The series was held over three rounds, in Timaru, Motueka and Taupo. I had put a lot of preparation into the event and had been training hard for several months beforehand. My CGM Motorcycles Yamaha YZ450F was in perfect condition so I was hoping for a bit of luck and a good result. I was riding in the MX1 class and lining up with some of New Zealand’s top riders.
ROUND 1 – TIMARU
I arrived in Timaru on Tuesday, the day before racing and went to look at the track, one I hadn’t ridden before. It looked good and there wasn’t anything that appeared too challenging. Race day was fine and sunny and I was soon coming to grips with the jumps. Unfortunately I suffered from arm pump almost immediately but rode as well as I could to gain fourth place overall, six points behind third. I was very happy with my starts, getting near the front of the field every time.
ROUND 2 – MOTUEKA
This round was on the following Sunday, with the final round of the South Island Supercross Champs the day before, a good chance to practice on the track. I had ridden this track in previous ye
ars and
there had only been a couple of minor changes made since then. Again I had some great starts, in one race sitting in 3rd place behind Josh Coppins and Cody Cooper (Series Leader) when they crashed together allowing me to lead the race for a couple of laps. I still got the arm pump but managed to get enough points to hold my 4th place overall, still 6 points behind 3rd place.
ROUND 3 – TAUPO
I knew that if I wanted to get on the podium it had to happen at this round. I had a brilliant start in the first race, coming out of hole shot corner in 2nd place. After a couple of laps the series runner-up, Justin MacDonald got past me but I held onto third place for some valuable points and moved into 3rd equal place overall. Obviously my bike fitness was now matching my personal fitness because I had stopped getting the arm pump. I rode a solid second race and took a 5 point advantage. All I needed was another race the same and a place on the podium was mine. A take-out attempt resulting in a damaged radiator almost put a stop to that but luckily it was on the last lap and I was able to limp my bike to the finish line, finishing with a 15 point advantage and a place on the podium.
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courtest off
Andy McGechan Editor / Media Manager
Ph/fax 06 7585182 Cell 027 324 0892 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it www.bikesportnz.com
I would like to thank my fantastic sponsors who helped make this result possible –
CGM MOTORCYCLES
YAMAHA NZ
NORTHERN ACCESSORIES
MOSS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA
You are awesome, thanks so much for your support and belief in me.
Also many thanks to Mum, Kylie and the Anderson family.
