A FIGHT ON HIS HANDS | Bikesportnz

He has a huge fight on his hands, but Mount Maunganui’s Rhys Carter has the upper hand at the moment.

Carter (Moto City Bel-Ray Suzuki RM-Z250) faced up to just-crowned Australian supercross champion Jay Wilson (Altherm JCR Racing Yamaha YZ250F) at the first of two rounds in the New Zealand Supercross Championships near Timaru on Sunday, but, once the dust had settled, it was the Kiwi hero who came away with the points lead.

Carter finished 1-2-2 in his three championship races and left the purpose-built Timaru circuit with a slim one-point advantage over Wilson, with Amberley’s Micah McGoldrick (Honda CRF250) taking the third step on the podium.

“I was a little bit lucky in the first race,” admitted the 24-year-old Carter afterwards.

“Wilson came up the inside of me and we both got out of shape. He went down but I managed to save it and he finished the race in fourth spot. That gave me a good points break to start with.

“The second and final round of the championships (at Winton on Thursday afternoon) is actually a track I prefer, so I’m hoping for more good things to happen there.

“Micah McGoldrick is riding really well and he’s always in the mix, so I’m going to have to be good at Winton.

“I think the championship will come down to a battle between me and Jay (Wilson) though. I’ve just got to keep out of trouble and have a good couple of races on Thursday.

“If I can pull it off, this will be my first ever national senior supercross title. I won a junior one, in the 85cc class, in about 2003, but that’s a long time ago now.”

Other class winners at the opening round of the supercross were Mount Maunganui’s Cody Cooper (The Honda Shop Racing Team CRF450), in the senior open class; Hamilton’s Josiah Natzke (CMR Red Bull KTM), in the Junior 250cc class and Australian Sam Noonan (Yamaha), in the Junior 85cc class.

The Moto City Bel-Ray Suzuki team is supported by Suzuki New Zealand, Moto City – www.motocity.co.nz, Bel-Ray Lubricants, Suzuki Team Pro Rider, Pirelli Tyres, DRC, Braking, Renthal, Yoshimura, O’Neal Racewear, Oakley, Zeta, Epic Decals, The Rock radio, Dirt Rider Downunder, NGK, HiFlo Filtro, BikesportNZ.com and Taupo Diesel Solutions.

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