Cody Cooper and Todd Waters battle it out at Horsham on Sunday. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Motul Pirelli Suzuki teammates Todd Waters and Cody Cooper are celebrating a memorable 1-2 finish in Horsham’s seventh round of the Monster Energy MX Nationals on Sunday aboard the fuel-injected RM-Z450.

Waters continues to close in on the premier MX1 series lead with his second round win of the season, now just eight points behind former world championship runner-up Josh Coppins.

The 21-year-old from Cairns was in impeccable form at Horsham, winning the opening moto of the round in dominant fashion. He charged through the field to third in moto two despite the muddy conditions, and concluded the round with second in the final moto following an enthralling head-to-head battle with Coppins.

Waters’ result was another sign of his talent in what has been a breakthrough year since joining Motul Pirelli Suzuki, and he’s enjoying every minute of it in a bid to claim his maiden professional national title.

“I was a little bit disappointed Josh came past in that final moto, but I’ve got to hand it to him,” Waters said. “I couldn’t quite hold him off, but anyway that’s how it goes and the track was tough.

“To come away from today on top of the podium shows the work is starting to pay off, so I’m just stoked and it’s a great day for Motul Pirelli Suzuki.”

Kiwi teammate Cooper put in his best performance of the season to back Waters up on the podium, tying for the victory on points, but missing out on the overall due to Waters’ higher finish in the closing moto.

Cooper found consistency in his efforts with a trio of strong results, the highlight being a convincing win in the second moto. Cooper also claimed second in moto one and concluded the round with a third in the final moto. He now sits fifth in the title hunt with three rounds remaining.

“It was a good day for the team and the track was awesome, but definitely tough,” Cooper commented. “I really need to thank Motul Pirelli Suzuki and all of our supporters for sticking by me, because this is the result that we’ve been working toward.

“It feels good, so hopefully we can continue with these results in the final rounds.”

The factory Suzuki outfit opted to drop its MX2 campaign mid-season during motocross, instead focusing on the MX1 efforts of Waters and Cooper.