No Fear Honda’s Cody Cooper and Troy Dorron both earned themselves a podium position in this year’s National Motocross Championships, despite finishing the season with less than ideal results at Coolum last weekend.

Both riders put in a very consistent season, resulting in an unshakable position going into Queensland’s final round.

The fact that they experienced mechanical problems did not deter either rider from seeing out the weekend, and taking their place on the final presentation stage.

“I qualified well in second place, but had bike problems in both motos today and unfortunately recorded a DNF in both of them,” Cody explained.

“I’m still happy to wrap it up in third place. My riding has improved as the season progressed, and I’m really comfortable on the 450 now. I think I’ll be able to do even better next year with Honda. ”

Over his season, Cooper had eight top three finishes from four pole positions, including three race wins out of 20. He was often the fastest rider in the field, qualifying in the top three spots at every round bar one.

Between Cooper and team mate Craig ‘Ando’ Anderson (2006 Pro Open title winner), the No Fear Honda Team took seven of the ten pole positions up for grabs, a clear indication of the competitiveness of both bike and rider.

Ando had to enjoy the final round’s proceedings from the sidelines while he continues to recover from an injured thumb, however his 13 top three race finishes were enough to give the Champion a much needed break.

“It really is a good feeling to be part of the No Fear Team and to know I’ll be riding with them next year as well,” he said on his 11th Australian title win.

“This year, the competition was great and if Hurley didn’t get hurt, I’m sure the championship would have been decided by the results in the last race.”

Troy Dorron also had something to celebrate with a third place finish in the series on 310 points. He stepped up to the podium six times and had 10 top three race finishes over the season.

“We didn’t have much luck out there today with results, but that doesn’t really take away from the overall,” he commented.

“I’m pleased to finish in the top three again this year. I feel just as strong and focused now as I did a few years ago so it’s a nice reward.”

Danny Anderson also achieved his personal goal this season by finishing tenth overall after placing ninth at Coolum.

“I really enjoyed riding with all of these guys this season and thank them for the support they’ve given me.”

Rebecca Lipsett joined her team mates in celebrating and was relatively happy about her fourth place round finish and sixth overall.

“I felt pretty good about my racing and the overall wasn’t too bad. If we had a couple more rounds, I think I could have improved on that but at least we had a women’s series this year.”

“As always, Honda have been incredibly supportive of me and of women’s racing in general and I think over the next couple of years, we are only going to see more of it.”

With the statistics speaking for themselves, Honda dominated the inaugural ADB Manufacturer’s Cup in both the Pro Open and Pro Lite classes with many additional red riders such as Shane Metcalfe, Kade Mosig, Lewis Stewart and Peter Boyle putting in strong rides throughout the series.

Team Manager Pip Harrison noted it was the best result for Honda’s factory motocross team for some time with Ando bringing the manufacturer their first “Golden Helmet” for some years.

“We had a few mechanical issues this weekend which was frustrating, but the boys had ridden strongly enough all season to cement their podium positions. With Ando’s title win, our two additional third places, plus the Manufacturer’s Cups, I would chalk this season up as a highly successful one for Honda.”

“Our sponsors including No Fear, M2R, Caltex, Michelin, and the rest have been great to work with as well so, on behalf of the whole team, a big thank you to them.”