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ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
FEBRUARY 27, 2006: Yet another New Zealand motocross title has fallen into the clutches of Taupo’s Brad Groombridge.
The 15-year-old Kawasaki star had set himself up to scoop the North Island Junior Motocross Championships crown with a superb performance in winning the series opener at Pukekohe in January and simply maintained his momentum to wrap it up at the final round near Foxton at the weekend.
His campaign started slowly at Foxton but, by late Sunday afternoon, he was the fastest rider at the event.
He finished fourth and second in his first two outings on Saturday as he struggled to come to terms with suspension settings on the soft, sandy surface. However, after several minor adjustments he was soon back in his accustomed position, effortlessly winning the day’s third race in the 15-16 years’ 125cc class.
“I could have gone faster, even with the suspension not quite right, but I knew I’d probably get hurt,” said the mature teenager.
“Once we’d stiffened the suspension it was fantastic. He bike was great and was hooking up everywhere around the track,” said Groombridge.
When he won the first of his two races on Sunday, the title was in the bag, but, in typically forthright fashion, the Kawasaki rider lined up for the final race too.
He won that race easily, putting a satisfying rubber stamp on the North Island series as he now looks ahead to the Auckland championships next weekend.
“I didn’t have to do that final race but it is all good practice anyway,” he smiled. “I knew I di! dn’t have to win every race to win the title but it is nice to win.”
Fellow Kawasaki Team Green rider Michael Wade, from Warkworth, moved up from fourth after round one to third overall in the 13-16 years’ 85cc class.
“It took me a while to get used to the sand track,” said Wade (15). “Most of the tracks around where I live are hard clay.
“I could have done better than third though … but I crashed too many times. I was running second in most of my races but made silly mistakes near the end. In one big crash, the bike kicked sideways and I landed in a hole and it shot me off and into some trees. The flag marshals told me they were surprised to see me get up and finish the race. It sounded like it was a good crash.” Wellington’s Henry Madams (KTM) won the class with Cambridge’s Kieran Leigh (Yamaha) taking second spot.
Meanwhile, Feilding’s Haki Waller (Kawasaki) signalled that he will be a star of the future when he finished runner-up in the 8-10 years’ 85cc class. He signed off his weekend with a celebratory heel-clicker over the finis line jump, the rising star showing that he will be a name for the future.
