NZ Insider No.53: Battle Of The Clubs

Transmoto’s weekly web-exclusive column, the NZ Insider, penned by Chris Ritchie.

This past weekend saw some parts of the country witness the most rain in decades, but two popular tracks managed to escape the bulk of the rain, and still drew bumper crowds for their respective club day events including the ever-popular Pukekohe club’s Mercer sand track just off State Highway 1, used solely during the winter months, and literally one of the best sand tracks in New Zealand.

Of the riders in action, it is worth noting Yamaha’s Kayne Lamont was putting in laps on a YZ450F ahead of his MX1 duties in this weekend’s Battle of the Clubs event as a member of the South Waikato team, as he continues his journey back to full fitness.

Bay of Plenty’s Awakaponga circuit near Whakatane was also in prime condition, and hosted a great club round on Sunday.

What has become one of the biggest events on the NZ Motocross calendar, the annual Battle of the Clubs event hosted by the Taupo Motorcycle Club at their renowned Digger McEwen Park facility is this Saturday, June 27, with their monthly club round also on Sunday – a double-header of sorts.

The event is a fundraiser for Team New Zealand’s Motocross of Nations campaign, with all proceeds going towards getting the New Zealand team over to Ernee, France, in September. The initial six-man squad has already been announced, and all but one of the squad (Michael Phillips) will line up for their respective club on Saturday.

We are guaranteed to see some of the best racing of the year across all six classes from Junior 85cc through to Veterans, and if you are in or around the central North Island, we highly recommend you get to Taupo on Saturday!

Check out some of the club teams which have been announced in the lead up to Saturday’s event, and see if you can pick a favourite. There are definitely some star-studded teams in the mix, including a surprise ring-in for Nelson!

Rotorua:
Junior 85cc – Joshua Bourke-Palmer
Junior 125cc – Regan Hermansen
Junior 250cc – TBC
MX1 – John Phillips
MX2 – Scotty Canham
Vets – Cam Negus

Hawkes Bay:
Junior 85cc – Jacob Beal
Junior 125cc – Jye Deacon
Junior 250cc – Hadleigh Griffiths
MX1 – Jonny Edwards
MX2 – Kieran Scheele
Vets – Ben Harding

Kapi-Mana:
Junior 85cc – Toby Winiata
Junior 125cc – Adam Moss
Junior 250cc – Cole Blake
MX1 – Sloan Frost
MX2 – Liam Harnett
Vets – Shane Hannah

Nelson:
Junior 85cc – Hayze Shuttleworth
Junior 125cc – Ethan Waters
Junior 250cc – Reece Walker
MX1 – Josh Coppins
MX2 – Jay Wilson (super-sub!)
Vets – Bryan Heaphy

Cambridge:
Junior 85cc – Seton Head
Junior 125cc – Reef Wheki
Junior 250cc – Trent Collins
MX1 – Damien King
MX2 – Jacob Steel
Vets – Mike Cotter

South Waikato:
Junior 85cc – Oliver Ayre
Junior 125cc – Wyatt Chase
Junior 250 – Ben Broad
MX1 – Kayne Lamont
MX2 – Cohen Chase
Vets – Nigel Gainfort

Tauranga:
Junior 85cc – Brodie Connolly
Junior 125cc – Josh Tredinnick
Junior 250cc – Tyler Steiner
MX1 – Cody Cooper
MX2 – Aaron Wiltshier
Vets – Darryl King

Taupo Black:
Junior 85cc – James Scott
Junior 125cc – Maximus Purvis
Junior 250cc – Jake Tomblin
MX1 – Ben Townley
MX2 – Warren Bartlett
Vets – Glenn Clarke

Taupo Blue:
Junior 85cc – Corey Elliott
Junior 125cc – Bronson Leiataua
Junior 250cc – Lachie Mills
MX1 – Brad Groombridge
MX2 – Hadleigh Knight
Vets – Daniel Scrimgeour

Then next weekend, the focus switches to cross country and one of the country’s largest off-road events of the year, the annual Tarawera 100, near Kawerau on Saturday, July 4. The best riders from the motocross fraternity will test their skills against the cross country and enduro boys to see who will reign supreme in 2015.