Motocross

Cody Cooper Consolidates Points Lead At Rotorua, Aussie Duo Dominate MX2

Author: Aaryn Minerds

Posted:

Sunday, March 8th, 2015

6:40 PM

Reigning New Zealand Motocross champion Cody Cooper as edged ever closer to capturing the 2015 title with another round win at the third round of the series held at Rotorua today.

While it was the Honda Shop pilot who claimed the overall round win, it was Australian KTM Motocross team's Kirk Gibbs who fired the first shot of the day, setting the fastest lap in qualifying with a 02:00.857 lap time, just over two tenths of a second faster than Cooper.

Gibbs continued to set the pace in the opening moto, claiming the win from former world MX2 champion Ben Townley who made an appearance for the round with Cooper crossing the line in third ahead of John Phillips and Rhys Carter.

Cooper made his move in the final two moto's of the day, winning both races, the first from Australian KTM Factory rider Luke Styke with Townley in third and moto three ahead of another Australian in the form of CDR Yamaha's Kade Mosig with Brad Groombridge rounding out the top three.

The final two moto wins were enough for Cooper to take the round win ahead of Gibbs who managed a pair of fourth place finishes in the final two races, with Townley rounding out the podium for the day.

For the second straight round Jay Wilson was untouchable winning all three moto's - Credit: Andy McGechan (File round two)

In the MX2 class is was Australian Jay Wilson who all but sealed the 2015 New Zealand championship with his second straight clean sweep.

The Altherm JCR Yamaha racer won all three races on his way to another dominating round win and will now head into the final round with a 27 point lead over Hamish Harwood.

Geran Stapleton who is racing for the Penrite Honda Wilson Racing Jet Pilot outfit in Australia for 2015 made his first appearance in New Zealand for the season, filling in for the injured Michale Phillips. Stapleton made the most of the opportunity and raced to 2-5-2 race results for the day to finish second overall..

Harwood had a consistent day out, carding a pair of third place moto results in the opening two moto's with a fourth place finish in the final race to round out the podium for the round.

The fourth and final round of the 2015 New Zealand Motocross Championships heads to Pukekohe onf the 15th of March.

MX1 Round Results:
1. Cody Cooper - 70 Pts
2. Kirk Gibbs - 61 Pts
3. Ben Townley - 56 Pts
4. Kade Mosig - 52 Pts
5. Rhys Carter - 48 Pts
6. Luke Styke - 47 Pts
7. John Phillips - 47 Pts
8. Brad Groombridge - 45 Pts
9. Ethan Martens - 35 Pts
10. Cameron Vaughan - 30 Pts

MX1 Championship Standings After Round 3 of 4:
1. Cody Cooper - 194 Pts
2. Kirk Gibbs - 175 Pts
3. John Phillips - 168 Pts
4. Kade Mosig - 153 Pts
5. Brad Groombridge - 138 Pts
6. Ethan Martens - 123 Pts
7. Scott Columb - 121 Pts
8. Luke Styke - 117 Pts
9. Rhys Carter - 114 Pts
10. Jesse Donnelly - 75 Pts

MX2 Round Results:
1. Jay Wilson - 75 Pts
2. Geran Stapleton - 60 Pts
3. Hamish Harwood - 58 Pts
4. Micah McGoldrick - 52 Pts
5. Hadleigh Knight - 51 Pts
6. Scotty Canham - 43 Pts
7. Joel Meikle - 37 Pts
8. Kieran Scheele - 37 Pts
9. Cam Dillon - 32 Pts
10. Aaron Wiltshier - 31 Pts

MX2 Championship Standings After Round 3 of 4:
1. Jay Wilson - 215 Pts
2. Hamish Harwood - 178 Pts
3. Micah McGoldrick - 157 Pts
4. Scotty Canham - 128 Pts
5. Hadleigh Knight - 124 Pts
6. Logan Blackburn - 103 Pts
7. Kieran Scheele - 101 Pts
8. Cam Dillon - 97 Pts
9. Joel Meikle - 94 Pts
10. Nick Saunders - 85 Pts

For Full Results From Round 3 - CLICK HERE

Top Image: Cody Cooper holds a handy MX1 points lead heading into the final round

Credit: Mad Max Photography via MXlink.co.nz (File from round 2)