It could well be that a fourth senior New Zealand Motocross Championships title heads the way of West Auckland’s Hamish Harwood before the season is out … maybe even two more titles.
The former Takaka man, who now lives and works in Royal Heights, Auckland, took his CML Makita KTM Racing Team bikes to dominate both the MX2 (250cc) and 125cc classes at the first of four rounds for the 2019 Fox New Zealand Motocross Championships in Taranaki on Sunday.
The 23-year-old builder finished runner-up to Mangakino international Maximus Purvis (Altherm JCR Yamaha) in the first of three MX2 races on Sunday and was runner-up again in the next outing, this time behind current Australian MX2 champion Wilson Todd. (LMC Husqvarna).
But it was Harwood all the way in the deciding third race, the KTM man finishing 1.7 seconds ahead of Todd, with Purvis settling for third.
Harwood’s 2-2-1 score-card for the weekend shot him to the top of the rankings, nine points clear of Todd (8-1-2) and Purvis (1-6-3), who were equal second, with Taupo’s Brad Groombridge (Kea Trailers Suzuki) fourth, a further nine points adrift.
In the 125cc class battles, it was another three-rider tussle, with Harwood this time dominating completely, scoring a hat-trick of wins, while Tauranga’s Brodie Connolly (LMC Husqvarna) and Ngatea’s Ben Broad (Placemakers KTM) fought over the No.2 position.
Connolly eventually took the overall runner-up spot, nine points behind Harwood, with Broad settling for third on the day.
“It was a great day. I still need to sort out my starts, because I am not happy with them … which is kind of funny to say that because I grabbed a couple of holeshots today.
“I have the strength and the fitness to come through the pack when I start poorly and I made a lot of good passes early in the races, but I just really need to ensure I’m up front from the start.
“By the time I came through the field in the first two races, either Purvis or Todd were too far gone for me to both catch and overtake. I had a couple of nibbles at them, but not enough and it was pretty sketchy on this track, slippery and rough.
“I feel I’m stronger than I was last year. Me and Brodie had a couple of good battles and passed each other a few times, but it was safe.”
Harwood has also won national junior titles in the past, securing the junior 14-16 years’ 250cc title in New Zealand in 2011 and the Australian 150cc title that same year. Harwood also won the Australian Motocross Development (Under-19) class title in 2013.
Round two of the 2019 Fox New Zealand Motocross Championships is set for Rotorua in just two weeks’ time (on February 17). Round three follows at Pukekohe on February 24 and, finally, the nationals wrap up at Taupo on March 10.
© Words and photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ
Find BikesportNZ.com on FACEBOOK here
Check back here on www.BikesportNZ.com during this week as we bring you more words and photos from the weekend.