KIWI RIDER 03 2019 VOL.2 | Page 24

2019 NZ MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIPS COOPER SNATCHES BACK THE MOTOCROSS ADVANTAGE T he Honda man from Mount Maunganui grabbed the lead in the premier MX1 class at the opening round of four in the 2019 New Zealand Motocross Championships near New Plymouth on February 3, but then had to weather an attack from his key rival, visiting Australian Kirk Gibbs (Altherm 24 KIWI RIDER JCR Yamaha YZ450F), at round two near Rotorua a fortnight later. These two men arrived at Pukekohe’s round three on February 24 level at the top of the points table and difficult to separate on the race track too, the two men having swapped first and second position in every one of the series’ MX1