There is nothing quite like celebrating your first national championship victory and, for Auckland’s Liam Draper, that special time arrived at the weekend.

The 19-year-old Draper, an apprentice plumber from Howick, has tasted motorcycling success on many occasions, his teaming up with fellow Husqvarna rider Hadleigh Knight, from Reporoa, to win the big annual Acerbis Four-Hour cross-country marathon near Taupo last October being one such example of that, but it was a real breakthrough moment at the weekend when he won as an individual at the ultimate level of the sport of enduro racing.

Christchurch’s Hamish Macdonald won the opening round of the New Zealand Enduro Championships in the Greta Valley, near Christchurch, over the Easter Weekend, while Taupo’s Brad Groombridge won round two at Mosgiel a couple of days later, but the third round of five in the series at Moonshine, near Upper Hutt, on Saturday belonged to Draper.

Draper won all of the five tightly-timed “special stages” on Saturday and he ended the day finishing 37 seconds ahead of Macdonald.

Groombridge finished third overall on Saturday, just three seconds further back, and so just four points now separate these three riders at the top of the championship standings in the expert grade.

“This is the first time I’ve won a national enduro championship event,” said Draper afterwards.

“Normally I hate this venue, but today it was okay. I think that’s because I had the right bike to tackle this type of terrain.

“I’m glad I was on a four-stroke bike and not a two-stroke like the last time I rode here. It was so important to get the power to the ground, to find traction on the loose rocks, and I certainly felt better on this course today.

“I had to be patient too and not just throw lots of throttle at every obstacle. I actually rode slower to go faster, if that makes any sense at all. I was smooth all day and didn’t crash once. I didn’t even stall the bike.

“I’ll be hoping I can carry on this winning momentum.”

Groombridge leads Draper in the battle-within-a-battle for domination in the expert under-300cc four-stroke class and, once again, there is really nothing between the two riders.

The national series continues with round four at Waimiha on June 4 and, finally, it all wraps up near Tokoroa on June 5.

Draper is also engaged in the parallel New Zealand Cross-country Championships and, after finishing fifth and second in the two rounds thus far, he is handily placed near the top of the standings in the four-round series.

The third round is in Taranaki this coming weekend, where he will race the Husqvarna FC250 model bike, basically a motocross bike with a larger fuel tank.

Meanwhile, fellow Husqvarna rider Rachael Archer, of Te Awamutu, has taken over the lead in the junior grade at the enduro nationals.

The 14-year-old, a year 10 pupil at St Peter’s College in Cambridge, won the junior grade last season, but found herself having to play catch-up after experiencing difficulties at the opening two rounds of this season’s nationals.

“I fell off a couple of times at round one and, at round two, I overshot a corner, and those things cost me. But my junior title defence is back on track now. I’ve just got to try and stay upright,” said Archer.

“I outgrew the 85cc bike and started riding this Husqvarna TE125 in March. I needed more power and bigger wheels and I’m loving this new bike.”

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

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