Tough Day At The Office For Title Hopefuls

The 2014 Backflips Clothing NZ Motocross Championships

Tough Day At The Office For Title Hopefuls

FEBRUARY 23, 2014: It was a tough day at the office for national title hopefuls at the second round of four in the New Zealand Motocross Championships in Tokoroa on Sunday.

But, despite the brutal day of racing on the unforgiving volcanic ash and sand track on the outskirts of the South Waikato forestry town, leaders remained the same at the top of two of the three championship classes.

Round one of the Backflips Clothing-sponsored senior nationals near Timaru a fortnight ago was a blistering affair and, when racing wound up for the day, there was virtually nothing to separate the leading title contenders in all three championship classes.

However, after an eventful day of racing at Tokoroa on Sunday, the gaps have widened.

Mount Maunganui’s Cody Cooper led the premier MX1 class and he continues to do so after the weekend's racing at Tokoroa, now with an increased advantage after winning all three MX1 races on Sunday, but there is a new name in the No.2 spot, that of Australian-domiciled Scotsman Billy MacKenzie.

While Cooper raced to three wins on Sunday and boosted his championship lead, Edinburgh native Billy MacKenzie also impressed, moving from third to second in the standings, while Taupo's Brad Groombridge actually finished runner-up on the day to move up from fifth to third equal on Sunday, now level with Australian pair Ford Dale and Kirk Gibbs.

In the MX2 (250cc) class, Mangakino’s Kayne Lamont also managed to extend his championship lead and, as mechanical and disaster struck for the man who had been his nearest  threat, Queenstown's defending national MX2 champion Scott Columb, this allowed Dargaville's Hamish Dobbyn to move up into the No.2 spot with Columb dropping to third in the standings.

In the 125cc class, Te Puke’s Logan Blackburn has a nightmare afternoon, first suffering mechanical problems in race one, which forced him to settle for fifth at the finish, and then he crashed while leading the third and final 125cc race of the day.

This dropped him from first to third in the 125cc standings, while Hamilton's Josiah Natzke and Atiamuri's Hadleigh Knight shared wins to move up to the No.1 and No.2 positions respectively.

But all is not lost for the various title challengers and, with the championship only at the halfway stage, there is still plenty that can happen.

The series continues with round three at Pukekohe on March 9, with the fourth and final round set for Taupo on March 22.

Leading standings after two of four rounds:

MX1 class: 1. Cody Cooper (Mount Maunganui) 145 points; 2. Billy MacKenzie (Scotland) 124; 3 equal. Ford Dale (Australia) and Brad Groombriudge (Taupo) and Kirk Gibbs (Australia) 110.

MX2 class: 1. Kayne Lamont (Mangakino) 141 points; 2. Hamish Dobbyn (Dargaville) 114; 3. Scott Columb (Queenstown) 112; 4. Jay Wilson (Australia)  111; 5. Hamish Harwood (Takaka) 97.

125cc class: 1. Josiah Natzke (Hamilton) 139 points; 2. Hadleigh Knight (Atiamuri) 119; 3. Logan Blackburn (Te Puke) 104; 4. Aaron Wiltshier (Tauranga) 82; 5. Beau Yeandle (Morrinsville) 81.

Credit: Words by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

ENDS

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