A change of bike brand just weeks before the biggest race weekend of their careers? What were Hamish Dobbyn and Matt Hunt thinking?

Warkworth’s Dobbyn and Gisborne’s Hunt have each switched brands in the past few days, Warkworth’s Dobbyn changing from Yamaha to Kawasaki and Gisborne’s Hunt from Suzuki to Kawasaki.

The 17-year-old Dobbyn is not one to rush into things and, having been a fierce Yamaha stalwart for many years, winning numerous races and earning the respect of championship rivals all across the land, it came as something of a shock when he announced last week that he was switching to Kawasaki.

Both Dobbyn and Hunt are among the elite 24 riders who have been selected to represent New Zealand at the RoadCraft FIM Junior World Motocross Championships at Taupo on August 15-16.

The 17-year-old Hunt, one of New Zealand’s most successful junior motocross racers over the years, with a staggering seven junior titles (five motocross and two supercross) to his name, said he simply “felt like it was time for a change”.

“The Kawasaki is very good straight out of the box and I’ve had great support from Gisborne bike shop CGM Motorcycles. I’ve had three rides on the KX250F and it felt good straight away.”

Dobbyn joins the successful Fly Team Green race team, while Hunt is happy to be a privateer rider but the clock is ticking for them to be sharp for the Taupo event.

Fortunately, these two young men are both quick learners and Dobbyn says the “Kawasaki is a very friendly bike”.

“I’ve been out on the Kawasaki KX250F five times now and it really feels like it’s my bike now, not a stranger’s bike at all,” said Dobbyn.

“I’ve had a couple of months away from serious racing as I try to heal completely from an earlier injury and my shoulder is still a bit sensitive but my strength is building up day by day. I’ll be 100% by August 14.

“I’m really looking forward now to the world champs at Taupo. I love that track and usually go pretty well there. I’ve been to Europe and tried to qualify for the world champs starting line-up in 2007 but I missed the cut. But I’m a lot quicker now and this time around the racing will be on my turf.”

Words and photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Full story and more photos in your next issue of KIWI RIDER magazine.