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NORTH AND SOUTH ISLAND ROUNDS RUN IN CONTRASTING CONDITIONS:
The luxury of an electric start helped Mark Pollard to victory in the third North Island round of the Suzuki New Zealand Cross-Country Motorcycle Championships at Te Puke on the weekend.
The Te Awamutu rider won his second successive round of the series, with a bike he had picked up only two days before.
\"It\'s a Honda CRF250X and it\'s got an electric start,\" he said. Electric starts are rare on this type of bike and particularly handy in the three-hour cross-country races, which start with dead engines and where even the top riders can find themselves on the ground with stalled engines from time to time\".
\"I got a really good start, just behind Kevin Hermansen, followed him for a couple of laps and then had a clear run,\" Pollard said. He had appreciated the electric start again when he fell over once or twice.
The small four-stroke had proved a useful weapon on the tighter forestry parts of the course, which also included some fast open sections, Pollard said.
Second and third outright were two other riders in the under-300cc four-stroke class, Steven Bird of Palmerston North on a Yamaha and Chris Penny of Te Awamutu on a Suzuki.
Cameron Smith won the open four-stroke class on a Honda, Scott Bregman of Maramarua the open two-strokes on a Yamaha, and Brad Graham from Palmerston North the under 200cc two-strokes on a KTM.
Top veteran was Ross Bird from Eketahuna, riding a Yamaha.
The North Island track was dry and dusty in parts, but the South Island meeting, held simultaneously, on the Otago Peninsula was the opposite very wet, with big puddles forming in the ruts.
\"It was certainly challenging but I actually quite enjoyed it, I was having the time of my life,\" winner Graeme Allan said.
\"I followed Nick McKenzie for a while and then he had a spectacular off, over the side of a ridge,\" the Christchurch Kawasaki rider said. \"I went hard for the first hour and a half to build up a good lead, and then I held that gap till the end.\"
Allan was also riding a small four-stroke, a category that has seen a lot of technical innovation recently and has won a lot of success in New Zealand this season.
McKenzie, from Balclutha, recovered from his spill to finish second outright and won the open two-stroke class, riding a Honda, while Ian Thorneycroft was third outright and first in the open four-stroke class aboard a Honda. Christchurch rider Grant Oliver took the veterans category riding a KTM.
The riders will now prepare for two all-in finals, one in each island.
Suzuki New Zealand Cross-Country championships, round three:
North Island, Te Puke:
Open four-stroke:
Cameron Smith (Marton) Honda CRF450, 1;
Glen Manning (Lower Hutt) Husqvarna 450, 2;
Gerard Kommeren (Hastings) Honda CRF450, 3.
Under 300cc four-stroke:
Mark Pollard (Te Awamutu) Honda CRF250X, 1;
Steven Bird (Palmerston North) Yamaha WRF250, 2;
Chris Penny (Te Awamutu) Suzuki RM-Z250, 3.
Open two-stroke:
Scott Bregman (Maramarua) Yamaha YZ250, 1;
Murray Searle (Palmerston North) Yamaha YZ250, 2;
Simon Bicknell (Napier) Honda CR250, 3.
Under 200cc two-stroke:
Brad Graham (Palmerston North) KTM 200, 1;
Tim Gleeson (Matamata) KTM 200, 2;
Kevin Hermansen (Norsewood) Kawasaki KX125, 3.
Veterans:
Ross Bird (Eketahuna) Yamaha WR250, 1;
Mark Fuller (Taupiri) KTM 200, 2;
Chris Smythe (Dannevirke) Suzuki RM-Z250, 3.
South Island, Otago Peninsula:
Open four-stroke:
Ian Thorneycroft (Nelson) Honda CRF450, 1;
Rob Laing
(Dunedin) Honda CRF450, 2;
Steven Pollock (Dunedin) Honda CRF450, 3.
Under 300cc four-stroke:
Graeme Allan (Christchurch) Kawasaki KX250F, 1;
Joel Hennessy (Mosgiel) Yamaha YZ250F, 2;
Darren Murray (Milton) Suzuki RM-Z250, 3.
Open two-stroke:
Nick McKenzie (Balclutha) Honda CR250, 1;
Scott Fleming
(Dunedin) Yamaha YZ250, 2;
Mike Brownlee (Blenheim) Kawasaki KX250, 3.
Under 200cc two-stroke:
no entries
Veterans:
Grant Oliver (Christchurch) KTM520, 1;
Brent Gray (Balclutha) KTM 300, 2;
William How-Jones (Otago) Yamaha YZ450F, 3.
