Image: Jeremy Hammer.

New Zealand champion Cody Cooper took his initial laps on the Cosy Creek circuit today in Manjimup, Western Australia, for a short demonstration during the junior instalment of the prestigious Shannons Insurance Manjimup 15,000 event.

Cooper, who just arrived in Australia after contesting the opening two rounds of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, expressed his liking for the challenging and demanding circuit, which is rated highly amongst the country’s top riders who’ve attended the venue.

“I’m glad I’m here – Ben Townley has been here before and he said it’s awesome,” Cooper explained. “It’s a good layout and obviously with the juniors out there today, there were a lot of short bumps which actually gave me a bit of arm-pump, especially not doing anything all week.

“It was good and the layout is really good, it has hard-packed soil and a bit of sand – I like it. I think the bumps should flow a lot better tomorrow when all the senior bikes are out there carrying a lot more speed.”

Equipped with a Honda CRF450R and a selection of his own bolt-on parts, Cooper will reunite with longtime mechanic Blair Meyer, who wrenched for him during his time at the Yarrive Konsky-managed Penrite Honda outfit.

“It’s good having him here,” he continued. “I’ve worked with Blair in New Zealand a lot and we hangout as mates. It’s good to catch up with him, I haven’t been to Australia for quite a long time, so it’s good to see a few people.”

The multi-time New Zealand motocross champion will be joined by a list of Motul MX Nationals regulars including Kirk Gibbs (KTM Motocross Racing Team), Luke Styke (KTM Motocross Racing Team) and Todd Waters (Crankt Protein Honda Racing), plus a selection of internationals led by America’s AJ Catanzaro.