Another major Win for Carter

King of the Mountain 2015

maddix park mx

Two outright wins out of three starts is not a bad set of results for a man on the comeback from injury.

Mount Maunganui's Rhys Carter had been sidelined for three months following a serious crash, but, in just his third major event since climbing back on his Bel Ray Pro Rider Suzuki RM-Z450, the 25-year-old has now twice destroyed his MX1 class rivals.

Carter twice came from behind to win the first two of three MX1 class races at Sunday's annual King of the Mountain motocross in Taranaki, catching and passing fellow Kiwi internationals John Phillips, of Rotorua, and Scott Columb, of Queenstown, on his way to the front.

Then, with just the all-capacities feature race to come and further points of offer in the battle for MX1 class rankings, it seemed he was again the man to beat.

In the end, however, he had to settle for third place in the feature race as deteriorating track conditions made racing something of a lottery, but it was still enough for Carter to win the MX1 class overall, albeit by just one point from feature race winner Columb.

"The track wasn't very safe in that third race," said Carter. "I knew John (Phillips) was my main threat for MX1 class honours, so I just kept an eye out for our relative positions on the track. When he crashed in the final race, the pressure was off for me and I could cruise a little bit.

"It was quite dusty and vision was certainly affected, but I knew second or third would be enough for me to win the class."

Carter won the MX1 class at the big annual Whakatane Summercross just after Christmas, a win on debut for him in New Zealand riding the big Suzuki RM-Z450, but, in his second outing since returning from injury, he crashed at the Valley Champs near Morrinsville last weekend and damaged his bike, putting him out for the day.

But it was back to the winners' circle for Carter on Sunday and a welcome boost ahead of the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville next weekend, to be followed by the four-round nationals.

"I'm getting better on the 450cc bike and looking forward to the nationals," he said.

Meanwhile, Rotorua's Michael Phillips won the MX2 (250cc) class ahead of Atiamuri's Hadleigh Knight and Otorohanga's Hayden Kanters, while Auckland's Kurtis Lilly won the senior 125cc class ahead of Ngatea's Ben Broad and Auckland's Sean O'Connor.

Masterton 15-year-old Camden Butler won the junior King of the Mountain feature race.

Sunday's event was an integral part of his build-up for the upcoming New Zealand Motocross Championships, round one of which will be staged at the same venue on the outskirts of New Plymouth next month.

For further information contact Simon Meade, General Manager of Motorcycle / ATV Marketing, [email protected].

Words and photo courtesy of Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com

 

 
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