The first salvos have been fired in the battle for national supercross honours in 2012.

Last year’s No.3 man in the open class, Mount Maunganui’s Cody Cooper, obviously has high intentions of grabbing the No.1 plate this season – something to match his national motocross status – as he dominated the opening round of action in Timaru overnight.

Cooper (Moto City Suzuki RM-Z450) finished 1-2-1 in his three open class races, to finish the evening three points clear of his nearest challenger, Christchurch’s Justin McDonald (Honda).

McDonald finished 2-1-2, while Taupo’s Brad Groombridge (Huka Honda) rounded out the podium with a hat-trick of third-place finishes.

“It was a pretty hard night actually. I have a bit of the flu and lacked in energy,” said the 28-year-old.

“The track was dodgy too … wet in some places and dry and dusty in others … but I’m looking forward to Motueka this weekend.”

In the senior lites (250cc) class, Queenstown’s Scott Columb (Suzuki) was similarly dominant, finishing 2-1-1 on the night.

Visiting Australian Geran Stapleton (Honda) took the second spot on the podium with Cooper’s Moto City Suzuki team-mate, fellow Mount Maunganui riders Rhys Carter, finishing third overall.

It was two young men named Josh at the top of the junior 250cc class with Timaru’s Josh May (Honda) scoring a hat-trick of wins, finishing the event comfortably ahead of Wellington’s Josh Bartosh (Honda).

Hamilton’s Josiah Natzke surprised nobody by winning all three junior lites (85cc) races. He leads Southland’s Kyle Hartley by 11 points.

Sponsored by the Backflips clothing company, this year’s championship comprises just three rounds of racing, imposing incredible pressure for the riders to be consistent.

One slip-up will prove costly in the overall analysis and the early points leaders know they can take nothing for granted.

The series next heads to Motueka’s popular Rat Track for round two this Sunday, with the third and final round set for Taupo a week later, on January 14.

© Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com