It was a testing time for Mount Maunganui ’ s Cody Cooper ( Kawasaki ) in the MX1 class , but 3-2-2 results were a superb outcome for his first competitive outing on the Kawasaki
West Auckland rider Hamish Harwood has the No . 1 emblazoned on the front and sides of his bright orange KTM bike and the much-coveted digit is there for a reason . The 26-year-old , who recently became a dad , is still New Zealand ’ s pre-eminent motocross racer after he convincingly aced the premier MX1 class at the OtoroHonda KC Hondasponsored Waikato Motocross Championships in late February , taking his CML KTM Racing Team SXF450 to a hat-trick of wins . The event had to be rescheduled twice , once because of the pandemic and then after that because of inclement weather , so news that it would finally be run on February 19 was greeted with jubilation by the Kiwi motocross community . With the COVID-19 pandemic causing all sorts of problems nationwide , the fact that the host
North King Country Motorcycle Club had the courage and determination to continue with plans and finally go ahead and run this popular event was exciting news indeed . And the riders responded brilliantly , with a nationals-level field of competitors swarming to the popular circuit just outside Te Kuiti . It was a Who ’ s Who of Kiwi motocross talent that arrived for the one-day spectacle , with such “ big names ” as Josiah Natzke , Cody Cooper , Maximus Purvis , James Scott , Brodie Connolly , Micah McGoldrick , Richard Horne , Hayden Smith , brothers Curtis and Rian King , Cole Davies , Jared Hannon , Josh Jack , Flynn Watts , Jack Symon , Roma Edwards and Kimberley Chetham , for example , all keen to shake out a few cobwebs . And the best of the bunch was Harwood , who not only celebrated a clean-sweep of wins in the big-bike MX1 class , but he also “ double
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