Title challengers made their presence felt at the third round of four in this season’s New Zealand Motocross Championships near Pukekohe on Sunday.

With three-quarters of the championship in the bag, likely title winners are obvious in at least two of the three classes, but the MX2 (250cc) category is far from settled and the MX1 and dual 125cc and under-21 divisions are also a little uncertain after a hectic day of racing at the Pukekohe Motorcycle Club’s circuit at Harrisville on Sunday.

Tauranga’s Ben Townley (MX1, 450cc class), Hamilton’s Darryll King (MX2, 250cc) and Amberley’s Micah McGoldrick (125cc and under-21) still enjoy a points advantage in their respective categories, even after their title challengers came on strong at Harrisville.

Townley extended his lead in the MX1 class thanks to his finishing 1-2-1 on Sunday but an unaccustomed runner-up finish in race two meant his hopes of a clean sweep of wins was dashed.

The man who shattered that dream was long-time friend and rival Josh Coppins, the man from Motueka leading the day’s second MX1 race from start to finish as Townley was left to battle through almost the entire field after a turn-one incident left him on the ground.

With Coppins finishing 2-1-2, the South Islander managed to put a halt to Townley’s win-streak and finish the day 21 points behind Townley in the championship chase, with just the fourth and final round at Taupo in a fortnight (March 18) to wrap up the series.

Townley was clearly the fastest man on the track but his crash in turn one underlined the fact that he can take nothing for granted.

In the MX2 class, 43-year-old defending champion King found himself again coming under fire from Queentown’s Scotty Columb.

The South Islander won the day, his score-card reading 2-3-1, enough to reduce his six-point deficit to just one point as the riders head to the final round in Taupo.

Tauranga’s Peter Broxholme moved up to third position overall for the championship but he is a massive 42 points further back.

In the 125cc class, McGoldrick continues to come under intense pressure from Bay of Plenty pair Cameron Vaughan, of Rotorua, and Tauranga’s Logan Blackburn, but a hat-trick of wins on Sunday strengthened McGoldrick’s position at the top.

McGoldrick is now 26 points ahead of Vaughan – an entire race up his sleeve – with Blackburn in third, a further 29 points behind.

The series heads to Taupo in a fortnight (March 18) for a thrilling final-round climax.

© Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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

 

Championship standings after round three:

 

MX1 class:

1st Ben Townley 222 pts

2nd Josh Coppins 201 pts

3rd Cody Cooper 168 pts

4th Justin McDonald 149 pts

5th Michael Phillips 141 pts

6th Hamish Dobbyn 140 pts

7th Brad Groombridge 115 pts

8th Mason Phillips 111 pts

9th  Nick Saunders 102 pts

10th Matt Hunt 86 pts

 

 

MX2 class:

1st Darryll King 196 pts

2nd Scott Columb 195 pts

3rd Peter Broxholme 153 pts

4th Rhys Carter 138 pts

5th Ethan Martens 128 pts

6th Shaun Fogarty 117 pts

7th Jayden Jessup 113 pts

8th Daryl Hurley 105 pts

9th Kieran Leigh 95 pts

10th Damien King 89 pts

 

125cc class:

1st Micah McGoldrick 219 pts

2nd Cameron Vaughan 190 pts

3rd Logan Blackburn 162 pts

4th Cameron Negus 134 pts

5th Callan May 126 pts

6th Eli Manson 124 pts

7th Nathan Clare 123 pts

8th Ryan Thompson 122 pts

9th Garth Amrein 99 pts

10th Jacob Kneebone 92 pts