga Motorcycle Club, this year’s RAM-sponsored New Zealand Motocross TT Championships on Saturday and Sunday had it all, with riders from all corners of the country arriving to battle the elements and one another over the two days.

The entry list included the stars of motocross, cross-country, enduro and even a few road-racing heroes, and it was Kawasaki father and son pair Craig and Tyler Brown who stole a large portion of the limelight.

Pukekawa’s Tyler Brown (Pro Circuit Team Green Kawasaki KX250), overall winner in two separate categories at the 2023 TT Nationals north of Hamilton at the weekend. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com

The 18-year-old Tyler Brown, a former national junior motocross champion now racing in the senior ranks, was the outstanding individual of the weekend, winning two of the premier bike categories, while his 49-year-old father Craig Brown captured the veterans’ over-45 years’ age group title.

Tyler Brown sealed up both the MX1 (open class) and MX2 (250cc) class titles with dominant displays over the two days.

Racing a MR Motorcycles Kawasaki KX450 that he’d only collected the week before the event, Tyler Brown finished with a 1-2-1-2-2 score-card in the MX1 class and took his Kawasaki KX250 to lodge a 1-1-2-1-2 score-card in winning the MX2 class title. He never finished worse than runner-up in any of the 10 races he started at the weekend.

The teenager finished ahead of Rotorua pair Callum Dudson and Hunter Steens in the MX1 class and Waihi’s Luke Maitland and Pukekawa’s Adam Hodge completed the podium in the MX2 class.

His dad, Craig, was similarly dominant, taking his Kawasaki KX450 to register 1-1-1-3-2 results in his veterans’ class races, enough to edge out former national TT and motocross champion Mitch Rowe, of New Plymouth, and Te Awamutu’s former national cross-country and motocross frontrunner Mark Penny.

“This was only Tyler’s second time of racing a 450cc bike,” explained Craig Brown. “But he looked really comfortable on the bike and he soon got the hang of switching over from a 450cc bike to the 250cc version and then back again throughout the weekend.

“We both knew what we had to do to win the titles and we each built up good points leads early on. This allowed us to relax and cruise a bit later in the weekend. That was the strategy anyway,” he laughed.

“I had a bit of a crash in my fourth race, but I didn’t need to go too hard in that race anyway,” said Craig Brown, a racer who is no stranger to winning national motocross and TT titles.

Also keeping it all in the family, a father and daughter combination also featured at the weekend, with Rowe’s daughter, Mikayla Rowe, from Gordonton, backing up her dad’s separate winning of the classic bike class by winning the senior women’s class title.

Other class winners over the weekend were Kumeu’s Logan Maddren (125cc); Beachlands’ Blake Gillard (veterans’ 35-44 years); Tuakau’s Cody Sheppard (junior 14-16 years, 250cc); Otorohanga’s Cooper Phillips (junior 12-16 years, 125cc); Karapiro’s Jack Hazelden (8-12 years, 85cc); Phillips 12-16 years, 85cc); Hamilton’s Ella Mackie (junior women, 85cc); Waimauku’s Ruby Leech (junior women, 125/250cc); Dudson (enduro bikes); Mitch Rowe (classic bikes); Stratford’s Rex Rooney (mini 50cc); Coatesville’s Sebastian Bassett (mini 65cc trail bikes); Stratford’s Camo Keegan (ATV support).

Credit: Words and Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

TEAM GREEN WINS INAUGURAL EIGHT-HOUR MARATHON

April 26, 2023/in LATEST, LOCAL /by Admin

April 24, 2023:Even if you think you’ve had a tough day at the office and you’re totally spent as you head home after work, you really still have no idea just how gruelling an eight-hour shift can actually be.

Sunday’s inaugural Forestland Eight-Hour Cross-country race, held on steep and waterlogged farmland at Oparau, near Kawhia, was perhaps the ultimate test of man and machine, with more than 260 of New Zealand’s elite off-road motorcycle riders battling one another, brutal terrain and the clock in a bid to become the first champion in this new marathon contest.

Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team rider Cody Cooper (Kawasaki KX450X), who co-rode with Whyteline Kawasaki ace Brad Groombridge to win the inaugural Forestland Cross-country race near Kawhia on Sunday. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com

To cut a long story short, it was the two-man pairing of Taupo’s Brad Groombridge and Papamoa’s Cody Cooper who reigned supreme at this Maxima Racing Oils-sponsored event, the two Kawasaki riders alternating to complete 15 arduous laps between them in the eight hours – one of only two teams to do so.

The race duration for Groombridge and Cooper was actually eight hours, 24 minutes and 12 seconds by the time the chequered flag was finally shown.

Runners-up and the only other pairing to complete 15 laps were Operau brothers James and Cooper Scott, who crossed the finish line just over eight minutes behind the victorious Groombridge/Cooper combo.

Wairoa’s Tommy Watts and Taupo’s Wil Yeoman teamed up to finish third overall, a lap behind the leading two teams, while New Plymouth’s Sam Parker and Cambridge’s Dylan Yearbury co-rode their way to fourth overall and Kawakawa Bay’s Ryan Hayward and Oparau’s Hunter Scott shared riding duties to claim fifth spot overall.

Despite the impressive winning margin, the 32-year-old Groombridge and 39-year-old Cooper didn’t have an easy time of it.

“I had the job of riding first for us,” said Groombridge. “And I managed to get a fairly good start. I was in about 15th at the beginning of the opening lap, but got my way up to third by the end of that lap. Each lap took us about 34 minutes to complete,” he said.

“We remained in fourth throughout most of the first half of the race. It was very tough because there were lots of ruts and it was very bumpy. Visibility was also an issue because it was drizzling in places and my goggles were a mess.

“Our plan had been to race two laps each time we changed over riders but, because of the tough conditions, we decided to go one-for-one for the first six laps or so, before we then changed to each of us doing two-lap stints.

“I suffered two big crashes on our fifth lap … my third lap … and that cost us a lot of time,” Groombridge explained. “I was somersaulted off the bike in one of those crashes but, thankfully, I wasn’t really hurt.”

However, team-mate Cooper was hurt during his first time out in the track, the team’s second lap.

“I pulled my groin and was in a bit of pain after that,” Cooper revealed.

“The elements were difficult to deal with, but it all worked out for us in the end. I took some painkillers and rode a little tentatively, but I managed to get into a rhythm and got the job done.”

“It was a long day, and I was feeling pretty sore afterwards.”

Groombridge snatched the lead for the Kawasaki duo on the eighth lap – about halfway through the race – and they steadily built on that to create what became a winning buffer.

As Groombridge remarked after Sunday’s marathon race “you really couldn’t find a better duo than Cody and me” to tackle this event.

Groombridge is a three-time former national cross-country champion (winner in 2016, 2017 and 2018) and he also twice won the national enduro crown (in 2016 and 2018) and has multiple Acerbis Four-Hour crowns to his credit, most of them achieved while riding solo.

Cooper is a multi-time national 125cc, MX2 (250cc) and MX1 (450cc) motocross champion, having just last month taken a Kawasaki KX250 to clinch the national MX2 title for 2023. Cooper is also a record five-time former winner of the fabled Tarawera 100 cross-country marathon near Kawerau.

Credit: Words and Photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

CODY COOPER A NATIONAL CHAMPION YET AGAIN AT AGE 39

March 27, 2023/in LATEST, LOCAL /by Admin

March 27, 2023: There was simply no stopping Kawasaki ace Cody Cooper as he produced another startling performance in this year’s senior New Zealand Motocross Championships, which wrapped up at Taupo on Sunday.

They say age is just a number and that may be true, but this is traditionally a young person’s game and a 39-year-old winning titles at the pinnacle of the sport is truly outstanding.

The multi-time former national champion from Papamoa reckons he’s loving the sport more and more with each passing year and, since his transition to the high-profile Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team, he believes he’s going even faster than before.

That’s probably true too, because he won the MX2 (250cc) title at the weekend with a race to spare and, with that, he handed Kawasaki its first New Zealand motocross title in 16 years, when Rotorua’s Michael Phillips won the MX2 (250cc) crown for the brand in 2007.

Cooper had been an extremely busy man during his build-up to the 2023 nationals, starting off by winning the premier MX1 class at the MX Fest extravaganza at Taupo’s 2022-23 season opener in late October.

He backed that up by easily winning his men’s 35-39 year’s class at the 2022 New Zealand Veterans’ and Women’s Motocross Championships near Cambridge just a week later.

Cooper then dominated the Waikato Motocross Championships series in December, this time opting to also race a 250cc version of his four-stroke Kawasaki and this time he comfortably won both the MX1 and MX2 categories.

That’s a mighty impressive build-up to the 2023 senior New Zealand Motocross Championships and he completed his mission at the weekend, winning the national MX2 class title with a race to spare at the final round in Taupo on Sunday.

He actually tackled the MX1 class as well, but Cooper was forced here to settle for the third step on the podium, beaten to the chequered flag in that class by Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis and Auckland’s Hamish Harwood.

The vastly-experienced Cooper was one of only three riders brave enough to enter more than one class this season – with Harwood and Auckland-based former Taihape man Hayden Smith the other two riders to do so – and Cooper was a strong contender in the MX1 class throughout the series.

“It was definitely satisfying to wrap up the MX2 title with a race to spare, because this meant I could rest, not have to line up for the final MX2 race, and save a bit of energy for the final MX1 race,” said Cooper.

He had played it smart in that penultimate race of the series.

“I had a reasonable start until everyone crashed in front of me and I got bottled up in the mess. I settled down to battle back through the field.

“I was keeping an eye on where (main MX2 class rival) Hayden Smith was and knew that, in the position he was on the track ahead of me, in third or fourth I think, I could afford to finish seventh or eighth and still seal the title.”

Cooper finished fifth and the title was his.

“I was feeling quite fatigued this weekend, especially with doing two classes and it being back-to-back racing on Saturday and Sunday. But both bikes handle like a dream and that helps immensely.”

If Cooper returns for another crack at winning the MX1 and MX titles next season, or perhaps if rising young Kawasaki stars such as Te Puke’s Flynn Watts, Pukekawa’s Tyler Brown, Palmerston North’s Luka Freemantle or Opunake woman Taylar Rampton also break through to join him at the top of a nationals podium, Kawasaki could come close to reliving the famous “Green Sweep” that the brand had celebrated back in 1984 when it scooped up the titles in every senior championship category available.

Meanwhile, Harwood wrapped up the 125cc class title on Sunday and Mount Maunganui’s Roma Edwards won the women’s championship class.

2023 New Zealand Motocross Championships:

Round one: February 12 – South Otago (at Balclutha);
Round two: February 26 – Rotorua (including women’s nationals);
Round three: March 19 – Hastings (including women’s nationals);
Round four: March 26 – Taupo (including women’s nationals).

Credit: Words by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Keep up to date with the team on Facebook and Instagram. @BridgestoneKawasakiRaceTeam

KAWASAKI’S COOPER GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH

February 27, 2023/in LATEST, LOCAL /by Admin

February 27, 2023: Bay of Plenty’s Cody Cooper is going from strength to strength with his 2023 national motocross championships campaign.

Nobody would call him a greedy man, but the 39-year-old multi-time former national champion from Papamoa wants to keep adding to his bulging trophy cabinet and there’s no reason to suggest he might not even collect a couple more pieces of silverware before the year is out.

The Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team rider has been busy over the past few months, starting with his win in the premier MX1 class at the MX Fest extravaganza at Taupo’s 2022-23 season opener in late October.

He backed that up by easily winning his men’s 35-39 year’s class at the 2022 New Zealand Veterans’ and Women’s Motocross Championships near Cambridge just a week later.

Cooper then dominated the Waikato Motocross Championships series in December, this time opting to also race a 250cc version of his four-stroke Kawasaki and this time he comfortably won both the MX1 and MX2 categories.

That’s a mighty impressive build-up to the 2023 New Zealand Senior Motocross Championships and now, halfway through that series, he finds himself running away with the MX2 title and within strike range of clinching the MX1 class title as well.

The second round of four in the nationals was held at Horohoro, just south of Rotorua on Sunday and there he went on the charge again with his Kawasaki KX250.

He won two out of his three MX2 (250cc) races and finished third in the other at Horohoro on Sunday and, added to his hat-trick of wins at the series opener at Balclutha, in Southland, two weeks earlier, he has further enhanced his position at the top of the standings.

With five wins from six starts thus far, he is now 25 points clear of his nearest challenger, Oparau’s James Scott, with just two rounds at Taupo remaining, and this means – with 25 points on offer for a race win – he already has a full race up his sleeve.

The former national MX1 champion took his Kawasaki KX450 to line up also in MX1 class at Horohoro on Sunday and was back into familiar territory when he won the opening race of the day.

It was his first MX1 class race win of the series but, added to his solid podium finish in this class at Balclutha, he has moved up to now be just two points shy of the overall runner-up spot.

Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis leads the MX1 class by 10 points from Aucklander Hamish Harwood, with Cooper, figuratively speaking, nipping at Harwood’s rear wheel.

“I have the speed to win in both classes, but I am suffering a little bit with fatigue. Doing two classes is hard, although it does mean I’m fresh with knowledge about the how the track is changing between races. There are pluses and minuses with this.

“I always wanted to do two classes and I’m really loving the 250 bike, so I’m glad I’m riding it.

“I’ve got a month now before the final two rounds at Taupo, so I’ve got a bit of time to work more on my body, getting fitter.

“I feel I have made some great steps forward since my racing at Balclutha and I love the track at Taupo, so I’m feeling quite positive. My starts let me down a bit today, but I always seem to start well at Taupo, so that has me feeling positive too.”

Cooper, his fellow Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team riders and all the other title hopefuls are preparing now for the final phase of the nationals, a tough two days back-to-back in Taupo, round three of the series on Saturday, March 25, and the fourth and final round on the same turf the following day.

2023 New Zealand Motocross Championships:

Round one: February 12 – South Otago (at Balclutha);
Round two: February 26 – Rotorua (including women’s nationals);
Round three: March 19 – Hastings (including women’s nationals);
Round four: March 26 – Taupo (including women’s nationals).

Credit: Words by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Keep up to date with the team on Facebook and Instagram. @BridgestoneKawasakiRaceTeam

KAWASAKI’S CODY COOPER IN A CLASS ALL OF HIS OWN

February 14, 2023/in LATEST, LOCAL /by Admin

February 13, 2023: He is 39 years old and has a trophy cabinet that’s fit to burst, but Bay of Plenty’s Cody Cooper isn’t ready for the smoking pipe, slippers and retirement home option just yet.

The Kawasaki hero from Papamoa reckons he still has work to do and one of his tasks is to grab another national title, or possibly two, in this year’s senior New Zealand Motocross Championships.

The opening round of the Aon Insurance, Pirelli tyres and Fox apparel-sponsored series at Balclutha, in Southland, on Sunday was really the first major race on the 2023 calendar and the Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team rider was naturally eager to get out on the race track again.

Cooper had won the premier MX1 class at the MX Fest extravaganza in Taupo in late October and then went on to easily win his men’s 35-39 year’s class at the 2022 New Zealand Veterans’ and Women’s Motocross Championships near Cambridge a week later.

He then dominated the Waikato Motocross Championships series in December, this time opting to also race a 250cc version of his four-stroke Kawasaki and this time he comfortably won both the MX1 and MX2 categories.

With an impressive 2023 season build-up like that, his rivals might well have been worried and, if not worried, they should at least have been respectful.

Cooper certainly earned that respect at Balclutha on Sunday, eclipsing the entire field as he dominated the talent-laden MX2 class.

With three wins from three starts in the MX2 class, Cooper set a benchmark that will be hard to beat and, because of uncertainty regarding results behind him – with full results officially listed only as “pending” – he doesn’t really know who might be his main threat at the three remaining rounds of the series.

In addition to blitzing the MX2 class on Sunday, Cooper also finished the day third overall in the MX1 class, behind defending national MX1 champion Hamish Harwood and Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis.

“I’m pretty happy with that … I can’t complain,” said Cooper afterwards.

“I feel I need to work on some areas of my riding, but my starts were very good. I think I holeshot every race or at least in front by the time we were all heading to the second corner.

“I love the 250 because it’s more flexible, more supple. With the 450, I think it had too much power for this track, a little bit too much for me actually. We made a few changes to the 450 suspension and it was better after that.

“I can’t remember when I last raced a 250cc bike at the nationals … it was ages ago. I’m loving the smaller bike. It’s a stock bike and so much fun to ride.

“I might want to take a look at my hydration and diet in general, with me racing two classes it’s really tough. I’m happy with the speed, handling and reliability of the bikes … it’s just my body that needs some work,” he laughed.

The next round in the series is set for two weeks’ time on the outskirts of Rotorua (on February 26), followed by racing at Fernhill, near Hastings, on March 19 and, finally, at Taupo, on March 26.

The 2023 senior women’s motocross nationals will share the programme for the North Island rounds, enhancing even more the scale and importance of the racing this season.

It will be the first time that the senior women’s nationals will run in tandem with the corresponding men’s competition.

2023 New Zealand Motocross Championships:

Round one: February 12 – South Otago (at Balclutha);
Round two: February 26 – Rotorua (including women’s nationals);
Round three: March 19 – Hastings (including women’s nationals);
Round four: March 26 – Taupo (including women’s nationals).

Credit: Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Keep up to date with the team on Facebook and Instagram. @BridgestoneKawasakiRaceTeam

KAWASAKI HERO DOMINATES AT WAIKATO CHAMPIONSHIPS

December 5, 2022/in LATEST, LOCAL /by Admin

DECEMBER 5, 2022: Like a fine wine, Bay of Plenty motocross star Cody Cooper just seems to keep getting better with age.

Though considered a veteran in this traditionally young man’s pursuit, the Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team rider from Papamoa once again proved he’s still at the pinnacle of the sport and his rivals for the upcoming New Zealand Motocross Championships series will possibly need to lift their game just to be able to stick with the 39-year-old.

The multi-time former national MX1 champion dominated the elite MX1 class at first of two rounds in this year’s Waikato Motocross Championships near Huntly last month and then dealt up another solid performance at the final round near Te Kuiti on Sunday.

Current national MX1 champion Hamish Harwood (KTM), from West Auckland, actually won the day at Kuiti, but Cooper won the war, clinching the series honours outright.

Injuries meant Harwood had been a no-show at round one of this series last month, but his 1-2-1 score-card from his three MX1 class races at Te Kuiti on Sunday will obviously make him a threat to Cooper in the nationals in the New Year, although Cooper was downplaying that.

“With the duration of each race on Sunday of 18 minutes plus one lap, it gave me a chance to see where I am sitting fitness-wise. I have not been doing much endurance training lately, so overall I was pretty happy with how I performed. I’ll be doing a lot more riding over the next couple of months and I’ll only get better.”

With three wins, two runner-up finishes and a fourth placing from six starts in the two-event series, Cooper was easily the most dominant rider in the MX1 class throughout the series and comfortably wrapped up the title overall.

To further underscore Cooper’s strength, speed and power, the Kawasaki rider took a 250cc version of his bike to also win the series outright in the MX2 class.

Cooper scored three wins and three runner-up finishes in the MX2 class.

“The 250 was pretty good for standard suspension and engine and so forth. It’s impressive straight out of the packing crate. I’m loving these bikes,” said Cooper.

“I’m blown away by the 250 actually. It’s a stock standard machine and performs like a works bike.”

Cooper has won the MX1 class at the season-opening MX Fest extravaganza in Taupo in October and then went on to race at the New Zealand Veterans’ and Women’s Motocross Championships near Cambridge a week later. It was no surprise that he comfortably won the veteran men’s 35-39 years’ class at that event.

All of this must be ringing a few alarm bells for his rivals as Cooper seriously considers racing both the MX1 and MX2 classes at the four-round senior New Zealand Motocross Championships starting in Balclutha in February.

“By racing in two classes I was pretty tired at the end of the day at Te Kuiti, but I’ll be working hard on improving my fitness in the coming weeks,” Cooper warned.

In addition to the four-round nationals in February and March, Cooper will turn up to race his Kawasaki bikes at the big annual Whakatane Summercross just after Christmas, followed by the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville (in late January).

Other class winners at the Waikato Motocross Championships at Te Kuiti were Auckland’s Hamish Harwood (KTM, MX125); Mount Maunganui’s Roma Edwards (Honda, senior women); Titirangi’s Ryan Buxeda (KTM, veterans’ 35-44 years); Te Awamutu’s Bryce McDougall (Honda, veterans’ over-45 years); Buxeda (MX3); Te Kuiti’s Luke Riley (GasGas, junior support 85/150cc).

Credit: Words by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Keep up to date with the team on Facebook and Instagram. @BridgestoneKawasakiRaceTeam

KAWASAKI HERO DOMINATES AT WAIKATO CHAMPIONSHIPS

November 7, 2022/in LATEST, LOCAL /by Admin

7 November 2022

If it’s true that there’s no rest for the wicked, then Bay of plenty’s Cody Cooper must be a very bad boy indeed. And bad can mean very good in this sport.

The Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team rider from Papamoa won the premier MX1 class at the season-opening MX Fest extravaganza in Taupo two weeks ago, a feat that belies his “senior citizen” status in the sport as he beat all the rising young stars half his age.

The 39-year-old Cooper then went on to race at the New Zealand Veterans’ and Women’s Motocross Championships near Cambridge a week later. It was no surprise that he comfortably won the veteran men’s 35-39 years’ class.

With barely time to wash and refuel his distinctive green Kawasaki KX450 – and now with a 250cc version of the bike also locked in the back of his trailer – Cooper showed up at the first of two rounds for this year’s Waikato Motocross Championships near Huntly on Saturday, this time prepared and willing to race in two separate bike categories.

Cooper so dominated all three MX1 (450cc) class races at Huntly on Saturday that it seemed he was already back in the pits and taking a drink while the other riders were still finishing.

Te Puke’s Tyler Steiner (Honda) ended the day runner-up in the MX1 class, coming out ahead of Cooper’s Kawasaki team-mate Micah McGoldrick in the battle for the remaining podium positions at the Kawasaki New Zealand-sponsored event.

Cooper then took his stock standard, straight-out-of-the-crate Kawasaki KX250F to win the day’s first of three MX2 (250cc) class races, catching and passing fast-starting 18-year-old Kiwi international Brodie Connolly and then pulling away to take a commanding victory.

Things turned a little sour for Cooper after that when he became caught in traffic at the start on the second MX2 race. By the time he’d clawed his way up from seventh position and into second, Yamaha rider Connolly had opened up a seven-second lead and was fast disappearing over the horizon.

Cooper knuckled down to his work and started to reel in Connolly, but, when the chequered flag came out, Cooper was still five seconds adrift and forced to accept a rare defeat.

Connolly also won the day’s third and final MX2 race and claimed the class honours, with “old man” Cooper forced to settle for overall runner-up, with fellow Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team rider Jared Hannon, from Cambridge, completing the MX2 podium.

So, you could say it has been a busy three weeks for Cooper, but he’s showing no signs of slowing down, with a slew of major events still to come on his calendar.

“I feel pretty good actually,” he said, also not ruling out the possibility of also racing both the MX1 and MX2 classes at the 2023 nationals in February and March.

“I haven’t been getting the starts with the 250 and I’m still trying to work out a few things. I wanted to do two classes here (at Huntly) just as a test for my fitness.

“The 250 was pretty good for standard suspension and engine, etc. I’m loving these bikes.

“Coming up I’ve got the Auckland Motocross Championships (on November 19-20), then the second round of the Waikato Champs, then the Whakatane Summercross (in late December), followed by the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville (in late January) and then the four-round nationals after that.”

Other class winners on Saturday were New Plymouth’s Rian King (MX125); Otorohanga’s Zara Gray (senior women); Raetihi’s Karaitiana Horne (junior women); Levin’s Phoenix Van Dusschoten (junior 14-16 years’ 250cc); New Plymouth’s Rian King (junior 15-16 years’ 125); Karaka’s Hayden Draper (junior 12-14 years 125); Draper (junior 13-16 years’ 85cc); New Plymouth’s Travis Taylor (junior 11-12 years’ 85cc); Taupo’s Connor Feather (junior 8-10 years’ 85cc); Feather (Pro 65cc); Titirangi’s Ryan Buxeda (veterans’ 35-44 years); Waiuku’s Wayne Cheetham (veterans’ over-45 years); Waitara’s Kurtis Gooch (MX3).

Credit: Words by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Keep up to date with the team on Facebook and Instagram. @BridgestoneKawasakiRaceTeam

KAWASAKI’S COOPER SENDS WARNING MESSAGE TO RIVALS

October 25, 2022/in LATEST, LOCAL /by Admin

25 October 2022

The 2022-23 New Zealand motocross season could not have kicked off much better for Bay of Plenty racer Cody Cooper.

The just-turned 39-year-old showed that age is no barrier to performing at the top level if you’ve got a winning machine underneath you and a superb crew to back you up.

The Papamoa rider, a multi-time New Zealand motocross champion, took his Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team KX450 to win the premier MX1 class at the big annual MX Fest event at the Digger McEwen Motorcycle Park, on the outskirts of Taupo, over Labour Weekend.

It wasn’t easy, but Cooper dug deep to win the races that mattered, snatching the class overall from arch rival Maximus Purvis, beating the Mangakino rider with a stylish win in what became the deciding seventh and final race for them on Sunday.

Cooper’s eventual two-point winning margin over Purvis gives the Kawasaki rider a massive boost in confidence with a jam-packed season of racing now ahead of him, although Cooper never doubted his own ability and always had faith in the depth and strength of support coming from his experienced team management and pit crew.

Cooper’s team-mate in the Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team, Rangiora’s Micah McGoldrick, also impressed by finishing fourth overall in the MX1 class, behind Cooper, Purvis and Te Puke’s Tyler Steiner.

International Six Days Enduro gold medallist Josh Jack, from Helensville, rounded out the top five in this class, further illustrating the international class of this MX1 field.

These results may offer a clue to which individuals might be battling for the silverware at the big annual New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville in late January or when the nationals kick off in the South Island in February.

“It’s a great way to start the season. I had no problems physically and this is after having done the least ever amount of pre-season training,” Cooper said.

“I guess everyone else is the same boat, with having their routines disrupted by the pandemic, but I felt the best I ever have at this event. It’s true I had strung together a series of better race starts at this event in the past, so I do have some work still to do, but I got the starts nailed that I needed to today.

“Max (Purvis) is riding well, you know, and so I feel it might have been a little bit unexpected for me to win here today. He was like about four seconds a lap faster than me in practice. Maybe my experience gave me an edge where I needed it.

“I’m very happy with the bike and really gelling with it. Everything is dialled in to the way I like it. Just got to test a few minor things now.

“I’m looking ahead to the Waikato Motocross Champs in November and I’m actually racing the New Zealand Veterans’ Motocross Championships near Cambridge next weekend too,” said Cooper, that statement further emphasising just how remarkable was this “old man’s” achievement in winning at Taupo against all the rising young stars of the sport.

Credit: Words by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Keep up to date with the team on Facebook and Instagram. @BridgesoneKawasakiRaceTeam