FIRST SHOTS FIRED AT MOTOC
The first shots have been fired and the guns are still smoking hot. There were comprehensive winners in all three championship classes, and the Women’ s Cup competition too, at the opening round of this season’ s New Zealand Motocross Championships in Taranaki on February 4, but none of these riders should feel safe and secure just yet. With three rounds still to come, anything can still happen. The defending national MX1 champion, 34-yearold Mount Maunganui man Cody Cooper( Honda), became acutely aware that the young brigade may be catching him up as he struggled all day at Taranaki with a man 10 years his junior, Hamilton-based former Mangakino rider Kayne Lamont( Yamaha).
The 24-year-old Lamont won all three MX1 class races and looked quite comfortable doing so, in the process establishing a solid 15-point lead over Cooper at the top of the series standings. However, there was more to it than just the polished form of the young challenger, with Cooper indicating that he was struggling to come to grips with his suspension settings, issues that perhaps led to his big crash in the day’ s final MX1 race. Cooper was spat off his bike while leading the race and he was forced to settle for fifth place at the finish, albeit still enough for him to finish the day overall runner-up in the class. Third best rider in the premier MX1 class was visiting Australian Kirk Gibbs( KTM), his 4-3-2 score-card over the three races perhaps no real
Maximus Purvis Brad Groombridge
Cody Cooper
RESULTS: MX1 1 Kayne Lamont( Hamilton, Yamaha) 75 Points 2 Cody Cooper( Mount Maunganui, Honda) 60 Points 3 Kirk Gibbs( Australia, KTM) 60 Points 4 John Phillips( Rotorua, Honda) 52 Points 5 Rhys Carter( Mount Maunganui, Kawasaki) 49 Points 6 Hamish Harwood( Auckland, KTM) 44 Points 7 Brad Groombridge( Taupo, Suzuki) 39 Points 8 Campbell King( Dunedin, KTM) 38 Points 9 Cohen Chase( Taupo, KTM) 37 Points 10 Jared Guthrie( Nelson, Yamaha) 35 Points
MX2 1 Hamish Harwood( Auckland, KTM) 75 Points 2 Brad Groombridge( Taupo, Suzuki) 60 Points 3 Jay Wilson( Australia, Yamaha) 55 Points 4 Hayden Smith( Taihape, KTM) 53 Points 5 Daryl Hurley( Hawera, Suzuki) 46 Points 6 Micah McGoldrick( Tauranga, Honda) 43 Points 7 Trent Collins( Ohaupo, Honda) 42 Points 8 Logan Blackburn( Te Puke, Kawasaki) 39 Points 9 Cooper Pozniak( Australia, Husqvarna) 38 Point 10 Mason Wilkie( Masterton, Yamaha) 38 Points
125 1 Maximus Purvis( Mangakino, Yamah 2 Mason Semmens( Australia, KTM) 6 3 Seton Head( Cambridge, KTM) 52 Po 4 Joshua Bourke-Palmer( Rotorua, Ya 5 Jacob Beal( Napier, Yamaha) 45 Poi 6 Broc Martens( Auckland, KTM) 45 P 7 Grason Veitch( Dunedin, KTM) 41 Po 8 Liam Kerr( Nelson, Yamaha) 36 Poin 9 Zak Hetherington( Okato, TM) 30 Po 10 Tommy Watts( Wairoa, Husqvarna)
14 KIWI RIDER