Championship Positions Consolidated

2013 Backflips Clothing NZ Motocross Championships

Championship Positions Consolidated

FEBRUARY 25, 2013: Kiwi internationals Cody Cooper and Scotty Columb have consolidated their rankings as the New Zealand Motocross Championships reached the halfway point in the Thames Valley on Sunday.

Mount Maunganui’s Cooper (Suzuki) and Queenstown’s Columb (Yamaha) are now further in front in the MX1 and MX2 classes respectively after the second of four rounds in this season’s Backflips Clothing-sponsored series at Patetonga, near Morrinsville, on Sunday.

Cooper has stretched his lead in the MX1 class out to 20 points over Scottish former Grand Prix star Billy MacKenzie (Yamaha), while Columb now enjoys a 16-point advantage over the new No.2 man in the MX2 class, Australian visitor Brock Winston (KTM).

But, in the other championship division, the 125cc class, a change at the top was always expected.

Round one winner Courtney Duncan (Yamaha) was absent on Sunday as overseas duty beckoned to her, leaving the way clear for Rotorua’s Cameron Vaughan (Yamaha) to dominate.

The 16-year-old Vaughan was second overall in the class after round one at Timaru a fortnight earlier – with an unlucky crash in one race there followed by two impressive wins – and this hinted that he truly is champion material.

And so it proved as Vaughan secured 1-1-2 results on Sunday, enough to edge out fellow Yamaha rider Logan Blackburn, of Te Puke.

The series now heads to Pukekohe on March 10 and it finally wraps up in Taupo on March 31.

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS

Leading championship standings after the second of four rounds of the New Zealand Motocross Championships at Patetonga, near Morrinsville, on Sunday:

MX1 class:
1. Cody Cooper (Mount Maunganui, Suzuki) 139 points;
2. Billy MacKenzie (Scotland, Yamaha) 119;
3. Todd Waters (KTM, Australia) 109;
4. Kirk Gibbs (KTM, Australia) 102;
5. Daryl Hurley (Suzuki, Hawera) 93.

MX2 class:
1. Scott Columb (Queenstown, Yamaha) 133;
2. Brock Winston (Australia, KTM) 117;
3. Rhys Carter (Mount Maunganui, Suzuki) 102;
4. Ethan Martens (Waitakere, Yamaha) 96;
5. John Phillips (Rotorua, Honda) 89.

125cc class:
1. Cameron Vaughan (Rotorua, Yamaha) 136;
2. Logan Blackburn (Te Puke, Yamaha) 131;
3. Aaron Wiltshier (Tauranga, KTM) 100;
4= Cameron Negus (Rotorua, Husqvarna) and Cohen Chase (Taupo, KTM) 89.

Credit: Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.comCAPTION: Queenstown’s Scotty Columb (Yamaha), with his position now strengthened at the top of the MX2 class standings. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com

ENDS

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