MIRACLE OR DISASTER? | Bikesportnz

It will now take a small miracle or a minor disaster, depending upon your point of view, for the balance of power to be upset in this season’s New Zealand Motocross Championships.

Mount Maunganui’s Cody Cooper (Honda) has a firm grip on the MX1 crown for 2015, set to make it three national MX1 titles in a row; Australian Jay Wilson (Yamaha) has one hand already on the MX2 title and Hamilton’s Josiah Natzke (KTM) virtually has the national 125cc title in the bag for a second consecutive season.

The fourth and final round of the JT Racing-sponsored series is set for Harrisville, on the outskirts of Pukekohe, this Sunday and the pressure is mostly off for class leaders Cooper, Wilson and Natzke.

Defending MX1 class champion Cooper leads the class by 19 points from Australian KTM rider Kirk Gibbs, with Rotorua’s John Phillips (Honda) just seven points further back.

Wilson tops the MX2 class by a massive 37 points from Takaka’s Hamish Harwood (KTM), with Amberley’s Micah McGoldrick (Honda) another 21 points further back.

Defending 125cc class champion Natzke enjoys a 37-point advantage, over Ngatea’s Ben Broad (KTM), while Taupo’s Cohen Chase (Yamaha) is breathing down Broad’s neck, just one point behind.

So, with No.1 positions perhaps already determined, the focus may therefore be on which riders fill out the rest of the three championship class podiums.

Racing has been tight throughout the series and any of the riders in the top 10 could force their way onto a podium step on Sunday afternoon.

One contender who may have a more difficult time than most is multi-talented Howick rider Liam Draper.

The Husqvarna rider, also a leading national Moto Trials exponent, is running among the top three in the parallel New Zealand Enduro Championships and he will contest round three of that series near Wellington on Saturday, before travelling back overnight to be on the start gate at the motocross on Sunday.

The 18-year-old’s fitness and skill can’t be questioned, but the rigors or racing the enduro, added to the trip north, may test him to the limit.

Draper is currently sixth overall in the 125cc class at the motocross nationals, 27 points behind Pukekohe’s Kurtis Lilly (Husqvarna).

At the conclusion of Sunday’s racing, many of the leading riders will head off-shore to tackle various international competitions.

Cooper and Wilson, for example, will next race their respective classes at the Australian Motocross Championships, which kick off at Horsham, in Victoria, on March 29, while Natzke heads to Europe to race the EMX 125 European Championships, starting at Trentino, in Italy, on April 19.

JT Racing NZ Motocross Championship (after 3 of 4 rounds):

MX1 (450cc) class:

1. Cody Cooper (Mount Maunganui) Honda, 194 points; 2. Kirk Gibbs (Australia) KTM, 175; 3. John Phillips (Rotorua) Honda, 168; 4. Kade Mosig (Australia) Yamaha, 153; 5. Brad Groombridge (Taupo) Suzuki, 138; 6. Ethan Martens (Auckland) Yamaha, 123.

MX2 (250cc) class:

1. Jay Wilson (Australia) Yamaha, 215 points; 2. Hamish Harwood (Takaka) KTM, 178; 3. Micah McGoldrick (Amberley) Honda, 157; 4. Scotty Canham (Rotorua) Kawasaki, 128; 5. Hadleigh Knight (Atiamuri) Husqvarna, 124; 6. Logan Blackburn (Te Puke) Suzuki, 103.

125cc 2-stroke class:

1. Josiah Natzke (Hamilton) KTM, 213; 2. Benjamin Broad (Ngatea) KTM, 176; 3. Cohen Chase (Taupo) Yamaha, 175; 4. Courtney Duncan (Palmerston, Otago) Yamaha, 159; 5. Kurtis Lilly (Pukekohe) Husqvarna, 152; 6. Liam Draper (Auckland) Husqvarna, 125.

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