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FEBRUARY 5, 2007: A dozen knowledgeable judges can’t be wrong.
Pukekohe teenager Sam Smith has a bright future ahead of him if the honours heaped upon him at the fourth annual Motorcycling New Zealand Awards Night are to be any indication.
The black-tie function, at the in TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau, South Auckland, on Saturday night, attracted the cream of New Zealand’s motorcycling community and one of the most talked-about visitors to the spot-lit stage was emerging road-racer Smith.
The Yamaha ace was summoned to the stage twice during the evening, the first occasion to receive the award for road-racing’s Most Promising Newcomer and he was then called back to collect the Classic Motorcycling Award, an award not typically bestowed upon someone so young as the 18-year-old Smith.
But Smith is a multi-talented racer, capable of winning races on old classic machines as much as he is on his fabulous blue and white Tecnam Yamaha YZFR6 600cc sports production machine.
Smith currently has three New Zealand lap records to his credit – at his home track of Pukekohe, at Teretonga, Invercargill, and at Ruapuna, Christchurch. He also currently leads the 600cc sports production championships after three of six rounds.
In addition to that, Smith holds the classic bikes lap record at Eastern Creek, Sydney, after he ran off with the Barry Sheene Memorial Trophy in Australian last March.
“I owe this award to Yamaha,” Smith said simply as he took the stage for the promising newcomer award.
“They got behind me without knowing a lot about my history and it has been a real privilege to be associated with them. I also want to thank (mentor and former national roadrace champion for Yamaha) Dave Cole and his wife Sue. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Cole was last year’s winner in the Classic Motorcycling Award category.
