Australian SX Nationals 2004 - Round Four - Melbourne (Olympic Park)

A mild Melbourne summer evening and an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 8,000 spectators provided the perfect atmosphere for a great night of racing at round four of the SEL Supercross Nationals series.

The cooler weather was a welcome change for No Fear New Zealand rider Cody Cooper (#6) who once again highlighted his ability to chip away at the pack one position at a time. Quick and consistent, Cooper continued to increase his pace from start to finish of the Pro Lite final.

In a burst of incredible speed, and having clocked the fastest laps in both his heat and semi, Cody made a successful mid air pass on Cameron Sinclair just before the chequered flag, giving him a third place position on the podium.

A bit of friendly cross Tasman competition with team mate Jye Harvey in both the heat as well as the final also provided Honda fans with some added excitement as the two red riders diced with each other throughout the night. Cody eventually got the better of Jye in the whoops section of the final, however with the #6 rider still recuperating from various injuries and a serious illness, his fifth place effort was notable.

On the evenings result, Cody said, “I know I have the pace to win races and I really didn’t get overly tired tonight. I just need to work on my starts a bit so I can get out ahead of everyone else on the first lap.”

Although a bit disappointed that he became fatigued as the race went on, Harvey feels he is getting better slowly but surely. That was evident as he finished in the top three in both his heat and the semi final.

Harvey – “My fitness is improving in small increments but not as fast as I would like it to. The break before Adelaide will be good. I’ll take a week to rest and then train hard the week after that.”

Pro Open rider Troy “Doz” Dorron started the evening in top form, taking the holeshot in his first heat and dominating from start to finish. With a two hour wait until the final, Doz was optimistic about his chances of winning, and with the drop of the gates, it looked as though he would do just that.

A couple of small issues with the set up of the bike and some minor mistakes through the whoops on his part led to Troy dropping back a few places through the duration of the 20 lap race. He eventually finished in fifth place, retaining his overall 2nd position on the championship ladder.

“Like last week,” Dorron said, “I don’t like leading a race and then dropping back. I’m not happy about that but I am working with my mechanic and the Team manager to make sure the bike is set up as perfectly as possible. I’m not really sure what happened out there tonight. I feel good in terms of my fitness and have been following a strict training regime so I am just as capable of winning races as I’ve ever been.”

Team Manager Peter Luczkowski said, “I think this round of the series was really the best so far in terms of the crowd and the level of professionalism we’re reaching with this sport. There is no reason it can’t be as popular here in Australia as it is in the States.”

”In terms of results, tonight was a little disappointing for us but Cody rode really well and I expect him to just keep getting better. Of course we want to win races every time, but there are plenty of rounds left so it is far from over.”