Team Rockstar Motul Suzuki’s Cody Cooper broke through for his maiden victory of the season in the Wodonga round of the Rockstar Energy MX Nationals on Sunday, the New Zealander winning the Pro Open overall to finally meet his expectations for 2010.

The Kiwi looked right at home in the chilly conditions and made a statement in qualifying when his Suzuki RM-Z450 was the quickest machine on the track, before going on to win the opening two motos of the round and clinching the overall with a fourth in the final leg.

That consolidated sixth place for Cooper in the series and he is well within striking distance of a top three finish.

“The last few weeks have been massive for me and the team,” Cooper said. “I’ve been over here and we’ve been working so hard to get the bike right and getting me sorted and the entire team has done an amazing job.

“We made some changes to my program as well, and I’ll even make some more changes as a result of today which will be even more positive. I’m pumped to be up on the top step and certainly hope to keep it this way for the rest of the series.”

Team manager Jay Foreman was excited to see both Cooper and the team break through in the Open class after a solid run of recent form.

“Today was a terrific one for Cody and just reward for all the hard work he and the rest of the team have put in over recent weeks,” said Foreman. “He’s been quick all year, but today he put it all together and showed just how good he and the Suzuki RM-Z450 are.

“There’s 100 points up for grabs at Moree in a couple of weeks and, if he can repeat today’s form, Cody will be right in contention.”