The No Fear Honda Team walked away from Sunday’s round three of the National Motocross Championships satisfied with their results, including podium finishes for three out of four team riders.

A little wetter and a little wearier, Craig Anderson, Cody Cooper and Troy Dorron each had something to smile about after fighting hard for their respective positions including 2nd and 3rd in the Open, and 3rd in Lites.

Cooper in particular put on an impressive show and looked like he would take away the top spot for the day after storming through moto 1 faultlessly.

He was clearly the fastest rider in the field with a lap time of 1:52.9, and after taking the holeshot, he led the race from start to finish with a 9 second buffer by the time the flag fell.

The second moto was somewhat tougher, however the young Kiwi and 2004 Pro Lite Champion still finished in the top five. By day’s end, Cooper jumped four places up on the Championship ladder from 7th to 3rd.

“The first moto went perfectly,” the 22 year old said. “I got away cleanly from the first corner and pushed to get ahead of Ando as much as possible. He was putting the pressure on me for sure for quite awhile but I managed to break away.”

“In the second race, I didn’t get a great start and then ended up riding without any goggles but I’m rapt that the points have brought me closer to the top two guys. We’re getting there and there are still plenty more rounds to go.”

Team mate Anderson also garnered important second place points after finishing second overall for the day. He now sits 26 points behind series leader Daryl Hurley.

Ando was consistent and strong all day, taking second place in moto 1 by 8 seconds from Hurley. After holeshotting and leading over half of moto two, Ando finished second again equating to #2 for the day and retaining his current status on the ladder.

“I’m annoyed that I didn’t finish first for the day, but overall it was a decent meeting for me,” the multiple champion said.

“Cody got away from me in moto 1 so I just put my head down and rode sensibly for the remainder. I did tire a bit toward the end of the second race and Hurley got past.”

“I’ll keep working on my fitness so that doesn’t happen again at the next round and I’ll be doing everything I can to close up that difference at Conondale.”

Three time Pro Lite plate holder Troy Dorron also put in a hard day’s work after receiving a penalty during qualifying for cutting the track on an un-timed lap. The mistake was unintentional, however the rules meant that the 33 year old veteran ended up with last pick of the gate.

This didn’t stop Doz from finishing 3rd and 4th in his two motos, and 3rd overall for the day.

“I had to work unusually hard for my points again today because of that stuff up in qualifying. That meant starting from the very far end of the gates which makes a big difference in getting away from the first corner cleanly.”

“That aside, I finished pretty well in both races and picked up 38 points for the day so I can’t complain. It's a tight competition and I’m really enjoying the series so far.”

Where there were smiles, there were also a few tears. Young No Fear Honda rider Danny Anderson had a day he would rather forget after a less than ideal finish in moto 1, and a big crash in moto 2 that left the 19 year younger brother of Craig a bit dazed and confused.

“Today was more or less a disaster for me,” Danny said. “I got a bad start in the first race and couldn’t gain any ground. In the second, I was running okay around 5th and then just lost it in a ditch about 1/3 of the way into the race. I got catapulted straight over the bars and landed on my head so that was my day over.”

According to Team Manager Pip Harrison, round three was a successful one for the Team considering there were a few glitches.

“Three of our four riders finished on the podium and that is a great result. With ten rounds in this series, it is all about consistency and clocking up points at every meeting.”

“I’m really happy with the way the riders are performing. Cody was lightening fast in moto 1, and he did well to ride without any goggles. We had to get his eyes rinsed out afterward. I've never seen that much dirt come out of someone’s eyes before, but he is okay.

“Both Ando and Doz rode very well today too. And Digsy was going very well in moto 2 until that crash. He pulled up with a huge black eye and a pretty sore hip.”

The No Fear Honda Team will next appear at round 4 of the MX Nationals at Conondale, QLD on Sunday, May 7th.