Team Rockstar Motul Suzuki manager Jay Foreman isn’t ruling Pro Open rider out of the MX Nationals title hunt despite him missing last weekend’s Raymond Terrace round.

Cooper, who recently won the New Zealand Motocross Championship, was ruled out of last Sunday’s race due to a rib injury and collapsed lung suffered at Appin a week prior.

However the experienced Foreman knows there are a lot of points up for grabs with the four-moto per round format of 2011, and he’s confident Cooper can bounce back.

“It was disappointing that Cody couldn’t race, but we could not afford to risk his injury,” Foreman said.

“Cody has shown great pace this year, and I am confident that he has the speed to close down the deficit between him and Coppins.”

The in-form Cooper sits a massive 132 points from new series leader and countryman Coppins in the title chase, 228-96.

Despite Cooper missing out on last weekend’s third round of the 2011 series, Suzuki still had a positive weekend with Pro Lites rider Dan McCoy landing his first podium since joining the team this season.

“It was good to see Daniel on the podium, but we can still develop the set up more to suit his style,” Foreman added.

“Daniel will get faster. He put in three good races today so we are closer to the pointy end which is good.”