MARTENS ON THE MOVE | Bikesportnz

“It is never over until it’s over” … this could well be the adage used by Waitakere’s Ethan Martens.

Never a truer word has been spoken and, after Martens’ sparkling performance at the second of four rounds in this season’s New Zealand Motocross Championships in the Thames Valley at the weekend, all bets are now off on picking a champion.

The smart money probably still goes with JCR Yamaha Racing team rider Scotty Columb, now a whopping 16 points in front of the chasing bunch in the MX2 (250cc) class, but the series is only halfway done.

Columb (YZ250F) produced another solid performance on Sunday, but the Queenstown rider will need to be very sharp indeed if he is to stay in the top spot over the following two rounds, especially if Martens can keep his momentum going.

Martens was biggest mover at the Patetonga circuit on Sunday, winning the day with 3-2-1 results in the three MX2 races and rocketing up eight positions in the standings.

He has elevated himself from 12th after round one to now be a solid fourth in the championship standings.

When the 21-year-old took his Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke to the top step of the podium on Sunday, his title hopes were alive again, something that nobody had thought likely after his disastrous day at the Timaru opener two weeks earlier.

“It’s hard to believe,” Martens admitted.

“I had a shocking DNF in one of the races at round one and that cost me a lot of points. (Mount Maunganui’s national No.3) Rhys Carter (Moto City Suzuki RM-Z250) crashed in front of me at Timaru and I had nowhere to go. I badly tweaked my knee. I actually thought I had dislocated it.

“I continued to ride but I was in quite a bit of pain and so the results weren’t fantastic at Timaru.”

But it was a different story for the young Yamaha ace at Patetonga on Sunday.

“I’ve grown up riding the Patetonga track a lot, so it’s one of my favourites, although I’ve never really had much luck there in the past.

“I beat (defending national MX2 champion) Darryll King (Fox DC Fuzion Yamaha YZ250) and (2013 national series No.2 in the MX2 class) Brock Winston (CMR Red Bull KTM 250SX) during a low-key meeting at Pukekohe last weekend, so I knew I had the pace to win at Patetonga.

“I just needed to get good starts and that’s what happened.

“I’m looking forward to the next round (at Pukekohe on March 10). That’s one of my favourite tracks too, so maybe I’ll have another good day,” he laughed.

A top three finish is a distinct possibility now for Martens. He is just six points behind third-ranked Carter and 21 points behind Winston.

Martens’ chances of catching Columb are very remote indeed – the South Islander is 16 points ahead of Australian visitor Winston – but that won’t stop him from trying.

Martens is supported by Yamaha Motor New Zealand, Fox, Scott, Alpinestars, Tsubaki Chains, Pirelli and Sik MX Decals.

Comments are closed.