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Photo - Danny Ham:
It's a beaut, eh?
Courtesy Andy McGechan:
Email Andy He just may have a photo of you?
SUZUKI N Z LIMITED - PRESS RELEASE:
Round Two of the New Zealand MX Champs got off to a frosty start. It probably doesn’t get much colder than the -4° degree temperature that basically froze the top layer of the spectacular Suzuki Rotorua Motocross track just south of Rotorua. Californian-based Motoworld Suzuki.com rider Daryl Hurley and Australian rider Danny Ham both struggled with the cold conditions and slippery track surfaces during qualifying. "It's so cold out there I have three jerseys and a thermal vest on and I still can’t warm up" said "Alpinestars Suzuki" rider Danny Ham.
By the time the gate dropped on the first 125cc race the frost had melted under the sunny conditions and the 40 strong field raced on to take advantage of probably one of the most technical tracks on this year's four round championship.
"Alpinestars Suzuki" rider Scott Columb, who was holding second place overall after the first round, had a horror start in race one riding his Suzuki RM125 when he went down in the first corner. Riding through a forty strong field, Columb made an incredible recovery crossing the line in seventh place. Such is the talent of this Queenstown youngster that after three races and a seventh place in the first race Columb holds third overall in the championship.
Motoworld Suzuki.com rider Daryl Hurley stunned the crowd of over three thousand spectators with a lesson in speed, posting lap times on his Suzuki RM-Z250 four-stroke that were nearly five seconds faster than the quickest 250cc two-stroke rider. And if that wasn’t enough in race two his lap times were even faster than the open class 450cc four-strokes.
A crash in the first lap of the last race robbed Hurley of the day's overall but with an eleventh place in that race saw Hurley still retain the overall championship lead.
Masterton based rider Luke Burkhart, also riding for the "Alpinestars Suzuki" team, had the crowd on its feet for the last race of the 125cc class riding with all the talent that took him to the title four years ago narrowly missing out on first place by a wheel length to Daryl King.
"Alpinestars Suzuki" team mates Mark Penny and Danny Ham riding Suzuki RM250s found the rough track at Rotorua hard work with Ham only just hanging onto to the overall points lead with a fourth place and two thirds for the weekend. Penny still nursing surgery to a wrist injury was happy to collect points, especially with a month now until the next round in Wellington on September 26 allowing some recuperation time.
Standings after Round Two
125cc
Daryl Hurley 123 points Moto World Suzuki
Cody Cooper 114 points Honda
Scott Columb 97 points Alpinestars Suzuki
Luke Burkhart 93 points Alpinestars Suzuki
Barry Morris 91 points Yamaha
250cc
Danny Ham 125 points Alpinestars Suzuki
Shane King 122 points Honda
Peter Broxholme 120 points Honda
Shaun Fogarty 107 points KTM
Mark Penny 95 points Alpinestars Suzuki
