It was two Suzuki riders in the top three when the mud was finally cleared away at round one of the Australian Motocross Championships on Sunday, one of them a Kiwi hero.
And the momentum was surely with Mount Maunganui’s Cody Cooper as he took his Team Rockstar Motul Suzuki RM-Z450 to win the final two muddy open class races of the day at the rain-drenched Broadford circuit, just outside Melbourne.
If he had not struck problems in the earlier two races, it could well have been New Zealand’s Cooper on the top step of the podium across the Tasman.
Instead it was Scottish visitor Billy Mackenzie who won the day, ending up a flattering 18 points ahead of Cooper, with another Suzuki rider, Australian Lawson Bopping in third spot overall.
Cooper was thrilled with his day’s work.
“Yes, I finished up second today, which is a good result for me,” said Cooper.
“Last year I had a horrible start to the season, although a first overall would have been great today.
“One of my races today was terrible, with me having no visibility and running off the track into some PVC piping and then having trouble remounting the bike and getting it going. I am happy to still manage to finish the day in second place overall.
“Those good starts helped out a lot and I want to get a few more of them this season.”
Cooper now returns home to continue his New Zealand Motocross Championships campaign, a competition in which he is currently running a close second overall to fellow Kiwi international Josh Coppins after two of four rounds.
Cooper took his team Power Balance MotoGB Suzuki RM-Z450 to win round two of that series, at Patetonga, near Morrinsville, a fortnight ago and is looking forward to renewing his battle with Coppins at round three near Rotorua this Sunday.
With the form that Cooper is exhibiting, he could finish the year with two national titles in two separate countries.