Kiwi KTM Star Continues to Impress in Europe

Kiwi KTM Star Continues to Impress in Europe

 Good luck and bad luck ... Waikato's Josiah Natzke experienced a little bit of both at the weekend's British Motocross Grand Prix.

The 16-year-old two-time and current New Zealand senior 125cc motocross champion from Hamilton is fast making a name for himself in Europe after again placing on the podium, this time at the fourth round of eight in this season's European 125 Motocross Championships (EMX125) at Matterley Basin, near Winchester, in south-west England.

Riding for the KTM Factory Junior Team and under the guidance of 10-time former world champion Stefan Everts, Natzke led the early stages of the first of his two 125cc races at the weekend, before dropping back to settle for seventh at the chequered flag.

He rebounded in race two the next day, actually crossing the line in second place, although he was later elevated to first position after the race winner, his own KTM team-mate Conrad Mewse, was docked 10 positions following a rule infringement.

British rider Mewse had jumped as yellow "caution" flags were being waved trackside, a huge no-no in this sport, and this cost him the outright GP win as well as disappointing his many home-country fans who were on hand to cheer for the youngster. Rather that celebrating the GP win, Mewse was instead credited only with seventh overall for the day.

For Kiwi hero Natzke, it was another fantastic result in his first fulltime season on the world stage.

Natzke had also celebrated a win at the previous round of this competition in Spain a fortnight ago, finishing 1-2 that day and only narrowly missing out on being awarded the GP overall as another KTM Factory Junior Team team-mate, Spanish rider Jorge Prado Garcia, recorded 2-1 results and won the day courtesy of the count-back rule.

Championship leader Prado managed just sixth and fourth in his two races at the weekend's British round, but the 14-year-old sensation still earned the third step on the podium and continues to lead the EMX125 championship, albeit now just five points ahead of the weekend's GP winner Maxime Renaux, the French rider who finished 1-2 at the spectacular Matterley Basin circuit.

Natzke said he was happy with his weekend.

He said he had some difficulty in the opening race after a close encounter that left his arm sore and made it difficult to hold on towards the end of the race.

“I wanted to redeem myself and today I am very happy,” he said.

Natzke had started his European campaign slowly, finishing 7-3 at the series opener in Italy in April and then 12-10 in his two outings at round two in the Netherlands a week later.

But, since then, he has emerged as a serious title threat for the crown and he is now third in the championship standings, just 18 points behind Renaux and 23 behind Prado.

The next round of the EMX125 Championship is set for Villars sous Ecot in France this coming weekend, on May 31.

Rounds are set to follow in Italy (Maggiora, June 14), Belgium (Lommel, August 2) and, finally, the championship wraps up in The Netherlands (at Assen, on August 30).

Natzke became the youngest ever rider to win a senior motocross title in New Zealand, at age 15, when he dominated the senior 125cc championships in 2014, before successfully defending his title, with support from the CMR Red Bull KTM team, in Pukekohe in March of this year, just a week before heading to Europe.

ENDS

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