Upsets and surprises was the theme of the day’s racing at the first round of four in this season’s New Zealand Motocross Championships in Taranaki on Sunday.

The JT Racing-sponsored series kicked off at the popular Barrett Road Motorcycle Park facility on the outskirts of New Plymouth with a scintillating day of race action where none of the riders who had been widely tipped as title favourites ended up on the top steps of their respective podiums.

Defending MX1 champion Cody Cooper, of Mount Maunganui, had been expected to follow on from his dominant MX1 performance at the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville a fortnight ago, Rotorua’s Michael Phillips (Honda) had perhaps been expected to do likewise in the MX2 (250cc) class and defending national 125cc champion Josiah Natzke (KTM), of Hamilton, had been tipped to again make the 125cc class his own.

However, after three races on Sunday in each of the championship categories, Queenstown’s Scott Columb (Yamaha) ended up on top of the MX1 class, Australian visitor Jay Wilson (Yamaha) topped the MX2 (250cc) class and Taupo’s Cohen Chase (Yamaha) ruled the 125cc division.

There is still a long way to go with three rounds – nine races – in each class still required to settle the issue, but, if anything can be said about this championship chase, it’s impossible to predict.

Sadly, it was a disastrous weekend for a couple of title contenders – Rotorua’s MX2 class hopeful Phillips crashed during the practice and qualifying session earlier in the day and he broke his collarbone, broke three ribs and compressed two vertebrae in his back.

He had already at that stage set a fast enough time to qualify fifth and, in light of him winning the class at the pre-season Whakatane Summercross, winning the class at the King of the Mountain motocross in Taranaki last month and also winning it at the New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville a fortnight ago, he had been the obvious favourite to add the 2015 national crown to the titles he collected in 2007 and 2009.

Taupo’s Wyatt Chase dropped out of the first of the day’s 125cc class races, also with a broken collarbone.

The series now heads to Pleasant Point, near Timaru, for round two in just under two weeks’ time, on February 22.

Round three is set for Rotorua on March 8, with the fourth and final round at Pukekohe on March 15.

RESULTS, ROUND ONE:

Leading results from round one of the New Zealand Motocross Championships in Taranaki on Sunday:

MX1 class: 1. Scott Columb (Queenstown, Yamaha) 70 points; 2. Kirk Gibbs (Australia, KTM) 62; 3. John Phillips (Rotorua, Honda) 55; 4. Cody Cooper (Mount Maunganui, Honda) 49; 5. Kade Mosig (Australia, Yamaha) 48.

MX2 class: 1. Jay Wilson (Australia, Yamaha) 65; 2. Micah McGoldrick (Amberley, Honda) 61; 3. Hamish Harwood (Takaka, KTM) 58; 4. Hayden Kanters (Otorohanga, Yamaha) 48; 5. Campbell King (Brighton, Suzuki) 45.

125cc class: 1. Cohen Chase (Taupo, Yamaha) 67; 2. Josiah Natzke (Hamilton, KTM) 63; 3. Ben Broad (Ngatea, KTM) 62; 4. Kurtis Lilly (Karaka, Husqvarna) 52; 5. Reece Walker (Nelson, Yamaha) 52.

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

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