There were very few surprises at the first of two rounds of the 2015 North Island Motocross Championships in the Manawatu over the weekend.
The winning riders in every class were national calibre riders; all the bike brands were well represented and each had reason to celebrate; the sand-based Flipp’s Motorcycle Park circuit at Himatangi was a perfect venue for a mid-winter blast, especially with rain in the forecast, and the smooth and flowing nature of the course allowed for two days of high-class race action.
The leading individuals were Taupo’s Brad Groombridge (Suzuki), who scored a hat-trick of wins to dominate the MX1 class; Rotorua’s Scotty Canham (Kawasaki), who won the MX2 (250cc) class; Pukekohe’s Kurtis Lilly (Husqvarna) and Feilding’s Tony Cvitanovich (KTM), who shared top spot in the senior 125cc class and also won the junior 14-16 years’ 250cc class; Taupo’s Wyatt Chase (Yamaha), who won the junior 15-16 years’ 125cc class; Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis (KTM), who won the junior 12-14 years’ 125cc class; Oparau’s James Scott (Husqvarna), who won the 13-16 years’ 85cc class; Matamata’s Brodie Connolly (KTM), who won the 11-12 years’ 85cc class and Rongotea’s Rhys Jillings, who won the 8-10 years’ 85cc class.
But it was perhaps 15-year-old local rider Cvitanovich who was the most impressive of them all, with this rider not only sharing first equal in the senior 125cc class and winning the junior 250cc class, but also finishing runner-up to Chase in the junior 15-16 years’ 125cc class.
“It would be pretty awesome to be able to win all three classes when the series wraps up with round two in Hawke’s Bay (on September 19-20),” said Cvitanovich, a year 11 pupil at Feilding Agricultural High School.
“But, to be honest, I had an advantage at the weekend because it’s my local track and I ride here a lot. I won’t have any such advantage in Hawke’s Bay and it may be a different story there.”
Motorcycling New Zealand motocross commissioner Howard Lilly was pleased with the riders’ response to this resurrected North Island competition.
“The track conditions were perfect. It was excellent for this time of the year,” he said.
“The feedback from the riders was great and they are all looking forward to round two near Hastings.
“I felt it was important for MNZ to have events spread through the other parts of the year.
“The major national championship events are usually staged around February and March and by having the North Island championship events in August and September, we can spread the competition a little further and a little wider.”
