SHARP RIDE ON A 250 | Bikesportnz

Waikato’s Darryll King is one man who is more than happy to ‘take a knife to a gun fight’.

The 43-year-old national MX2 (250cc) motocross champion knows his weapon of choice, the Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke, is easily sharp enough to inflict grievous wounds on his rivals.

The Hamilton man took his YZ250 into battle against the big-bore 450cc four-strokes of his chief rivals at the 35th annual Tony Rees Honda-sponsored Tarawera 100 cross-country endurance race near Kawerau on Saturday.

The horsepower handicap did not seem to slow him at all.

He firstly earned a stunning holeshot, hitting turn one ahead of more than 160 other riders, before settling for a superb runner-up overall and first in class result at the end of the gruelling three-hour race in the shadow of Mount Edgecumbe.

The race winner was local rider Cody Cooper, the Mount Maunganui man, 15 years his junior, riding a 450cc RM-Z Suzuki to victory, and finishing less than two minutes ahead of the hard-charging King.

“I stayed safe and had no crashes. That was important,” said King afterwards.

“To be honest, I think it’s a fantastic result. I finished second and won my bike class. To catch and pass Cody around here, I would have needed to take risks and that’s not how I ride any more.

“I got a great start but it doesn’t really suit me to lead at the start of a race like this. I needed to see riders ahead of me among the trees.”

King’s next big event is the Veteran’s Motocross World Championships at Matterley Basin, near Winchester, in south-west England, from August 16-19.

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