WILKIE DETERMINED | Bikesportnz

Winning a national motorcycling title is one thing, but successfully defending it has often been described as the tougher of the two tasks.

But this is something that Masterton builder Mason Wilkie is determined to achieve when he again tackles the New Zealand Motorcycle TT Championships at Kuratau, near Turangi, this weekend.

TT racing is very much like superbike racing, but on soil instead of tarmac – there are no jumps to slow down the dirt bike racers.

The entry list for this weekend includes the stars of motocross, cross-country, enduro and even road-racing, All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) and super motard and they will hit eye-watering speeds as they chase glory at this 13th annual Bike Torque-sponsored Yamaha national TT championships at the south-western tip of Lake Taupo.

The racing in the premier motorcycle category, the open class bikes, went right down to the wire last season before Wairarapa’s Wilkie (Sargent Yamaha YZ450F) finally tipped the balance of power his way.

With three of the weekend’s five races completed, Taupo’s Cameron Dillon was on top of the open class standings, five points clear of Masterton’s Wilkie.

However, Wilkie led from the start in both of the next two races and was never headed, snatching away the title from Dillon.

“It was just a matter of me getting out front and not looking back,” Wilkie recalls.

“I crashed in the first race on Saturday, while I was leading, and had to fight back from dead last to finish third. That meant I was playing catch-up the whole weekend.

“It’ was a great feeling to win this … it was my first national title on a 450cc bike,” said the 22-year-old Wilkie, who has actually won 10 national titles in a variety of motorcycling codes.

It is likely to be Wilkie again at the front of the MX1 field, although he will be wary of the challenge posed by fellow Yamaha gun Ethan Martens, of Waitakere, Jesse Donnelly (Suzuki) of Paraparapumu, Palmerston North’s Tom Hughes (KTM) and Ngatea’s Luke Temple (Kawasaki), as well as former TT Champion Brad Groombridge (Honda), of Taupo.

Auckland’s Toby Summers is another to watch out for in the big bike class.

Summers is an exponent of the super motard art, a form of racing that typically involves the same YZ450F dirt bikes used with such great effect in the motocross world, but is also closely aligned to road-racing.

“I’ve been training pretty hard … not so much on fitness, because TT racing is not really about fitness as much as it is about bravery and speed,” said Wilkie. “I’ve been working on my starting technique and maintaining a high cornering speed.

“I’m not too concerned about who might be at Kuratau to challenge me. I just need to focus on doing my own thing right.”

The MX2 and 125cc classes are likely to feature Tauranga’s Logan Blackburn (Yamaha) near the front, alongside Dunedin’s Campbell King (Honda), Katikati’s Garth Amrein (Yamaha) and BikesportNZ.com star Josh Jack (Suzuki), of Kaukapakapa, while Taranaki’s Mitch Rowe (Yamaha) could be the man to watch in the veterans’ class.

There are also several classes of racing this weekend for the All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) fraternity.

Organised by the Taumarunui Motorcycle Club, the venue is just off State Highway 41, and will be signposted from the Kuratau Junction, S.H. 41 and 32.

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