Soren Staudinger

Something is really wrong with the weather this summer. Waikato Champs were washed out after one race and TECT cancelled last weekend but the rain finally stopped so we could ride at Patetonga today. It was sticky and humid and the clay was tacky for most of the morning. I double classed in 85s and 125s and had some really good battles and some solid starts. The rain came back in time for race 3 and came down hard so it was so sloppy and slippery. I was happy with how I rode and that I didn’t take any short cuts in my processes today and the results show. 1st overall for 85s, 2nd overall in junior 125s.

This weekend was the last ever ride at Cambridge MX in it’s current location after 50 years. This was one of the first NZ clubs I joined and had the privilege of being asked to ride for them at Battle of the Clubs not long after moving here. This track was great in the dry, and really hard work in the wet. I have been sent into the scrub here, stuck in the drain and I have done some nice cartwheels here too. I also had some massive confidence gains at this track after injuries and met an awesome community of moto families. Saturdays ride day was heaps of fun and I rode in 13-16 85 and Junior 125. We came back on Sunday too to support the club and watch some senior riding. This place will be missed but the club will rise again at some point and I look forward to being part of it.

With covid and the restrictions in place a whole lot of club days and events have been cancelled so the usual road trips this summer are off. Twilights at Patetonga have been able to start up again and even though it was a smaller group of riders it was so good being back behind the gates. My starts were pretty good, I’m getting better at holding my line deeper into holeshot corner and finding good rhythm around the track. 1-1-1 for tonight.

Sometimes you have to walk away from events looking at the positives, not the results, to see how much you’ve improved. MX Fest since moving to the 85 has always has a different challenge each year – mechanicals, strange crashes, racing stopped early due to big incidents – but this year it went smoothly. I haven’t raced Taupo in almost a year so really had to get comfortable being uncomfortable and just ride. I set a goal of Top 10 for the day with no breaks to me or my bike and I achieved it. So much little stuff that no one sees went right and then we got to finish the day at the Bell Dirt Sprints.

I have not enjoyed riding TECT since they removed the trees and remade the track as it went from hard pack clay to powder with all sorts of rocks and logging left overs underneath. I suffered a nasty crash and concussion here in 2019 and I have not really been interested in being back here for a while but part of my path is to identify my challenges and get passed them. Today I went out with a different intention and enjoyed myself, pulled a nice holeshot, cleaned up some technique and worked on lap consistency. I am very thankful to have people in my corner who are helping me through some rough off the bike stuff and am looking forward to better times ahead.

Since changing my thinking of “I’m not a sand rider” I have really enjoyed riding gritty tracks like Mercer. I like how the track changes every lap and there’s hidden challenges like braking bumps to deal with. Today I double classed in both 85 groups and am pretty happy with my fitness. There’s always a lot of little things to work on and now that I have started to overcome my biggest obstacle (me) I’m feeling good about the path I’m on.

We were back in Cambridge this weekend for the first time in ages and it was so good to ride here again. This track seems to be the one I have my light bulb moments at! I have been working with some really good people on the little things that get forgotten when you put too much pressure on. Today I enjoyed the moment I was in, I rode my bike because it is fun, I didn’t worry about making mistakes or what other people might think or say. Today I just rode and trusted my processes and it was great.

Tokoroa was frozen when we arrived this morning, everything was white and crunched under your boots. My starts have improved heaps over the winter series despite not getting much seat time away from these race days and my attitude and mood is more stable. I spent today working on taking better lines and being more fluid and responsive to the track changes. I felt more confident to be on the attack and ride more aggressively and it made this so much more fun. 3-4-3 today which put me at 2nd overall for the season. It felt really good to be back on the podium again.

I didn’t actually think Dad would take me to Mercer today with the NZ wide wet weather forecasts but he agreed and it was not as bad as expected. Mercer sand is deep and sucks in all the water and is like riding in wet cement if there’s been big falls. Today was about having fun in challenging conditions again. I had good starts and lead for a few laps before going down, I felt smooth, found my throttle and remembered why I ride. 3-2-3 and a big smile for today.

I was surprised last week with a new KX85 big wheel and today I got to break it in at the third Tokoroa club day. I didn’t think there would be too much difference between the bikes but my starts sucked. Overall it felt really good, definitely smoother in the bumps. I stayed on the small wheel because the plan was to go to Aussie Juniors in Qld but covid restrictions keep messing with that idea so time to move up and focus on the bigger picture. 4-4-7 today with plenty of data gathered to get this bike working for me.