North Island motocross titles decided   22 Sep 2015

Bikesport NZ

North Island motocross titles decided

The winners have been declared in the 2015 North Island Motocross Championships after the second and final round of the series in Hawke's Bay at the weekend.

Taupo's Brad Groombridge (MX1 class), Rotorua's Scotty Canham (MX2, 250cc class), Feilding's Tony Cvitanovich (14-16 years' 250cc class), Mangakino's Maximus Purvis (12-14 years' 125cc class), Matamata's Brodie Connolly (11-12 years' 85cc class) and Rongotea's Rhys Jillings (8-10 years' 85cc class) followed on from their dominant performances at the series opener at Himatangi last month and wrapped up their respective class wins, while Jillings' elder brother Zac Jillings and Ngatea's Ben Broad came on strong in contrasting conditions at the two-day event to snatch their respective titles from the round one winners.

Canham played it clever when he won the first muddy MX2 race of the weekend, that result enough for him to claim the title, and, with conditions deteriorating, he decided not to risk injury and so did not take his bike to the start line for the next race.

"Coming into today, I had been talking about what had to be done to secure the overall win," said Canham.

"If I could win the first race I would have enough points to not do the second race.

"I had a awesome start and took the holeshot and I left the pack as fast as I could to stay away from everyone and stay clean. The track was an absolute mess.

"It was a great race and coming away with the win was perfect for me. It was good to pack up early for a change but I also wanted to ride. It just wasn't worth the risk on the bike."

Karaka's Kurtis Lilly had been one of the leading riders in the senior 125cc class at round one, but he was a no-show in Hawke's Bay and so the way was clear for Cvitanovich and Ngatea's Ben Broad to take advantage, with Broad eventually winning that title thanks to a win in the only race that was staged in that class at the weekend after heavy overnight rain turned the track into a quagmire.

Cvitanovich, riding in three separate classes, was the busiest rider in Hawke's Bay, but he was unable to advance his cause in all three classes during the rain-affected weekend and had to settle for overall victory only in the 14-16 years' 250cc class, his 1-1-2 results on a dry Saturday enough to edge out Masterton's Camden Butler.

Cvitanovich finished runner-up to Broad in the 15-16 years' 125cc class, his 3-3-2 results enough to secure him the No.2 spot despite the fact that Havelock North's Ollie Ayre actually beat him on the day on Saturday with his 2-2-3 results.

Cvitanovich also finished third equal overall in the senior 125cc class, with the racing abbreviated on Sunday because of the deteriorating track conditions and Broad winning the only race that was run.

Raetihi's Letitia Alabaster scored back-to-back wins on Sunday to collect the women's class trophy, finishing ahead of Auckland's Kate Greenslade.

The Hawke's Bay Motorcycle Club's Ngaruroro Raceway, near Hastings, was the venue for the weekend's racing and, although many of the riders were first-time visitors to the facility, it proved popular with racers and spectators alike.

ENDS

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