New Zealander Cody Cooper rode to 26th position on his debut outing in the MX1 World Championship, filling in for Clement Desalle at Rockstar Energy Suzuki.

The Australian MX Nationals series race winner said it was an enjoyable learning experience, looking to improve further in the season finale in Italy next weekend.

“It was an awesome experience in terms of being with the team and riding the bike but I guess I’m not that fit!” Cooper said. “It was good to come over and race.

“I wasn’t sure about it in the beginning because I’d been on holiday since the end of the Aussie nationals and the format there is different. I didn’t want to let the team down and just tried to have fun.

“I felt a bit better in the second moto as I had crashed in the first. It was real hard-pack here and these guys are fast for sure.”

Cooper finished moto one in 26th before improving to 21st in moto two.