Mokau’s Adrian Smith will probably count Sunday’s cross-country motorcycle race victory among one of his greatest.

The three-time former and reigning national cross-country champion was one of many of New Zealand’s elite off-road bike racers who turned up to help the Huntly Motorcycle Club celebrate the start of the 20th annual Bel Ray Cross-country Championships, but none had an answer for the Mokau Yamaha ace.

Smith snatched the lead soon after the start, fending off attacks from Rotorua motocross ace Michael Phillips (Bel Ray Honda CRF450)  and wearing down fellow cross-country ace Jason Dickey (Kawasaki KX250F), of Raglan, before consolidating his position at the front to eventually finish the two-hour race a comfortable one minute and 20 seconds ahead of Phillips, with Dickey finishing third, another six seconds further back.

Phillips was later relegated to fourth by the organisers after it was revealed he had mistakenly taken a wrong turn, cutting a large section of the track, and this elevated Dickey to the No.2 spot.

Morrinsville’s Simon Lansdaal (Husqvarna CR125) was promoted to third, with Morrinsville’s Nathan Tesselaar (KTM 350 XCF) finishing fifth, behind Phillips.

This first of four rounds in the series was a perfect launching pad for Smith’s season, with his 2014 national championship title defence set to kick off in Taranaki in just over two months’ time, on February 16, and the Bel Ray series is a good build-up to that.

Although giving away a massive horsepower advantage, with many of his rivals on 450cc four-stroke bikes, Smith took his Blackwood BikesportNZ.com Yamaha YZ250 two-stroke bike to the front on the first of six laps and, apart from briefly giving up his lead when he came into the pits to refuel midway through the race, Smith was the dominant force at the anniversary event.

Smith had fitted his 2013-model YZ250 with a larger 12-litre after-market fuel tank, but still he needed to pit for fuel at least once on Sunday, while rival Dickey was able to complete the entire race on one tank of gas.

“I had a battle at the beginning with former junior champion Taylor Rae (Honda, of Hamilton) and he made me work for my lead,” said the 27-year-old Smith. “Then I had Phillips and Dickey to deal with. I may have led most of the race but it really wasn’t that easy. Those guys were riding really well.

“I had a huge battle with Jason (Dickey) for a while and I had to go nuts to create a gap. That was important because I knew he didn’t have to pit during the race, while I would lose a lot of time coming in for fuel.

“It certainly is good for me to get a good result on the scoreboard. I’m starting to build up now for the nationals.”

Meanwhile, Te Kuiti’s Sean Kelly (MGM Kawasaki KX125) won the 90-minute junior race staged earlier in the day.

The 15-year-old finished more than a minute ahead of Pukekawa’s Isaac Clark (Gas Gas EC200), with Gisborne’s Duncan Summerfield (KTM 150 XC) taking the third spot on the podium.

Best of the Junior 85cc class riders was Hamilton’s Luke Taylor (Honda CR85), who finished 15th overall in the junior race.

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