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APRIL 24, 2007: It’s been a few years since he last won a national title and he may be just an occasional racer these days, but Cambridge’s Mike Cotter makes the most of those occasions.
The 32-year-old Hamilton Motorcycle Centre bike salesman was in scintillating form as he raced a Kawasaki KXF450 to outright victory at the New Zealand Four-stroke Motocross Championships in the King Country at the weekend.
But, even though Cotter won three of the weekend’s five open class races, it wasn’t all plain sailing and the Kawasaki ace certainly had his work cut out to beat former world No.2 and current New Zealand 250cc and 500cc champion Darryll King (Yamaha).
With four races complete and one to go, King led Cotter by three points.
Whoever won the final race would take the title and, unfortunately for Hamilton’s King, it was former national champion Cotter who got away the quickest at the start. Cotter held on to take the race win and the title.
Cotter and King finished the day level on points, with 113 each, but Cotter got the nod because he won the day’s final outing.
“Mike (Cotter) didn’t make any mistakes and I couldn’t pass him. It was as simple as that. He deserved the win,” said King afterwards.
Cotter was naturally thrilled with his win.
“I was three points behind Darryll before the start of that last race,” said the 32-year-old Cotter. “I knew I had to win the last race. I got a good start and that was it.”
Cotter admits to being just a part-time racer these days but his success at the weekend was no part-time effort.
“I couldn’t ask for anything more from this bike. It just gives me confidence,” he said.
“I’m not retired, just a part-time racer,” he was at pains to point out. “This is only my third big event for the year. I’m getting ready now to race the Tarawera 100 cross-country endurance race in July. I’ll probably use this bike, the KXF450, or maybe the new Kawasaki KLX300.”
Cotter finished third overall in last year’s edition of the Tarawera 100. Cotter last raced the national motocross championships in 2005, finishing fifth in the MX2 class.
It was a similar last-race thriller in the junior ranks at Otorohanga.
There was just one point to separate Huntly’s Aaron Stone (Kawasaki) from Ngatea’s Luke Temple (Yamaha) as the riders lined up for the weekend’s final race in the junior 14-16 years’ 250cc class.
Temple launched from the start and was never headed, with Stone battling his way to third place in that deciding race, as he became embroiled in a thrilling battle with Whitianga’s Michael Litt (KTM), and had to settle for runner-up in the championship.
Women’s world champion Katherine Prumm (Bombay, Kawasaki) was not surprisingly unbeatable in the women’s category.
Prumm, preparing to defend her world crown in Europe later this year, was virtually in a class of her own as she won all five women’s races over the two days.
She also lined up with her Kawasaki KXF250 against the men in the 231-300cc class and finished in the top half of the field, 14th overall.
