Kiwi Girl Making Waves in the United States

KIWI GIRL MAKING WAVES IN THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 16, 2017: New Zealand cross-country racers have long been among the world's best and now Te Awamutu's Rachael Archer is continuing the proud tradition.

Armed with a Husqvarna TC125 motorcycle, fitted with an over-sized fuel tank, Archer made her debut in the United States this month and, at the two events she tackled, she was impressive.

There for a "dip the toes into the water" experience ahead of what may be a more comprehensive American campaign next season, Archer lined up to race at rounds one and two of the Grand National Cross-country Championships (GNCC) on the east coast of the US.

The first round was at Union, in South Carolina, on March 5 and that proved to be a real eye-opener for the 18-year-old Kiwi girl, the 2016 New Zealand junior women's enduro champion.

"What a race! Holy ... there were 697 riders in my race and it was chaos," she said.

"There were bikes everywhere I was lapping about 200 people every lap. My class started on the front row and I was second into the first corner and grabbed the lead shortly after. By the third lap I was sitting comfortably in fifth.

"However, on the last lap there was a creek crossing and it was spewing with riders everywhere, so I tried to go up a bank and fell off, costing me two positions. I finished the race seventh in the women's pro grade."

Archer's next ride was just a week later, at round two of the GNCC series at Palatka, in Florida.

"I had an awesome race in Florida, sitting in second place for half the race, until I had to pit, where I lost two places and ended my race in fourth.

"I was still stoked with this, especially considering the other girls are all professionals. The track was very fine sand and the whoops were over a metre high everywhere.

"My whole time here has been an amazing experience and I hope to go back next year and get on the podium."

That concluded her abbreviated campaign and she now returns to her Waikato home, no doubt to test her new-found skills on the domestic scene.

"I couldn't have done any of this without all the support. I'd like to say a huge thanks to everyone including Richard Ebbett at MotoSR suspension, for all your help to get my bike set up. Roger Boyles at Dr Trim, for making sure my seat looks sick and has lots of grip. Fox New Zealand for hooking me up with gear, and, of course, Shaun Prescott at the Husqvarna off road team for everything too."

Meanwhile, fellow Kiwi Ashton Grey, from Cambridge, was also competing in the first two GNCC events and he finished 10th and 11th in his 250A class.

This was good enough to place him ninth overall after two rounds and he too will now return home.

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

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