Category: 2020

Woodville GP was a boys trip with Junior Nationals next weekend so the intent was to drive down, ride, drive home and put all the focus into National prep. Unfortunately things did not really go to plan. Practice was good, I had fun and the track looked like it was going to be great with some nice straights and jumps. I finished 8th in both races 1 and 2 which I wasn’t happy with. My off track processes were sloppy and hugely affected my on bike processes. I went out for race 3 looking forward to some more good battles but this was short lived when I washed out at the finish line. Dad took me off the track and I spent some time in with the medics before catching an ambo to Palmy Hospital. 8-8-26 for 12th overall and no Junior Nationals now. Time to have a break and rest and recover and get better all round.

After a few average Summercrosses we decided to treat this weekend as a break away at the beach with some moto instead of a moto trip. We stayed in Opotiki for a couple of days and enjoyed some sun, sand and good company and then we went racing. It was a long day with lots of crashes in race 1 so we spent a lot of the time riding under yellow flags . A lot of people weren’t doing the right thing and I let this annoy me too much but now understand the purple flag after a good de-brief with dad. I dropped my bike in the deep sand out the back in race 2 and it took a air bit to get going again. My starts we’re good today and I was looking forward to redeeming myself in race 3 but the day was called early due to a big crash that required a chopper. 7-10 for 8th overall. Came away with a little bit of prize money and better understanding of how my emotions can affect my day.

Today was a real test to see if all the changes we have made since being on the MotoE program with Coach Robb have helped with multiple days of racing leading into Nationals. I was looking forward to riding again today after such a good day at Rotorua yesterday. The track was it usual unpredictable self for practice and hardened up nicely for some fast laps. I had a small off while trying something new and once I had figured out the better line choice I got myself a new PB lap time. I’m really happy with how consistent I rode across this weekend and it feels good to know the hard work I am putting in off the bike is starting to show.

This was the first ever KawiGirls Kings & Queens event and the first time I have ridden at Rotorua in ages and was really looking forward to checking out the new reverse track layout. It was cool to turn up and have a place reserved under the Kawasaki pit complete with reserved plaque and goodie bag. Everyone loves treats. I had a good qualifier and was happy with the lines I took and my process. Between races we got to catch up with people we hadn’t seen in some time and got to meet two time world champion Courtney Duncan. I got to have some awesome battles and push myself and had an epic race 3. I came away with 2nd overall and a massive confidence boost coming into summer.

I love my local track but Valleys is always a weekend where I make mistakes and come away feeling like I had more to put in. I have recently learned this is ‘over riding’ and because I always expect better of myself. With the VCs being part of the North Island Series they run different classes so I was riding in 11-12 85cc instead of 8-11. It was a really good day of racing, my race craft is improving and there were some solid battles resulting in 3-4-4 for 4th overall today. There are a couple of areas I need to work on before Nationals which we will focus on with Coach Robb to train my weaknesses.

This weekend I got some awesome news. I have been selected for Complete Racing Solutions Moto-E Elite team. It is a massive opportunity to work with one of sports best performance development coaches on an intense program covering physical fitness and strength, mental health and sports nutrition. Another awesome addition to the people in my corner supporting my long game. Thanks Robb and team.

MX Fest is always a busy weekend and this long weekend was even bigger as Battle of the Clubs was running on Friday this weekend too. I took part in the dirt sprints on Friday night and while my starts were good I was knocked out of the competition in the first round as I was up against a junior 250. Saturday was a big day of racing, and I didn’t have the best starts so I was having to work my way through a really competitive class. I made some mistakes, I could have pushed myself harder and finished 9th overall for the day. We spent Saturday night watching speedcross which was fast and exciting like mini supercross and then stopped by the track again on Sunday to check out the seniors racing before heading home. It was a huge weekend away, I got some awesome news I had to process, did some riding, watched some battles and caught up with a lot of people.

Its always a good feeling to be racing back at your home track. Today was the first round of the season at Patetonga and prizegiving for the last one because our last ride day was cancelled due to covid. Practice is always wet here because the clay needs so much moisture to form good ruts. Unfortunately the pump timer didn’t turn off so the sprinklers ran most of the night and practice was like trying to ride on a clay river. We rode the twilight cut off track instead and the track dried up pretty quick into some fast and tacky lines as it always does. I won all my races today and picked up 3rd at prizegiving for 2019/2020 for my first season on the 85.

This was the first time I have entered TTs, I went out and watched last year while I was injured and it looked like heaps of fun to be blasting around a big paddock on a mostly flat grass track. While I wasn’t sure what to expect I quickly found my way on practice setting the fastest qualifying time. I had a couple of tumbles as I figured out how enter and exit corners at high speed going 3-2-3-2-2 over the two days for third overall. This was so much fun going around the big sweepers and straights, I got to hold my bike open in 6th gear and fly. I can’t wait to do this again next year and see if I can best my new best top speed record.

It’s not often I go to a sand track and can’t wait to ride. The Mercer track looked so good this morning and it was exciting to see SkyTV set up their camera towers and know that we were going to be on tv. Practice was good, the low bits of the track that usually get boggy had been built up, there were some sweet rollers down the back and a new hip jump to try out. I was sitting in 4th in race 1 when I was hit on the last lap and had to untangle tires and fought back to 8th. Race 2 was awesome, got the holeshot! I was pushing hard in 2nd when my front end felt funny so I pulled off the track and my brake calliper was barely hanging on. It sucked I couldn’t finish so I went out for race 3 hungry to finish in a positive. I was really happy with my riding today, I didn’t give up and kept my head in the right place. 8-DNF-5 for 10th overall. It was cool to be able to watch our races on YouTube after we got home and for my family in Aussie and England to be able to see what I love doing.