4:50pm Tuesday 15th March 2005
By Kevin Impey
A big and enthusiastic crowd turned up at Canada Heights racetrack in Swanley on Sunday for the first round of the Maxxis British Motocross Chanpionship, sponsored by News Shopper.
Unlike last year, when the weather was horrendous, this time, despite menacing clouds, it was almost ideal racing conditions for the 9,000-plus fans to enjoy.
Four riders dominated the MX Class one event, with MultiTek Honda rider and former British champion Paul Cooper claiming a double MX1 success by winning both 30-minute plus two-lap races.
It was the perfect comeback for Cooper, who missed most of the last season through injury.
Cooper won the first race by just 1.287 seconds from James Noble, with Jussi Vehvilainen and Yoshitaka Atsuta only six-and-a-half seconds behind the winner.
In race two it was even closer, with Cooper prevailing by just 1.018 seconds from Atsuta, with Vehvilainen only 0.280 seconds further back in third.
Cooper said: "I'm ecstatic with everything that has happened. This was a fantastic result, and I want to thank the team and also Honda.
"Jussi had some great speed and there was a time in the second race where I thought that I might not catch him, but I kept my head and focused on the lines and was able to take the lead.
"There were a lot of backmarkers out there, and you always need a bit of luck cutting through."
In the MX class 2 series opener, America's Mike Brown took the honours ahead of Carl Nunn and Stephen Sword.
But in race two, Brown's bike suffered a mechanical problem and Sword took first place ahead of Nunn and Tom Church.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.newsshopper.co.uk