Christchurch’s Justin McDonald showed the kind of form that made him national MX1 motocross champion in 2009 as he led a Honda 1-2 sweep at the weekend’s 48th annual Peter Brown Memorial Motocross near Blenheim.

McDonald took his Timaru Honda CRF450 to an amazing string of five wins from five starts in the MX1 class at the Croad’s Honda-sponsored event, while fellow Timaru Honda rider, Amberley’s Micah McGoldrick celebrated his debut ride on the red brand by finishing the weekend unbeaten in the MX2 (250cc) class.

So dominant were the two Canterbury riders that nobody could match them, the Honda stars between them winning 10 class races and then dominating the all-capacities 13-lap feature race as well.

The two men then lined up alongside one another at the Waihopai Valley circuit to finish 1-2 in the feature race, giving McDonald six wins from his six starts.

Third, fourth and fifth in the feature final were Christchurch’s Andy Blanchard (Suzuki), Brighton’s Campbell King (Honda) and Nelson’s Jamie Voight (Kawasaki).

For former national junior champion and 2012 senior 125cc and under-21 champion McGoldrick, it was a particularly satisfying weekend, celebrating outstanding success in his first competitive outing on the new Timaru Honda CRF250 bike.

“I have not raced in three or four months and then I switched brands only a week or so ago to ride Honda, only picking up the new 2013-model bike two days before the weekend’s big race,” said the 17-year-old.

“I didn’t feel there was a lot of pressure on me to perform so well first time out on the bike, but I got the holeshot in every race and just took off from there. I just rode my own race and tried not to do anything silly.

“This was certainly an ideal way to begin the season. Five wins from five starts … you couldn’t ask for much better than that.”

McDonald and McGoldrick now prepare themselves for the upcoming Honda Summercross near Whakatane just after Christmas, a big stand-alone event that leads the nation’s elite riders into the summer season, quickly followed by the Honda Woodville Motocross in January and culminating with the four-round New Zealand Motocross Championships, set to wrap up in Taupo in March.

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

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