Cooper slipped to 2nd place
in the 2018 MX1 champs
(on an Altherm JCR Racing Team
Yamaha) won the MX2 title in
2015.
To be fair, the 29-year-old Gibbs
wasn’t even born when Leisk and
Dack reigned supreme, but the
winning exploits of these elder
Australians are legendary and
surely a part of Aussie motocross
folklore. The examples of Leisk,
Dack and Wilson aside, Gibbs is
actually no stranger himself to
winning in New Zealand, having
won major silverware on his previ-
ous visit to New Zealand in 2015,
collecting the NZ GP title at the
Woodville motocross that year, but
this latest victory was even more
special.
When the Gold Coast rider
arrived at the Taupo circuit he was
on top of the standings and six
points clear of his nearest chal-
lenger, 24-year-old Waikato rider
Kayne Lamont (Yamaha). Lamont
had led the series after rounds
one and two but lost his grip at a
muddy round three near Hastings
the previous week, on that day
allowing a consistent Gibbs to
grab the series lead. Gibbs had
finished with a 2-2-2 score-card at
Hastings, turning a nine-point
deficit into the six-point advan-
tage. Gibbs therefore knew he
simply needed to keep a cool
head and stay consistent to keep
Lamont at bay at Taupo’s final
showdown.
But it all went horribly wrong for
former national MX2 champion
Lamont on Saturday, with a suc-
cession of crashes ruining his
fight-back hopes. It was actually
defending national MX1 champi-
on Cody Cooper (Honda Racing
Team), from Mount Maunganui,
who came on strongest at Taupo,
winning the day and propelling
himself up from third overall, past
Lamont took 3rd in MX1
Purvis took out the
National 125cc title
KIWI RIDER 77