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THOMASEN RETURNS WITH A VENGEANCE
MARCH 20, 2006: Mount Maunganui rider Ben Thomasen has not been on a motocross track for several years, so it was a huge surprise to see him standing on top of the podium at the big King Of The Mountain motocross near New Plymouth on Sunday.
But the 23-year-old Kawasaki rider was in scintillating form at Taranaki’s big event, finishing 1-2-1 in his three Pro Under-250cc races and stunning a star-packed field that included some of Australasia’s best small bike riders.
Thomasen (Kawasaki KX250F) was hounded all day by Honda star Jonathon Llewellyn, Australian Pro Lites hero Daniel Reynolds and his own Team Green team-mate Jesse Wiki, but then Thomasen was not expected to make the long five-hour journey from the Bay Of Plenty, let alone be as sharp as he was.
Also, after not racing national level motocross in about three years, he was certainly not expected to be a front-runner, much less the champion rider on the day.
“I want to do motocross competitively again. I will be racing every event I can now just to get fit ad get my pace back,” said Thomasen, a roofer by trade.
“I’m not 100% fit yet but I’m loving this new Kawasaki and I feel so smooth on it. The bike is completely standard. I have not even set up the suspension on it yet. I have not raced at this (Taranaki) track since I was a junior racer in 1997. I’ve been doing mostly enduro races and big cross-country events.
“I might still race the International Six Days Enduro (near Taupo in November) and will still tackle the Tarawera 100 and Hawke’s Bay Six-Hour endurance events but motocross is my thing now.”
Wiki had been a contender for runner-up honours but had a series of misfortunes, including arm-pump, a crash and the stalling his bike and he remarked afterwards it was “the worst birthday I’ve ever had”.
Just turned 19 that day, the Hamilton rider still showed remarkable maturity to pick himself up and battle on and finish 3-6-5 in his three outings, ending the day just ahead of fellow Kawasaki Team Green racer Katherine Prumm, the women’s world No.2 also showing incredible pace despite suffering an upset stomach just 24 hours earlier.
Even so, Kawasaki riders filled out three of the top five positions at the New Plymouth track.
Hawera rider Daryl Hurley, the Australian No.1, was unbeatable in the Pro Over-250cc class, winning all three races from Suzuki team-mate Luke Burkhart.
Leading overall standings at the King Of The Mountain motocross near New Plymouth on Sunday:
