A treacherous fifth round of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals was today wrapped up by New Zealand’s Cody Cooper, marking his first overall Pro Open victory of the 2011 season.

The Rockstar Motul Suzuki star finished with 1-2-1-3 results at Toowoomba’s Echo Valley Raceway in Queensland across the four motos contested on race day, one of the most difficult of the year as rain fell on the undulating circuit overnight.

Cooper was a clear title contender until suffering a rib and lung injury at round two last month, derailing his title chances as he was forced to watch round three from the sidelines.

Victory in Toowoomba saw Cooper return to form though, and he’s relieved to be regaining fitness as the season entered its halfway point this weekend.

“It’s really good to win, especially after the bad luck I’ve had,” Cooper said. “Today was tough since I hadn’t ridden a lot recently, but I had good balance and that was good. The track was hard and really got more difficult as the day went on, but I’m just happy to win.”

Finishing behind Cooper and missing out on the overall by just four points was Scottish rider Billy Mackenzie, taking 4-1-3-1 results for the round. He edged out Monster Energy Kawasaki teammate Dean Ferris, who retained the championship leader’s red plate with 2-4-4-2 finishes.

“This is my fourth podium in a row, so I’m stoked,” Ferris explained. “We have the points lead and that’s the main thing, but I’m looking to get a win. I’ve been on the podium four times in a row, so a win is what I’m looking for now, that’s for sure.”

Completing the top five were Carlton Dry Honda Racing’s Cheyne Boyd and CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha’s former world number two Josh Coppins, while his teammate and defending triple champion Jay Marmont was sixth.

Ferris now leads the series by nine points from Mackenzie, with Coppins a further 20 points in arrears for third after five of nine rounds to be contested this year.

The Motul Pro Lites category was clinched by Rockstar Motul Suzuki’s Daniel McCoy, his first since returning to the class this season. McCoy used consistency to win with 2-3-2 results for the round, which saw one less moto than usual due to the wet track conditions.

McCoy, who turned 27 this week, now sits third in the series and just 52 points off series leader Matt Moss (JDR Motorex KTM), who was a disastrous 16th overall after crashing in moto two and sitting out the third with pain from a recent shoulder injury.

“It’s been a good day for the team and I to come away with the win,” McCoy beamed. “We want to keep moving forward from here, there’s still a lot of races to go. My starts are getting a lot better so we’ll keep chasing the championship – it’s definitely not over.”

Second overall for the round for the second MX Nationals event in succession was Jake Moss (Serco Yoshimura Yamaha) with a win in moto two, while moto one winner Josh Cachia rounded out the podium for JDR Motorex KTM.

Cachia edged out American Phil Nicoletti, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider who won moto three, however a DNF in the opening leg dashed his hopes for the overall.

Yamaha privateer Luke Styke was a solid fifth overall, his best performance of the year to date.

Former 85cc World Champion Jay Wilson captured his first ever victory in the Pirelli Under 19s category, a remarkable result for the talented 16-year-old rookie.

Wilson was at his consistent best despite the difficult conditions, finishing with 1-3-3 results in the reduced format contested for the round. That handed him the overall by three points from current series leader Errol Willis.

“It’s taken me a while to get into the groove of racing in the Under 19s, but I’m feeling more comfortable now and it feels good to win,” Wilson said. “I just need to thank everyone for supporting me and we can just keep working on it.”

Raceline Pirelli Suzuki’s Willis took 2-1-6 results, denied the overall win when in the final moto when he experienced misfortune with less than half a lap remaining.

Rounding out the podium was Mornington Kawasaki’s Kyle McKeddie, edging out final moto winner and Queensland local Shaun Redhead (GYTR Rockstar Energy Yamaha).

Round six of the 2011 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals will take place at Coonabarabran in New South Wales on Sunday, 19 June. Practice and qualifying will commence at 8:30am with the official opening ceremonies taking place at approximately 10:30am.

Visit www.mxnationals.com.au on the web for complete series and round information on the 2011 season.

2011 Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals
Round 5 Results:

Rockstar Energy Drink Pro Open
1. Cody Cooper (Rockstar Motul Suzuki) 92
2. Billy Mackenzie (Monster Energy Kawasaki) 88
3. Dean Ferris (Monster Energy Kawasaki) 80
4. Cheyne Boyd (Carlton Dry Honda Racing) 73
5. Josh Coppins (CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha) 60
6. Jay Marmont (CDR Rockstar Energy Yamaha) 59
7. Michael Phillips (Carlton Dry Honda Racing) 56
8. Matthew Phillips (Yamaha) 51
9. Louis Calvin (Herb Watson Racing KTM) 37
10. Beau Ralston (Chris Watson Motorcycles Yamaha) 37

Motul Pro Lites
1. Daniel McCoy (Rockstar Motul Suzuki) 64
2. Jake Moss (Serco Yoshimura Yamaha) 59
3. Josh Cachia (JDR Motorex KTM) 51
4. Phil Nicoletti (Monster Energy Kawasaki) 47
5. Luke Styke (Yamaha) 49
6. Brenden Harrison (JDR Motorex KTM) 44
7. Kade Mosig (Berry Sweet Strawberries/Lucas Oil Honda) 42
8. Alex Morris (Morwell Kawasaki) 36
9. Keiron Hall (Team 07 Axis Motorsports Honda) 32
10. Justin McDonald (Team 07 Axis Motorsports Honda) 31

Pirelli Under 19s
1. Jay Wilson (Coastal KTM) 65
2. Errol Willis (Raceline Pirelli Suzuki) 62
3. Kyle McKeddie (Mornington Kawasaki) 56
4. Shaun Redhead (GYTR Rockstar Energy Yamaha) 54
5. Kale Makeham (JDR Moss Institute Suzuki) 45
6. Brad Skoric (Team West Racing Kawasaki) 45
7. Luke Arbon (GYTR Rockstar Energy Yamaha) 40
8. Sam Martin (Byrners Suzuki) 39
9. Ben George (Yamaha) 35
10. Dan Banks (Eco-Pest Control KTM) 33

Championship Standings (after 5 of 9 rounds):
Rockstar Energy Drink Pro Open
1. Dean Ferris 379
2. Billy Mackenzie 370
3. Josh Coppins 350
4. Cheyne Boyd 328
5. Jay Marmont 324
6. Michael Phillips 291
7. Lawson Bopping 251
8. Cody Cooper 213
9. Ryan Marmont 206
10. Louis Calvin 193

Motul Pro Lites
1. Matt Moss 347
2. Kirk Gibbs 320
3. Daniel McCoy 295
4. Brenden Harrison 283
5. Josh Cachia 266
6. Phil Nicoletti 244
7. Keiron Hall 244
8. Cody Mackie 238
9. Justin McDonald 235
10. Luke Styke 230

Pirelli Under 19s
1. Errol Willis 407
2. Luke Arbon 356
3. Shaun Redhead 307
4. Dylan Peterson 272
5. Jake Emanuelli 249
6. Kyle McKeddie 241
7. Jay Wilson 208
8. Kale Makeham 159
9. Dylan Long 159
10. Jacob Mcleod 153