And the Battle Begins

NZ MX Nationals 2014

maddix park mx

Click here for Round 1 footage

The battle for MX supremacy has begun. Saturday’s racing in Timaru has undeniably demonstrated that the 2014 New Zealand MX Nationals will have some of the best racing seen for several years.  The classes are strongly stacked with serious contenders back to the top 10 and beyond, plus a pinch of trans-Tasman rivalry to spice up the action. 

The track prep at Timaru was good but according to some, a bit like an ice rink in un-ripped but watered sections. The organizers are to be congratulated for introducing a rider “look lap” before each race, as is done in Australia, which most agree is a great safety initiative.

MX 1:  The battling between Cody Cooper and Ford Dale seen at Woodville looks to become a permanent feature of the 2014 Series. In Timaru, Cody convincingly won 2 of his three races which, added to a 3rd in race 2 when he had dust issues, gives him a 3 point lead over Ford, an Australian rider, going into round 2. Scotsman Billy McKenzie is in 3rd place with another two internationals,   Kirk Gibbs and Yu Hirata filling the spots before more New Zealanders, namely Justin McDonald, Brad Groombridge, Michael Phillips and Dion Picard come on the board, in that order.

Roydon White’s day in the MX 1 class was pretty hard out and could perhaps have been a bit better.  He qualified 12th and got good starts on a track that was gnarly with some big jumps. In the first race he crashed when coming 8th because of a flat front tyre. He changed it mid race but went back out to finish a very distant  last, but to gain what might prove to be a valuable half point.  Roydon finished 16th overall for the day just a couple of points off 14th. In a field with 6 international riders that “ain’t half bad”.

MX 2:  The incredibly fast Kayne Lamont is the standout rider in this class and out to prove a point on his Husqvarna. He comfortably won 2 of his three races but in race 3, overshot a corner, hit the tuff blocks and then came back for a second.  At the end of this round, Kayne holds a 3 point lead over Scott Columb, the winner of race 3.

Rhys Carter had brought home a solid 4th and a 5th place when in race 3, he had a massive crash which bent the sub frame on his bike (and gave Rhys himself a black eye and a chipped tooth, we are told, when his head smashed on the handle-bars!).  This DNF cost Rhys a chunk of points and a number of places.  He dropped to 7th place overall.

Peter Broxholme, hampered by a knee injury reactivated on Wednesday rode solidly and consistently as always, with nothing spectacular, to finish 8th for the day.

Tauranga based Laurent Fath from New Caledonia also rode solidly to 14th place overall.  He suffered from bad arm pump in race 1, had his best finish, 8th place, in race 2 then got caught up in a train of 6 riders in race 3 that he just couldn’t get through.  Laurent is one of 7 internationals competing in the MX2 class.

Campbell King, a regular in the MX2 class, was out with injury.

Senior 125:  This class would have to be one of the tightest and most competitive for a very long time. Logan Blackburn (Te Puke), who spent several months racing in Australia in 2013, was back in podium form.  He rode well with 4/1/1 results securing him the overall and a very thin 1 point lead over Josiah Natzke (1/2/3).

 “Mint day, won the overall for the day, leading the championship by 1 point.  Bring on round 2 at Tokoroa.  Big thanks to Josh Coppins and the Altherm JCR Yamaha team.” was Logan’s comment.

Aaron Wiltshier was on the podium again, this time in third position.  Aaron is the top non-pro-non team rider  and plans to work even harder outside of work hours in readiness for Tokoroa. He had two 2nd places in Timaru but a “bad” 5th place in race 2, linked to a flat tyre, prevented him from a higher place on the podium.

Ryan Metz, after a bad luck start in race 1, found himself in a tangle of riders out the back but was riding extremely well and fought back to 7th place.  However a major crash up the face of a jump and concussion in race 2 brought an end to his day and doubts about round 2.

 The much vamped Courtney Duncan qualified fastest in the class and found the front but then faded.  Her fitness, strength and endurance are not yet up to scratch. She finished 4th overall.

MX1 Overall: 1st Cody Cooper (70), 2nd Ford Dale (67), 3rd Billy McKenzie (64), 4th Kirk Gibbs (54), 5th Brad Groombridge(46).  Jesse Donnelly (34)  8th, Dion Picard (33) 9th, Michael Phillips (28) 11th, Campbell Bailey (19) 14th, Roydon White (13) 16th.

MX2 Overall :1st Kayne Lamont (72), 2nd Scott Columb (69), 3rd Jay Wilson (55), 4th Hamish Dobbyn (51), 5th John Phillips (47), 6th Hamish Harwood (45), 7th Rhys Carter (34), 8th Peter Broxholme (33), 14th Laurent Fath (25)

125 Overall : 1st Logan Blackburn (68), 2nd Josiah Natzke (67), 3rd Aaron Wiltshier (60), 4th Courtney Duncan (56), 5th Hadleigh Knight (52).  Jayden Turnwald 8th (38), Ryan Metz 16th (14)

Full Results http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/986189

The battle continues at Round 2 of the Nationals on Sunday 23rd February 2014 at the South Waikato Motorcycle Club track in Tokoroa.

Photos Ryan Burrows

 
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