Cooper Signs Off With Suzuki
Last ride at MXoN
The upcoming Motocross of Nations event in Germany could be the last time Kiwi fans will get to see national MX1 champion Cody Cooper astride the awesome Suzuki RM-Z450 bike.
After an extremely positive and productive career with the popular yellow brand, Mount Maunganui’s Cooper has announced that he will be moving on and will be racing in different colours – with no brand yet specified – when the New Zealand Motocross Championships kick off in the New Year.
Cooper has enjoyed phenomenal success with Suzuki over the past few years, perhaps the most significant being when he won the national MX1 title twice, in 2011 and again this season.
Cooper finished a very creditable eighth overall in the 2009 AMA Motocross Championships in the United States, but it was his superb fifth overall in that series in 2008, when he rode a Suzuki, that perhaps shines out as his crowning glory in a career that is simply glowing with accolades.
He raced a privateer Suzuki RM-Z450 in that glorious 2008 season, sensationally taking his Suzuki to win the MX3 class qualifying race at the Motocross of Nations near Birmingham that year, and the following season he signed on to race for the Suzuki factory team back home.
In addition to his two national MX1 titles, Cooper three times consecutively won the annual Tarawera 100 cross-country endurance race near Kawerau, riding his RM-Z450 to take the trophy for outright victory in 2010, 2011 and again last season. Commitments to racing in Australia this season prevented him from extending that win-streak to four.
Riding for the Motul Pirelli Suzuki Team, Cooper finished fourth overall in the Australian Motocross Championships this year.
Suzuki New Zealand’s general manager of motorcycle and ATV marketing, Simon Meade, said Cooper’s leaving was “on very friendly terms”.
“We wish him the best with his future endeavours. He has been a great ambassador for Suzuki and for motorcycling in general.
“Suzuki will now be looking for a different team set-up. We will also be putting a lot more into the grass roots of the sport, offering training and assistance at the track on race days too.”
Cooper’s final ride for the Suzuki brand will be at the Motocross of Nations, near Leipzig, in the former East Germany, on September 29, where he will front up as the MX3 class rider in the three-man Team New Zealand assault.
This event is promoted as the “Olympic Games of motocross” and typically attracts three-rider teams from more than 40 countries. New Zealand has been on the podium at this major international event on three occasions, with Cooper one of the squad when New Zealand finished third in 2006.
For further information contact Simon Meade, General Manager of Motorcycle / ATV Marketing, [email protected].
Words and photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com