Cooper, Sword take honours at Canada Heights.

Paul Cooper and Stephen Sword have won the opening round of the MX1 and MX2 Maxxis British Motocross Championship that took place at Canada Heights in Kent, UK, Sunday.

The first of eight rounds in the premier national off-road series in Europe began under cloudy skies and chilly conditions at the popular circuit located just off the M25 motorway near Swanley. 9000 fans entered the gates for their first taste of 2005 motocross season and were not disappointed as some thrilling racing saw podium places decided within the final moments of the races.

MultiTek Honda rider and former British Champion Paul Cooper claimed a perfect MX1 clean sweep by winning both 30 minute and 2 lap races; enjoying a successful comeback after missing most of the 2004 campaign through injury.

The veteran had to work for his spoils in the second race as Finnish Honda representative Jussi Vehvilainen fronted the 450cc four-stroke and 250cc two-stroke pack for the majority of the distance. Cooper moved ahead within the final few circulations and third placed Japanese Suzuki rider Yoshitaka Atsuta pursued Vehvilainen with venom in a straight shoot-out for the second and third steps of the podium. Atsuta almost crashed on the last lap trying to seize the runner-up spot but sensationally recovered to pip the Honda man to the finish line by just two tenths of a second.

"I'm ecstatic with everything that has happened today; this was a fantastic result," commented Cooper. "Jussi had some great speed and there was a time in the second race where I thought that I might not catch him but I kept my head and focussed on the lines and was able to take the lead. There were a lot of backmarkers out there and you always need a bit of luck cutting through."

Earlier in the day Cooper had led a more processional affair, yet his afternoon efforts delivered his first British Championship triumph in over a year. Atsuta equalled his best ever result in second with his last gasp charge despite being level on points with Vehvilainen (the second moto ranking determining the final standing).

"I was in third place for a lot of the race and was looking for a way past Paul but we kept coming up to backmarkers and the track became one-line so it was not easy to pass," said Atsuta. "I was lucky near the end and just got by Jussi in the last corner."

James Noble was fourth while Suzuki's Neville Bradshaw can feel content with fifth after his debut outing in the bigger class.

The Sidcup and District Motorcycle club had undertaken some careful and considered alterations to the Canada Heights circuit in what is becoming one of the slickest organised events on the calendar. The preparation of the dirt was good and the changes to the course from 2004 were interesting.

Stephen Sword was hassled by a resilient Carl Nunn and aggressive Mike Brown in the MX2 competition for 250cc four-stroke and 125cc two-stroke motorcycles. The defending Champion and factory Kawasaki rider, making a one-off appearance due to World Championship priorities for 2005, was defeated by America's Mike Brown and works KTM pilot Carl Nunn respectively in the first race of the day.

Sword rallied for the next moto and duelled closely with Nunn for the duration, finally shaking off his 'orange shadow' after the latter fell on the penultimate lap. Nunn had 'holeshotted' both races and demonstrated that he will be a valid threat for the title this year. Brown retired while holding a position in the top ten shortly into the second MX2 exhibition. The DNF was attributed to a mysterious mechanical problem with the 250 Honda.

Brown had determinedly put paid to his British rival's hopes in race one. Tom Church, the winner of the MX2 Canada Heights round in 2004, completed the top three with results of fifth and third. The Kawasaki youngster was delighted with his trophy after a seven month absence due to a shoulder injury. Wayne Smith was fourth in his first ride for Honda ahead of Holland's Erik Eggens who was also making his British Championship debut for the Japanese manufacturer.

"It was a hard day; the boys were fast this afternoon," commented Sword. "I really enjoyed the second race. Carl was pushing hard and I had to change my lines to find a way to catch and pass him. At the end I didn't know that he had dropped it so I kept on trying right to the line. I did not want to come here and lose. I am not racing the rest of the rounds but I achieved what I wanted today."

The series now heads north in two weeks time for the second round set to occur at Polesworth near Tamworth on Easter Sunday.

ResultsMX1 Moto1:
1. Paul Cooper Honda
2. James Noble Honda
3. Jussi Vehvilainen Honda
4. Yoshitaka Atsuta Suzuki
5. Neville Bradshaw Suzuki
6. Mark Hucklebridge Honda
7. Mark Eastwood Honda
8. Gordon Crockard Yamaha
9. Mark Jones KTM
10. Glen Phillips Yamaha
MX1 Moto2:
1. Paul Cooper Honda
2. Yoshitaka Atsuta Suzuki
3. Jussi Vehvilainen Honda
4. James Noble Honda
5. Neville Bradshaw Suzuki
6. Glen Phillips Yamaha
7. Christian Burnham Honda
8. Mark Hucklebridge Honda
9. Mark Eastwood Honda
10. Stuart Flockhart Honda

MX1 Overall Result:
1. Paul Cooper 60
2. Yoshitaka Atsuta 50
3. Jussi Vehvilainen 50
4. James Noble 50
5. Neville Bradshaw 42
6. Mark Hucklebridge 34
7. Glen Phillips 30
8. Mark Eastwood 30
9. Stuart Flockhart 21
10. Christian Burnham 17
MX2 Moto1:
1. Mike Brown Honda
2. Carl Nunn KTM
3. Stephen Sword Kawasaki
4. Wayne Smith Honda
5. Tom Church Kawasaki
6. Eric Eggens Honda
7. Brad Anderson Yamaha
8. Lewis Gregory Suzuki
9. Graeme Gowland Kawasaki
10. Tommy Searle Kawasaki
MX2 Moto2:
1. Stephen Sword Kawasaki
2. Carl Nunn KTM
3. Tom Church Kawasaki
4. Eric Eggens Honda
5. Wayne Smith Honda
6. Brad Anderson Yamaha
7. Billy MacKenzie Yamaha
8. Tommy Searle Kawasaki
9. Lewis Gregory Suzuki
10. David Willett
MX2 Overall Result:
1. Stephen Sword 55
2. Carl Nunn 54
3. Tom Church 46
4. Wayne Smith 44
5. Eric Eggens 42
6. Brad Anderson 36
7. Mike Brown 30
8. Lewis Gregory 28
9. Billy MacKenzie 27
10. Tommy Searle 26