Author: #608

After working hard at training this week we headed to NKC to get some more track time in before Auckland Champs. The track had been groomed to perfection and I was really looking forward to getting out there. I had a terrible practice coming off on the step up, in the ruts and out the back but pulled myself together for the races. Someone had a pretty big off in race 2 so our ride was cut short. Even though my focus today was putting my new techniques I’ve been working on into race practice I came away with 1-2-3.

After such a great result in Taranaki I was expecting to do well at Woodville this weekend even though it was my first go on the big track here. We stayed in Palmerston North for the week leading into Woodville and spent a few days out at Flipp MX Park to get a feel for it before Junior Nationals. Unfortunately the wind was blowing like crazy so we got sand blasted and wind burnt but it was another different condition I hadn’t ridden in before so got to learn more new stuff. We did early sign on on Friday afternoon and did a track walk and it looked pretty good. This morning it was dry and still blowing hard so by the time we got to our practice I was already over thinking my ride. Even though I didn’t enjoy practice I qualified 8th out of 26 or 28 other riders. Race 1 was okay, I wasn’t committing to the race so spent most of the time with my wheels on the ground and staying upright. In Race 2 I realised to meet my goals I need to work harder and smarter. The wind had died down a bit so I started jumping until I went over the double and a gust caught my front guard and I lost it, landing on my bum and sliding down the jump. I was in 4th when this happened so I got angry and rode hard to finish in a reasonable place. Race 3 I was in the zone and I pushed from gate drop to flag and considering how my day started I was happy with my finish. 11-15-4 put me at tenth overall for the day. I have learned that it really doesn’t matter how good I am on a good day, I need to be able to mentally bounce back from a bad ride to not have a whole bad day.

Today was awesome. The best day ever so far. This was our first road trip to Taranaki and my first time running in KOTM, which was also the final round of the North Island Champs. We went out and set up our pits yesterday and did a track walk while the prep was still being done and the layout of the track was cool. There’s a massive step down and a few areas that switch back and are going to get gnarly and rutty. When we arrived at the track this morning all the grooming and watering had been done and it looked so good I couldn’t wait for the day to get underway. I felt really good in practice, checked out lines and tested out the rollers and doubles before attacking them in the races. My starts were tidy all day and despite so many riders on the track and some big ruts, braking bumps and shiny patches managed to stay on my bike from beginning to end and finished Races 1 and 2 in second. Race 3 was epic. There were three of us really pushing each other for the top step of the podium and I was in third when my battle buddies went down in the ruts in front of me with 2 laps to go. I could see they were ok and took this opportunity and went for it, I rode even faster and harder up until the checkered flag. I went and saw the boys at their trailers after the race and we hung out for a bit until prize giving. We all get along really well on and off the track no matter what the results are. 2-2-1 today put me in First overall for King of the Mountain and second overall for the North Island Champs. So so happy with my riding today and the results and really looking forward to taking on Woodville big track next weekend now.

Back at Patetonga again for the first races of 2019. I had a break after Summercross and in practice it looked like I had forgotten how to ride, I came off a couple of times in silly places because I wasn’t really paying attention and got stuck in the clay. I switched on and rode really well in Race 1 making it to the front for the win. I also rode Junior Open today for some extra race time but some funky line choices and odd decisions had me lose focus and I was in a bad mood for this ride and Race 2 of Pro65, even though I finished in 2nd it was lazy riding. I felt it, my muscles hurt at the end of the race and if I am riding with proper technique and strong body position I don’t ache. I did a full gear change and put my game face on and rode how this track needs to be ridden – back to clearing the jumps, smashing the ruts and full throttle downs the straights. 1-2-1 today which keeps me up the top of points for the series so far. Now I have to working on not letting one meh race affect the rest of my day, especially in the next two events.

This is one of those events where everyone intends to take out the wins but Awakaponga always throws out a curve ball. I rode here last year and I had a terrible day. My starts were off and I didn’t back myself in the sawdust and sand and had heaps of accidents. This year I moved my goal from my Top 5 placing to a better finish than last year. Practice /qualifying was great, third fastest lap time and stayed upright. There was a layout change with added more turns and berms to this already challenging track but I can feel I have definitely grown in my riding over the last year because I didn’t wash out in the saw dust once today. Race 1 started well with a clean gate drop but as expected with 29 riders all heading into  one corner line, someone went down and there was a mass pile up. There were a few incidents this race and heaps of us were affected. My brake lever and gear shifter ended up where they shouldn’t have been but I was able to crawl around in first gear to finish. I finished last but got some points so it was better than a DNF. Race 2 I had another good start and was in a solid battle for third when I hit something (a rock or lump of track base) and went for a tumble. Race 3 it started to rain but I refused to let this track get the best of me today. My knee what fat from getting a handlebar in the leg in Race 1, I was starting to get tired but I rode hard and finished 4th. I found a couple of sweet lines that no one else was taking and railed some corners. It felt so good. 28-9-4 put me at 13th overall today and I’m ok with this as it is heaps better than 2017. This may be my nemesis track but I will keep coming back, not give up and continue to get a better result every year.

I had a great day at Harrisville today. We were expecting a rainy day and a sketchy track but Mother Nature must enjoy motocross because the clouds blew away and the track started to dry out after we pushed the mud around at practice.  Practice was slippery and without any ruts on the track yet it took a bit to control the powers slides around the corners. Race 1 was good, the start straight was sticky and it didn’t take long to get up the front of the pack and battle with the 85s. Race 2 started with a gnarly wheelie up the start straight  which I managed to keep under control and made it around holeshot corner in third or fourth. As the track got tackier my speeds started to get faster and I now have a new top speed here – 67 km/h. Race 3 was a different story though – I let the clutch out too fast, my front wheel hit the gate just before it hit the ground which sent m up to 12 o’clock doing a weather report. Luckily my bad start didn’t knock anyone else off and once I had picked my bike up and given everyone else a decent head start I got going and worked hard to ride down my competition. After the first lap I had made it up to 7th (from 17th and a quarter of a lap down) and by the flag I had made it up the 2nd in Pro65 and 3rg or 4th on the track. Sometimes I wish my races had just one more lap but I am happy with 1-1-2 for today. Definitely need to put some work into my starts again before the next few big one day events.

Today was another challenging day at Patetonga. This track is always hard, either way too wet or really dry but usually by lunchtime the track has good ruts and has lost most of it’s slipperiness. I rode Pro65 and Junior Open today and it was good to be in with some of the older riders and watch how they get around the track when it’s got puddles and slick lines. With Junior Nationals only 4 months away I am learning my strengths and weaknesses and working on them, my starts have been really strong and I have been pushing my limits without pushing them to the point of coming off my bike at race days. Today I went 1-1-1 in Pro65 which was on split start with the 85s and I wasn’t pointed for Junior Open as this was just for extra seat time.

After a weekend off racing last weekend to watch the SX Open in Auckland I was really wanting to ride somewhere this weekend. Because of the amount of storms hanging around so many tracks were closed but North King Country was staying open so we went down. It was flooding at home and two hours down the road it was blue skies and dry track. There were only four Pro65 riders today so we rode split start with the Under 13 85s and I enjoyed the competition. My starts have improved, I watched the older riders between races and took some new lines and it made a difference to my lap times and speeds. The last time I rode here was Waikato Champs and I had two offs but today I showed I had learned from those mistakes and instead of over thinking what I was going to do, or not do, I kept my head up and focused on the next obstacle. I really like clay tracks because they are hard and fast but I need to start spending some time in the sand getting a feel for it before heading to Flipps for Junior Nationals in April. When I told mum and dad I wanted to ride Junior Nats it felt like it was so far off but now it’s only 3 one day events and 8 club days away.

The last of the summer series I am riding in started today with the first round of Puke MX at Harrisville. I got to wear my new AliAs gear from Holeshot MX and felt pretty good lining up for practice with the other Pro65s and 8-10 year old 85s. There wasn’t a huge turnout today so I was focused on beating the 85 riders I knew. The track was really nice and not too dry or sticky all day. I set myself a goal to finish 1st for Pro65 and Top 3 for the all in.  I went 1-1-1 for my class and 2-2-1 in track position overall. At Round 1 of the 2017 summer series I had my fastest lap time of the season and today I beat it by 13 seconds. My new top speed is 64.6 km/h. I didn’t over do it today or take any unnecessary risks… I rode smart, choosing good lines and making clean passes and stayed on my bike. I now have my sights set on Summercross at Awakaponga and Woodville. It’s going to be a good summer.

Patetonga Valley Champs 2018 (again!). I took part in the original 2018 Valley Champs earlier this year in February but since the club is hosting round 2 of the North Island Champs the decision was made to bring this VC’s forward a few months so all NI racing was done over summer. After Waikato Champs I wasn’t going to ride as I have had a nasty chest infection that won’t go away but I begged mum to at least let me try and if I was too sick I’d just cheer on my mates. The club put on a great day and there was a good turn out of Juniors, the Pro65 group had 26 riders from all over so there were some new riders to figure out. I had a pretty terrible practice with so many silly mistakes and so much coughing, I thought I had really stuffed things up but had the 5th fastest lap time so didn’t have the worst gate pick. At this is our local track I have learnt how to start from every gate on the grid but I do have my favourite spots. Race 1 was good, the clay wasn’t as sticky after all the bigger bikes had done their practice and I was able to keep a good speed going. Tried a couple of different lines which didn’t quite work out and finished 2nd. I just missed the holeshot in race 2 and had some awesome battles with the other riders and was happily clearing the step up and tabletop but the last lap was under yellow flag due to a huge accident near the finish line where a rider broke his leg. Racing stopped for an hour or so while the medics did their job and once the rescue chopper had gone we were able to carry on with our afternoon. Race 3 I really pushed myself and was overtaking riders through the whoops and over the step up. I got my footpeg stuck in a deep rut out the back of the track which caused a bit of a problem and I lost a few places but got angry and rode back to 4th. I finished 2nd overall today which I am happy with that given the circumstances. In February I finished 5th overall so I have improved and I hit my goals of Top 3 and sub 2 minute lap times. I have also moved up from 5th in points for NI Champs after Sand Prix to 2nd. The last round is at King of the Mountain in Taranaki in January, a week before Woodville so we are going to pack up and stay down in the Mighty Manawatu for a couple of weeks and get some track time in at Flipps before the Junior Nationals in April.