COOPER
he 35-year-old Kiwi motocross
international finished with a ranking of
No.11 in the United States this season,
but that obviously translates into No.1
in New Zealand.
Cooper took his Honda CRF450R to easily
dominate racing in the premier MX1 class
at the 47th annual edition of the Honda
Summercross event at Matata, near
Whakatane, on December 30.
The multi-time former New Zealand No.1
finished with an impressive 1-1-1-2-1
score-card over his five MX1 races at the
event, while his nearest rival, fellow Mount
Maunganui rider Rhys Carter (Yamaha)
managed 2-2-2-1-2 results.
Third best on the day in the MX1 class was
Motueka’s former Grand Prix motocross star
Josh Coppins (Yamaha), while Taupo’s Cohen
Chase (Kawasaki) and Reporoa’s Hadleigh
Knight (Yamaha) rounded out the top five.
This win earned former Opotiki man Cooper
his fifth Summercross victory overall and his
fourth in a row at the popular annual Bay of
Plenty event.
“I did the right things in the past two
months coming into this event. My training
has been good and my heart rate was good
today,” said Cooper.
“I wasn’t necessarily pushing 100 percent,
but I don’t think anyone could around here.
It was pretty sketchy in places.
“I have been training hard since the Waikato
Motocross Champs (in November), running,
cycling and mountain-biking, but the main
thing is the changes we’ve made with the
suspension. I could stand up today where I
wanted and put the bike where I wanted and
feel comfortable doing it.”
KIWI RIDER 101