SUZUKI WINS NEW ZEALAND MX TITLE


Team Suzuki Press Office – April 3.

Team Suzuki’s Cody Cooper clinched the New Zealand Motocross title at Sunday’s fourth and final round at Taupo.

The 29-year-old Speed Shop-prepared Moto City Suzuki RM-Z450 rider won all three races to regain the crown he last held in 2011 ahead of Scottish former Grand Prix star Billy MacKenzie and Australian Todd Waters.

New Zealand Suzuki dealer Daryl Hurley also had a strong day at the Digger McEwen Motocross Park facility on his Action Suzuki RM-Z450 to elevate himself from fifth to fourth in the final standings.

Said Cooper: "It was a tough day, but it feels great to win this title again because the competition was so tough this year with all the overseas riders coming to race."

Cooper now prepares to mount an assault on the Australian national championships, starting in just two weeks’ time and the Suzuki star’s current form indicates he'll be a contender across the Tasman.

“The work I’ve been doing with my new personal trainer and physio John Appel certainly paid off, but I still have more work to do before the Australian nationals kick off,” added Cooper.

His dominance this season has been undeniable – he won nine of the series' 12 races and finished no lower than third in the others.

MX2 class rider Ryan Marmont, making just his second guest appearance on the Action Suzuki RM-Z250, dominated the class overall with 1-2-4 results in his three MX2 outings. The 28-year-old also won the previous round of the series at Pukekohe last month but, with only half the four-round series contested, he had no chance of challenging for the title; that honour going to Scott Columb.

Said Marmont: “This trip to New Zealand is all about getting warmed-up for the Australian series. Racing here is good training for me and I’ll have a head-start on some of my rivals in Australia. I had not raced at Taupo since 2006 but the bumps and jumps were all the same ... maybe just a bit rougher. Hopefully I can come across and do the whole series next year.”

Cooper’s Moto City Suzuki team-mate in the MX2 class, Rhys Carter, was also impressive on Sunday, finishing the day runner-up to Marmont and making it a Suzuki 1-2 for the class.

Carter finished 5-3-2 at to cement third place in the championship standings and he eventually wound-up just two points shy of catching the MX2 class runner-up, visiting Australian Brock Winston.

The Moto City Suzuki team is supported by Suzuki New Zealand, Bel Ray oils, Pirelli, Renthal, The Dirt Guide, Taupo Diesel Solutions, Koromiko Engineering and BikesportNZ.com.

Words and photo by Andy McGechan @ www.bikesportnz.com



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