Mount Maunganui’s Cooper has won the premier
MX1 class Woodville on several memorable
occasions, although the past three years have
seen Australian visitors win the event’s namesake
feature trophy – Kirk Gibbs taking it in 2015 and
Dean Ferris in 2016 and 2017 – and that’s something
that Cooper aims to rectify this time around.
For each of the past five years, Cooper has
moved on after Woodville to win the national
MX1 crown and he has plans again to do that
again this year, the four-round 2018 New Zealand
Motocross Championships kicking off in Taranaki
just a week after Woodville, on February 4.
But standing in Cooper’s way again this
time around will be former Woodville
winner and former Australian national MX1
champion Gibbs (KTM), along with a slew
of other extremely talented individuals.
Cooper can also expect strong challenges
at Woodville from his own Honda team-mate
John Phillips, of Rotorua, and from fellow Kiwi
internationals such as Mangakino’s Kayne
Lamont (Yamaha), Mount Maunganui’s Rhys
Carter (Kawasaki), Takapuna’s Hamish Harwood
(KTM) and Reporoa’s Hadleigh Knight (KTM).
Australian strength will also be seen in the
smaller bike classes, with Jay Wilson (Yamaha),
Mason Semmens (KTM), Bailey Malkiewicz
(Yamaha), Tyler Darby (Honda) and Australian
national women’s champion Maddie Brown
KIWI RIDER 15