TWO OF EVERYTHING | Bikesportnz

There was two of everything terrific at the New Zealand ATV Motocross Championships in Taranaki at the weekend.

The two days of tantalising race action at the Barrett Road Motorcycle Park near New Plymouth provided two tough and contrasting extremes of track conditions and, throughout it all, two Taranaki brothers were at the tip of a thrilling finish.

With wet weather forecast for Sunday’s second of two days of racing, the organisers of the Cory’s Electrical-sponsored event decided they should attempt to power through as many of the planned seven races for each of class while the sun shone on Saturday.

While the idea was to be commended, it did, of itself, create something of a problem with billowing dust clouding much of Saturday’s action.

However, with four races completed by late on Saturday afternoon, it set the championships up for several thrilling showdowns on the course that had transformed into a muddy quagmire the following day.

With Taranaki’s Keegan brothers, 26-year-old Camo and 24-year-old Scott, sharing race wins in the premier senior A class on Saturday, it meant there was nothing to separate them at the start of action on Sunday.

It was a similar story for the veterans’ class, with Christchurch’s Greg Graham ending day one just two points ahead of Napier’s Wade Taylor.

But most of the attention was focussed on the premier class and, with conditions deteriorating, organisers decided on Sunday morning to run just one more race for each class.

This meant it was a winner-takes-all final race for the glamour title.

Camo Keegan snatched the lead at the start of Sunday’s main race and, despite being blinded by the rooster tail of mud flying back at him, younger brother Scott gritted his teeth and kept up the attack.

A rare mistake by Scott Keegan then saw Camo Keegan stretch away at the front, until he too spun out in the mud, allowing Scott to close back up. With less than half a lap remaining, Camo was baulked by a lapped rider and he lost his drive in the mud, dramatically allowing Scott to snatch the lead, take the race win and the title.

“I was pretty gutted about how it all finished because lapped riders are meant to pull to one side and let the leaders pass. But that’s racing,” said Stratford car mechanic Camo Keegan, who had been national ATV champion in 2013 and favourite to win it again this season after finishing runner-up to Canterbury’s Ian Ffitch last season.

“I suppose, if I couldn’t win it, the title couldn’t have gone to a better person than my own brother,” he said.

First-time champion Scott Keegan, a Lepperton bricklayer, was naturally thrilled with the outcome.

“I was behind Camo for most of that final race and my helmet was getting very heavy, with something like 20 kilos of mud stuck to it,” he laughed.

“It’s great to race against my brother like this. We know each other so well and trust one another not to do anything stupid.

“It was a pretty crazy final day actually. My engine failed and Ffitch loaned me his back-up engine and he also loaned me some new mud tyres too. How about that, the defending champion helping me to take away his title?”

Third overall in the premier class was 21-year-old Tauranga rider Mark Goldstone.

Christchurch’s defending champion Ffitch experienced a weekend from hell as he suffered a succession of mechanical problems and he ended up a uncharacteristic eighth overall.

Meanwhile, Kaiwaka 17-year-old Cullen Curtis totally dominated the 450cc production class on Saturday, scoring four wins, and all it needed was a conservative approach in the treacherous slop in Sunday’s solitary 450cc class race for Curtis to take the crown.

He settled for a runner-up finish in that race, comfortably enough to earn him the title.

He finished the championship 23 points ahead of Christchurch’s Sam George, with New Plymouth’s Cory Whitelock taking the third step on the podium.

Other class results were:

Veterans’ class: 1. Christchurch’s Greg Graham; 2. Napier’s Wade Taylor; 3. Christchurch’s Gary Doig.

Women’s class: 1. Christchurch’s Abby Holliday; 2. Stratford’s Nicola Reid; 3. Auckland’s Nina Kristensen.

Junior A grade: 1. Christchurch’s Taylor Graham; 2. Nelson’s Jack White; 3. Christchurch’s Kane McGrath.

Junior B grade: 1. Christchurch’s Max Lecompte; 2. Christchurch’s Mitchell Godfrey; 3. Christchurch’s Jessie Lyall.

ATV minis class: 1. Christchurch’s Kalese Lecompte; 2. Christchurch’s Harrison Graham; 3. Amberley’s Caitlyn Parish.

Clubmans’ support class: 1. Auckland’s Sean Burborough; 2. New Plymouth’s Devan Whitelock; 3. Stratford’s Blair Childs.

Clubmans’ trail riders junior support class: 1. Tauranga’s Nathan Hunt; 2. Opunake’s Zakiah Corrigan; 3. Patea’s Tyler Campbell.

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Full story and more photos in your next issue of KIWI RIDER magazine.

Check back here on www.BikesportNZ.com during this week as we bring you more words and photos from the weekend.

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