When the engines were finally shut off on Sunday afternoon, the 2017 New Zealand Motocross Championships had reached the halfway stage.

Action started late in the day after organisers waited for “Mother Nature” to show her hand, but the drenched track on the outskirts of Rotorua was spared further downpours and the racing went ahead, much to the delight of the large crowd that had shown up to witness this second round of four in the Mazda and DRD magazine-sponsored series.

The faith and dedication shown by the fans was well rewarded, with a brilliant day of racing on show as the points in all three championship classes were given a big shake-up.

Mount Maunganui’s defending MX1 class champion Cody Cooper finished 2-2-1 in his three outings and this was enough for him to extend from five points to 13 the lead he had established at round one near Timaru a fortnight earlier.

His nearest challenger, Australian visitor Dean Ferris, had a frustrating day at Rotorua, dropping his bike several times during the course of the day, costing him valuable places in the process, as he posted a 1-5-3 score-card for the day. Ferris remains in second spot, but he now has fellow Australian Todd Waters hot on his tail, albeit another 11 points further back.

Mount Maunganui’s Rhys Carter had been third in the standings after round one, but he managed only sixth overall for the day on Sunday and has slipped back to fourth in the championship standings.

Australian Luke Styke was on the charge at Rotorua and produced some spellbinding results.

Styke won the second MX1 race of the day and, combined with the fourth and second placings he achieved in the other two MX1 races, he moved up from fifth-equal after round one to now be alone in fifth place overall.

“Luke achieved good starts all day,” enthused his team boss and former Australian champion Jay Marmont.

“There’s still a lot for us to work on, but Luke seems more comfortable on the bike now (than he was at round one). He spent all his energy and lost himself a bit late in the day, but overall I’m pleased that we have made a step in the right direction.”

Cooper was naturally ecstatic about his results at Rotorua.

“It was a good day for me,” Cooper agreed. “But I left the track with a bigger lead than I had at the start of the day and that’s great. I’m riding within my comfort zone and feel that, if Dean (Ferris) steps it up, I can still go harder.”

In the MX2 (250cc) class, Takaka-raised but Takapuna-based defending champion Hamish Harwood extended his championship lead.

Hamilton’s Josiah Natzke won the day in the class, narrowly edging out Harwood for the day’s honours, but this was his only appearance in the series as he switches his focus now to racing overseas.

Like Ferris, Christchurch’s Dylan Walsh was also guilty of dropping his bike a few times too many, but he is still the closest to challenging Harwood’s position at the top of the MX2 class.

Walsh began the day 11 points adrift of Harwood, but ended it with a 20-point deficit.

Unfortunately for Reporoa’s Hadleigh Knight, he injured his arm in a crash and was forced to withdraw after race one, his absence then causing him to drop from third to sixth in the standings.

Taking advantage were Waitakere’s Ethan Martens, Australian Kaleb Barham and Te Puke’s Logan Blackburn, who respectively ended the day third, fourth and fifth overall in the championship chase.

In the 125cc class, it was the moment for Karaka’s Kurtis Lilly to shine.

Trailing Taihape’s Hayden Smith by just three points at the start of the day, Lilly turned in three solid rides, posting a 1-1-2 score-card and rocketing up to take a share of the championship lead.

Nelson’s Hayden Wilkinson remains third overall in the 125cc class after the Rotorua event, but he is now a massive 41 points behind the two co-leaders.

The big mover in this class was Te Puke’s Jordan Milsom, who zoomed up from sixth overall after round one to now be in fourth position.

“Finally I’m here at the top,” said an overjoyed Lilly afterwards. “This is the realisation of all I’ve been striving for. I have had a fantastic team of people behind me and I could not have done it without their support,” he said.

“I was off the bike, recovering from injury, for seven months before the nationals started, but I’m obviously 100 percent fit again now.”

The series next heads to Palmerston North for round three on March 12, with the fourth and final round set for Taupo on March 25.

STANDINGS:

Leading overall standings after the second round of four in this season’s New Zealand Motocross Championships at Rotorua on Sunday:

MX1 class: 1. Cody Cooper (Mount Maunganui, Honda) 139 points; 2. Dean Ferris (Australia, Yamaha) 126; 3. Todd Waters (Australia, Honda) 115; 4. Rhys Carter (Mount Maunganui, Kawasaki) 108; 5. Luke Styke (Australia, KTM) 105.

MX2 class: 1. Hamish Harwood (Takapuna, KTM) 142 points; 2. Dylan Walsh (Christchurch, Yamaha) 122; 3. Ethan Martens (Waitakere, Yamaha) 106; 4. Kaleb Barham (Australia, Husqvarna) 97; 5. Logan Blackburn (Te Puke, KTM) 89.

125cc class: 1= Hayden Smith (Taihape, KTM) and Kurtis Lilly (Karaka, Husqvarna) both with 141 points; 3. Hayden Wilkinson (Nelson, Yamaha) 100; 4. Jordan Milsom (Te Puke, Husqvarna) 90; 5. Dan Bell (Levin, KTM) 87.

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

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