Things didn’t really go in TECTs favour this season with conditions forcing cancellation of race days due to flooding and then because of no rain. Today was windy and dusty but good practice for Junior Nationals when the track breaks down and gets some mean braking bumps forming up under the soft, slippery clay dust. I rode pretty well today, focusing on my corner speed and trusting my skill on my bike. I am starting to feel more stable on softer tracks now and even with some average riding this season while we got my bike set up and I got used to riding an 85 I managed to finish 5th overall for the season against some really strong riders.
I think today was my best day racing at Harrisville so far. It was a long day on a hot, hard, slippery track and I loved it. I double classed again this weekend, in the 8-10 85s and riding up in the 11-12 85s. After doing two practices I was nicely warmed up for some good racing and enjoyed the challenge of being in the older 85 group. It was a full gate so going into holeshot corner was a bit freaky with about 35 of us all charging for the same place on the track. I was mid pack so was focused on not being involved in a pile up and as soon as we were on the track I went for it, picking good lines, committing to jumps and trying to keep my corner speed up. My 8-10 85 races I had some really positive results. Fastest lap time in Race 1 finishing second, fastest last time in Race 2 finishing second and holeshot and fastest lap time in Race 3 and the win! I also smashed my own personal best lap time around this track which was awesome. I only did 2 of the older 85 races – sitting 4th in Race 1 and 3rd in Race 2 – as the heat was tiring and I didn’t need to break myself just for track time. It feels good to be making gains again and see that the work being put in is paying off.
Today was another solid day of riding at Patetonga. The committee has put a lot of work into the track lately because the ruts formed up perfect for some really smooth, fast racing. I really like a good clay track. Since I am starting to feel stronger on the bike I double classed in the U12 85 and Junior Open classes because Junior Nationals is less than 3 months away and my endurance is still a little inconsistent. I went 2-2-3 in my 85 class with consistent lap times and no offs but I didn’t keep track of the Junior Open results as I wasn’t in it for points, just track time. The heat has been hard to ride in this summer but has it’s positives… like if we go to Queenland for the Aussie Juniors I’ll be used to sweating heaps and keeping hydrated. My highlight for today was being the lead rider for the minis who were riding a new, bigger track layout. I got to wear the hi-vis vest and show them around which was fun.
Our road trip to Woodville on Friday started a couple of hours later than planned after my cat decided to play hide and seek as we were packing and was found hanging out in the paddock next door. After a pretty good drive we got to the track to set up the pits and do a track walk. Since it’s been a long hot and dry summer the dirt track is almost hard pack but it looked really good. There was a couple of different jumps but the usual Woodville features were there. Qualifying on Saturday was ok, I did my look laps and got p13 which was annoying as I know I could have done better. I went into race 1 fired up and was unfortunately involved in a holeshot pile up, still not sure of what happened but my bike cartwheeled one way and I flew the other way. I got up and gave myself an quick checkup and was able to get my bike started and get back to racing. I had to work hard from dead last and almost a minute behind the leader to get any places back and I fought hard up to 25th. Back at our trailer we found out my bars were bent, my thighs were bruised and my stomach hurt from smashing into something. My awesome pit crew changed the bars and I went back out to race 2 just aiming to have a better start and to give it as much as I could since I had lost any chance of a winning day. I placed 11th in race 2 and finished my day with a 7th in race 3. The track was really dusty by the end but I kept pushing until the checkered flag and was so pumped to be told that 25-11-7 put me at 11th overall for the day… only a couple of points off my goal of a Top 10 finish for my first MXGP on the 85. I was happy to get out of my gear and go jump in the river to cool down before prize giving. and while I was a little disappointed to not come away with a trophy or some prize money I am proud of myself for not giving up when I had a lot of reasons to but no crashes or busted bits are going to slow me down.
Just the boys headed to Taranaki for King of the Mountain this weekend and it was a fun adventure. The Kawasaki truck was set up for Junior day this weekend and I really enjoyed being able to pit under it, making the most of the shade and support. I qualified 3rd in practice and after an average start in race 1 I was battling to get to second when I came together with a lapper on the last lap. Race 2 had a better start and I was able to pick up my pace and weave through the other riders on the track to finish 2nd. Race 3 started with a holeshot and some hard riding but I lost focus and came off a couple of times towards the end. 5-2-6 for 4th for 8-10 85s today and also 4th overall for the North Island series even though I missed the Sand Prix because I was broken. I’m pretty happy with the progress I am making on my KX85, it’s almost 4 months since I was allowed to start riding again so if I keep working hard on and off the bike my goal for Junior Nationals in April should be achievable.
It was a scorcher at Patetonga today for Round 3 of their summer series. This was the first club day I have done at my home track this season due to being injured at the start of the season or having coaching to get settled on the green bike and as always the track did not disappoint. Even having heaps of water put down the track dried out hard, rutty and fast in the dry heat. I double classed my 85 class and Junior Open today and it showed my usual routine was pretty relaxed over the school holidays… the junk food and not drinking enough water affected me today and I was finding it a hard day at the office, even getting a sunburned nose while riding. I had a fun time and rode cautiously and consistent in all my races as I didn’t want to do myself or my bike any damage in the conditions. I finished 2nd overall in the Under 12 85 class and 5-3 in Junior Open and really wished I hadn’t chosen to ride in my black gear today.
SummerCross 2019 was my third attempt at this event and my most successful by far. Every other time I have ridden here I have had wacky crashes and broken bits that we didn’t have spares of. I have bent bars, lost visors, bent brake levers, broken my gear shifter, snapped plastics, smooshed a radiator, eaten a good selection of sand, dirt and sawdust, and tried to take on a tractor tyre barrier and ended up in the drain. Fun times. It had become my “evil enemy” track and I knew that each time I rode here I just set my goal to be a better finish than the time before. Over the last couple of race days I have had massive gains in bike settings and confidence so I felt good going into today and setting my goal for a Top 10 finish. There were 31 kids in my class today and I knew I was going to have to keep my head on an push hard to be able to compete with the front runners. Practice was good, the saw dust section was taken out and a huge wall jump put in and I qualified 8th fastest which I was happy with. Race 1 was awesome. The gate dropped and I got the holeshot! I don’t know how but I went around turn 1 clear of anyone else and was battling the 1NZ 8-11 85 champ for the lead until half way through the lap when I stalled my bike. I lost so many places but didn’t give up and fought my way back up to 12th. Races 2 and 3 were good too. I had great starts, getting around the holeshot in the first 3 or 4 riders, and stayed on my bike for all rides. The track had some gnarly braking bumps, ruts and soft sections so I changed lines, pushed hard and didn’t lose focus of my goal for the day. It’s a good feeling to come out of this event knowing that I’ve done my best and can no longer call this my nemesis track. I finished 8th overall and with no damage to myself or my bike. This was the best end to 2019 I could have asked for and I’m now ready for a full on 2020.
We were back at Harrisville today for the last club day of the year. I told Dad on the drive up this morning I was going to go hard and give today 100% and that’s exactly what I did. Practice was a bit mucky and even riding safe in the sloppy clay I had a good qualifying time. Race 1 was great. Holeshot and the win after getting a huge lead and maintaining it. I held more speed into the corners, was braking later, was smoother on the throttle and clearing all the jumps I had on my hit list. Race 2 was another good start and holeshot. I’m getting much better with my gears and can now get into 6th up Champion Straight. On the last lap I slid out on the doubles and smashed my clutch lever off. It was so difficult trying to get started again but because I had a good lead before my crash I only fell back to second. Dad had a spare lever in the trailer so I was back on the gates for race 3 which was another solid start and holeshot. I rode smart for the whole race and it felt good to nail the jumps I have been wanting to since I started riding here on my 65. My lap times were super consistent for the whole day which is good because it shows that my fitness is at a level where I can throw around this bigger bike without running out of energy.
It was hot and humid at Waikato Champs today in North King Country with a few showers making the clay nice and sticky and helped it form up some good ruts. My starts were pretty good except in race 3 which I started on one wheel. I felt really comfortable on the bike today, my suspension set up was great and I had some really good battles with the other riders. I tried new things like standing through the deep corner ruts and different lines as the day went on and the track conditions changed. I went 2-3-5 for third overall in 8-10 year old 85s today. I had a small off on the last lap of race 3 which lost me a bit of time because I couldn’t get my bike started again. It felt really good to be back on the podium again and hopefully I can keep this riding up for the summer events coming up.
Since Tauranga MX Club is holding the 2020 Junior Nationals we are trying to get down to as many race days as possible to learn about the funky sandy clay track they run. I doubled classed today in the 8-11 85 and Junior Open because I have been putting in heaps of work in my off track physical and mental health and doing 5+ motos in a day is a good test. My starts were good and my jumps and line choices had improved since Round 2 but my corner speed let me down. I was in the wrong gear a lot and didn’t carry enough speed in to lean the bike over and power through. I went 5-5-5 for 4th overall in the 8-11 85 class and 11-13 in the junior Open with riders of all ages under 16 on 85s to 250s. I had a fun day and feel good about the progress I am starting to make. There’s a few one day events coming up over the next couple of months so I am going to be out there doing my thing, working towards my goals again and enjoying another summer of moto.
Soren Staudinger 