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Conditions were perfect for the Senior round of the Suzuki New Zealand 40th Anniversary Woodville Grand Prix on 27th and 28th January. A huge field of 640 riders performed in front of a capacity crowd of 3,500, and it was the local Castrol Honda Red Riders who provided the international stars with their biggest challenge.
In the National 125cc class, Peter Broxholme, on his Honda CR125, finished second overall to international rider Josh Coppins. With two second places and one sixth, Broxholme demonstrated his skill and determination to edge out all the other local riders in the class. Cody Cooper, also on a Honda CR125, finished 6th overall, despite being unavoidably involved in accidents in two out of the three races. In one race he fought his way up from last to fifth, and in another he recovered to finish second to Josh Coppins after a bad start.
Stacey Oldeman, on his CR250, finished third overall in the 250cc class, with only international stars Shayne King and Josh Coppins ahead of him. In the same class, Damien King, riding in the Castrol Honda team by invitation, finished sixth. Paul Whibley finished ninth, using the event as a fitness build-up for the forthcoming Australian four-day enduro.
Spectacular rides by Richard Adamson on a stock-standard XR650 trail bike, saw the Honda rider finish third overall in the 500cc class behind Shayne King and Mitch Rowe, both on KTMs.
Adamson, riding in his trademark extrovert style, took outright victory in the 4 stroke class, winning all three races. This was a dominant performance by Honda in a field in which all other manufacturers were well represented, and adds to Adamson’s well-deserved 5h place in the NZ National 500cc championship.
‘We were delighted with the performance of the Castrol Honda Red Riders in New Zealand’s top Moto Cross event’, said Castrol Honda Race Team Manager Dave Borlase. ‘Once again Suzuki hosted a brilliant event, and against top international competition our Castrol Honda Red Riders performed brilliantly.’
Blue Wing Honda made a major commitment to preparation and presentation at the Woodville event. ‘We are serious about off-road racing, and it was essential that we had a presence at the country’s major event that reflected our commitment’, said Borlase. ‘Our results on the day proved that our confidence in our race team and our machinery is well justified.’
