Bay of Plenty’s Cody Cooper is back where he belongs, king of the castle in the fiercely fought national MX2 motocross class.

The defending national MX2 champion from Opotiki performed with distinction at the second round of four in this year’s New Zealand Motocross Championships at Balclutha on Sunday.

The 40-year-old multi-time national motocross champion wasted no time on getting to the front in the first two of his three MX2 class races on Sunday and won both by solid margins – winning race one by 2.1 seconds from Oparau’s James Scott and race two by 4.09 seconds from visiting Australian Caleb Ward – before settling for a runner-up finish, ending up 11.3 seconds behind race winner Ward, in his third and final outing.

Cody’s 1-1-2 results for the day were enough to see him promoted from third in the championships standings to now be on top, seven points clear of the next best rider, international rider Ward.

With the No.1 boldly emblazoned on his distinctive red GASGAS bike, new series leader Cody will also proudly display the red background design on his bike for the next round of the series in Pukekohe in three weeks’ time, something that’s entirely in keeping with the current colour scheme anyway.

Team boss Karl Brabant was highly impressed with his veteran rider.

“Cody is getting more familiar each day with the starting characteristics of the European bike and he showed that when he holeshot two of his three races on Sunday,” says Karl.

“He is loving the bike … very happy with everything about it. He was grinning from ear to ear at the end of the day in Balclutha.”

Cody is a vastly experienced rider, having represented New Zealand on an amazing 11 separate occasions at the fabled annual end-of-season Motocross of Nations event, the “Olympic Games of motocross”, and he’s made no secret of the fact he’d like to ride for his country again.

The domestic series now takes riders back north again, with Pukekohe hosting round three at Harrisville, on March 23. The fourth and final round is set for the Barrett Road facility on the outskirts of New Plymouth on April 13.

- By Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com