Cody Cooper takes out Round Six of Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals

Rockstar Mx Nationals

New Zealander and Team Rockstar Motul Suzuki rider, Cody Cooper, has won the sixth round of the 2010 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals at Wodonga on Sunday 27 June.

Meanwhile CDR Rockstar Yamaha’s Jay Marmont has retained his Series lead and now sits 16 points clear of Kawasaki Racing Team’s Billy Mackenzie.

With the thermostat dropping to minus two degrees in the early hours of the morning, riders were in for a chilly start to the round.

After struggling in the first half of the season, Cooper finally found some consistent form, stringing together a run of strong rides, however he wasn’t alone with a number of Aussie riders stepping it up a gear and putting on a spectacular show for fans at the Wodonga circuit.

Cooper was fastest in qualifying, however with Honda privateer Dean Ferris merely 0.001 of a second behind him, and four other riders all within one second, the day was shaping up to be massive.

In the first moto, Mackenzie looked to continue his strong form from previous rounds, leading for the majority of the race with Marmont, CDR Rockstar Yamaha’s Cheyne Boyd, Cooper, and Cougar Bourbon Honda Thor Racings Todd Waters all chopping and changing until the final laps of the moto.

Cooper came from seventh place at the beginning of the race, gradually picking his way through the field to catch and pass Mackenzie on the very last lap to take the win.

The Kiwi continued his strong form in the second moto, scoring the holeshot and taking command of the race ahead of JDR Motorex KTM’s Tye Simmonds and Mackenzie.

While the front runners didn’t change, Marmont was facing challenges of his own; trying to keep as many Championship points ahead of Mackenzie as possible.

At the flag, Cooper had stormed out to an eight second lead, ahead of Simmonds with Mackenzie wrapping up the moto in third.

The final moto, however, belonged to the ‘Boy from Bourke’, with Simmonds taking the lead ahead of Mackenzie and reigning Champ Marmont within the first lap.

At times it seemed Mackenzie was catching the 18 year old, however the determined rider powered on to take his first Pro Opens win since joining the class this year.

Again Mackenzie was forced to settle for second place ahead of Marmont who managed to hold onto third despite a late challenge from Cooper.

Quotes:

Cody Cooper – Round Winner

“The last few weeks have been massive for me and the team,” Cooper said.

“I’ve been over here and we’ve been working so hard to get the bike right and getting me sorted and the entire team has done an amazing job.

“We made some changes to my program as well, and I’ll even make some more changes as a result of today which will be even more positive.

“I’m pumped to be up on the top step and certainly hope to keep it this way for the rest of the Series.”

Jay Marmont – Series Leader

“I’m happy to still have the red leader plate, but to be honest I’m disappointed with my performance today and we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Marmont said.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself and I ride quite tight, which is probably why I pumped up in the first moto and made a few mistakes.

“I’ve got to go home and work harder because I want to win races; I want to win the Championship by winning races, not merely by coming second or third each time.”