S everal of the nation ’ s leading riders who took the opportunity to have a play on Taranaki ’ s latest version of motocross paradise , thoroughly enjoying the experience on the weekend of January 23-24 . With the Honda New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix set for Woodville less than seven days later , it was an ideal time for key riders such as Mount Maunganui duo Cody Cooper and Josiah Natzke , Te Puke ’ s Tyler Steiner , Mangakino ’ s Maximus Purvis , Oparau ’ s James Scott , Palmerston North ’ s Luka Freemantle and Tauranga ’ s Madoc Dixon , to name just a few , to stretch their legs on the imaginatively re-shaped Barrett Road Motorcycle Park circuit . With heavy rain falling on the Taranaki track on the morning of senior competition on the Sunday , racing had initially looked an extremely daunting prospect , but , after a lengthy delay , the sun arrived , the circuit had dried out and was perfectly re-groomed by the track workers , allowing for some of the best race action ever seen on this spectacular steep and flowing moonscape . Cooper took his Honda CRF450 to dominate the premier MX1 class at the King of the Mountain ( KOTM ), finishing 2-1-1 in his three races , leading Natzke ( Kawasaki ) and Steiner ( Honda ) to the top of the podium . Meanwhile , Steiner went on to win the stand-alone King of the Mountain race late in the afternoon , making it double celebration time for the red bike brigade . Unfortunately only four riders chose to