MXoN week - catch-up with the New Zealand Team

Monday 23 September: This time next week we will know who won the 2013 Monster Energy FIM Motocross of Nations, which takes place in Teutschenthal, Germany, on 29 September.

The 2013 NZ Team, managed by Josh Coppins, is Cody Cooper, Rhys Carter and Kayne Lamont.

Josh is already in England having ridden in the Vets MXdN at Farleigh Castle in England the previous weekend. Josh was 2nd in the Vets MXdN Evo Class on a CR250 ahead of a field of 500cc 2-strokes.
Kayne Lamont, accompanied by his dad Stu, left late last week.
Cody and Rhys flew out Saturday night via Los Angeles. They will have two days in London then meet up with Josh on Tuesday before flying to Brussels. From there it’s onto Lommel where Sylvain and Eric Geboers Rockstar Energy Suzuki are supplying 'factory' bikes, organised through expat Kiwi Roy Matheson. Then it’s onto Teutschenthal on Thursday.

2012 MXoN was is the sands of Lommel, Belgium and the American seven win-streak was broken by Germany.

Team New Zealand was represented by Josh Coppins (his last, before retirement), Cody Cooper and MXoN rookie Kayne Lamont. The NZ Team was managed by Tony Cooksley, himself a former MXoN representative and 2007 World 50+ Vet Champion. Rhys Carter was the travelling reserve.

It was a near disaster when Cody Cooper’s bike failed the noise test after qualifying. That put them into the B Final for teams 21 to 33. They won that and advanced into the A Final. NZ finished 15th overall.

New Zealand have been on the podium three times.

1998 - at Foxhills in England with Josh, Shayne King and Darryll King.
2001 - at Namur in Belgium with Josh, Shayne King and Daryl Hurley.
2006 - at Matterley Basin in England with Josh, Cody Cooper and Ben Townley. That year NZ was 2nd, just 7 points behind USA when BT took 5 points and Josh 6 – 1 for 1st, 2 for 2nd etc.

A memorable highlight of 2010, at Colorado in the US, was when in one of the MX2 v Open v MX1, Brad Groombridge took the holeshot from the fastest 450 riders in the MX world.

MXoN started in 1947 in The Hague, the Netherlands, and only three Nations were invited. Fifty years later there were already about twenty nations represented, but this 2013 will be another turning point of the event having forty-one countries entered.

Youthstream, who took over the rights of the event in 2004 report; "Teutschenthal will have one of the busiest paddocks of the history of the event, not only because it will have to host the 41 teams entered, but also because the venue will have impressive structures such as a VIP hospitality of more than 2,000m2, the new Skybox, located right behind the starting grid, or the brand new double-decker structure at the main entrance of the paddock.”