Entered in two separate classes and ending the day with more senior race wins than any other rider under the baking-hot sky, Waikato’s Josiah Natzke could be forgiven for feeling a little burnt out on Sunday afternoon.

The 16-year-old national 125cc motocross champion was, perhaps not unexpectedly, the dominant force in the senior 125cc class at the weekend’s 54th annual Honda New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville. But the CMR Red Bull KTM rider also came close to winning the MX2 (250cc) division at this event as well.

Natzke was unbeaten in his three senior 125cc class races, easily winning the grade ahead of Taupo’s Wyatt Chase (Total BikesportNZ.com Yamaha), but, with the sun beating down its 30-degree heat and dust rising to obscure some of the ruts on the rough and rutted circuit, he could not quite manage to make it two class wins for the day, settling instead for the No.3 podium spot in the MX2 category.

Natzke finished 2-1 in the opening two MX2 races of the day and this put him top of the class standings, five points ahead of two-time former national 250cc champion Mike Phillips, of Rotorua.

However, sapped of energy, Natzke could manage only 14th in his third and final MX2 race, although this was still good enough for an overall podium spot, with Natzke scoring just one point more than national MX2 champion Kayne Lamont (Valley Fresh BikesportNZ.com Yamaha YZ250F), who was eventually fourth overall.

Phillips (The Honda Shop Racing Team CRF250) secured the class win, finishing the day 11 points ahead of visiting Australian KTM rider Caleb Ward.

“I got a bad start in the first MX2 race and had to work my way up, wasting a lot of energy,” Natzke explained. “In the second race I grabbed the holeshot, quickly pulled out a bit of a gap and then just held it from there.

“By the third race I just ‘hit the wall’. I really had nothing left to give. The track was very rough, but at least I’m uninjured and safe after a tough day.”

Natzke now readies himself to tackle both the 125cc and MX2 classes at the upcoming New Zealand Motocross Championships, which kick off in the Taranaki region in less than two weeks’ time (on February 8).

He should be comfortable about defending his national 125cc crown after his recent dominant performances, but he also knows he will have his work cut out facing Phillips, Lamont, Ward and all the other extremely talented competitors in the MX2 class.

Natzke is pushing himself hard to tackle two classes this summer because he wants to build up his strength, speed and stamina for his upcoming European motocross campaign.

The teenager heads to Belgium immediately after the fourth and final round of the nationals, set for Pukekohe on March 15. He will race for the KTM factory in the EMX 125 European Championships, the eight-round competition beginning at Trentino, Arco di Trento in Italy on April 19 and concluding on August 30 in Assen, in the Netherlands, at the end of August.

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

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