He is so close he can almost taste it.

Te Puke’s Logan Blackburn had been on the fringes all season, but as he packs up his Bayride BikesportNZ.com Yamaha YZ125 and heads to Taupo for the fourth and final round of the New Zealand Motocross Championships this Easter Weekend, he feels something special might be about to happen.

Blackburn found himself third overall in the highly-competitive 125cc class after a brutal day of racing at the series opener near Timaru last month, a handful of points behind fellow Yamaha stars Courtney Duncan and Cameron Vaughan.

Otago’s Duncan left shortly afterwards to fulfil overseas racing commitments and, with her gone, it became a straight scrap between Rotorua’s Vaughan (JCR Yamaha Racing YZ125) and Blackburn for the title.

Blackburn narrowly won the day at the previous round of the series, at Pukekohe three weeks ago, but Vaughan leads championship standings, albeit by just a slim margin of four points.

But four points are not a safe buffer and if Blackburn again finishes in front of Vaughan in the first race on Sunday, then the pendulum swings dramatically back in Blackburn’s favour.

There are three races for the 125cc class at Taupo on Sunday, and that means 75 points are available to the winner, with Blackburn determined that he is the one who will be victorious.

“I know the Taupo track really well and I like it there,” said the 18-year-old Blackburn.

“The championship is going down to the wire and I think it will all come down to who gets the best starts. The margin between us is small so it may just depend on who makes the fewest mistakes on the day.

“My bike is going great and I have a huge incentive to win … this could be my first New Zealand motocross title and that’s something I’ve always wanted.”

Third in the championship standings is Tauranga’s Aaron Wiltshier (KTM), a massive 38 points behind Blackburn.

Racing at the sand and pumice-based Digger McEwen circuit is set to kick off at about 10am on Sunday.

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