Pahiatua’s Scott Sowry is burning up the race tracks in Australia.

Riding a Bud Racing Kawasaki KX85B, Sowry tackled rounds five and six of the Australian Off-road Championship in the J2 (12-15yr 85cc/150cc) class.

“These two rounds were held near a very small of Callington, about an hour’s drive east of Adelaide, or 10 minutes west of Murray’s Bridge,” said Sowry.

The format for these two rounds was sprint/sprint. The local club had marked out two 6.2-kilometre courses among the trees in a 16-hectare paddock.

The soil was very fine sand, “which made riding at Taikorea (in the Manawatu) seem easy”.

“I hadn’t ridden an 85 since the last round two months ago, so it took a bit to get used to.

“I fell off a few times in the first two heats. After the second heat on Saturday, I only had a one-second lead over my main rival. I then settled into the 85 and shaved 20 seconds off my sprint times and, after eight heats, I had just over a two-minute lead, giving me the round win.

“On Sunday we swapped tracks with the expert/Pro riders and, after their seven heats, the course was really rough.

“With an early start and the cold air, my bike was running rich and I set the second fastest time. By the next heat, things had warmed up and the bike was running sweet and I regained the lead. After seven sprints, I had built a nearly two-minute lead, to give me another round win.”

So, after six rounds, the young Kiwi now has a 34-point lead with four rounds remaining.

There are two enduros, a cross-country race and another sprint day to finish up the series.

“I want to give a huge thanks to the Clover family, from Sydney, for taking my bike to the event, and to Bushriders Motorcycle Club (Pahiatua), for paying my entry fee and insurance for this round.”

© Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com