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FEBRUARY 19, 2007: Is there any other colour but green?
That’s probably the question being asked after Kawasaki riders celebrated winning almost everything at the second and final round of the Raglan Rox four-hour cross-country motorcycle race in the Waikato at the weekend.
Cambridge’s Mike Cotter (32) and Hamilton’s Chris Singleton (26) teamed up to ride their Kawasaki KX250 two-stroke to overall victory on Saturday, adding to their fourth overall at the two-race series opener and easily winning the title outright.
The Hamilton Motorcycle Centre Motocross Team riders also collected the top honours for winning the open two-stroke class overall.
“It wasn’t easy though,” said Cotter afterwards. “We had Jason Moorfield and Kevin Hermansen (Kawasaki KXF250) chasing us all the way. It came down to the last lap but, when Hermy (Norsewood’s Hermansen) crashed, it took some of the pressure off.
“Hermy still got up from the crash and brought the bike back to the pits for the change-over. That man is a real fighter.”
“It’s an absolute thrill to win,” said Cotter. “I’ve had plenty of seconds and thirds at this event. It’s hard work.”
Te Awamutu husband and wife pair Mark Penny and Ilana Wilks (Suzuki) eventually took the runner-up spot overall but the Moorfield-Hermansen pair still did enough to win their under-300cc four-stroke class on the day and for the series overall.
Meanwhile, Murupara’s Rhys Carter teamed with Taupo’s Nick Saunders on a Kawasaki KX125 to win the 125cc two-stroke class, just ahead of fellow Kawasaki men Te Kauwhata’s Luke Ramsey and Titirangi’s Gary Almond, on a virtually identical KX125.
Hamilton pair Matt Taylor and Jesse Wiki rode a Kawasaki KX450 to victory in the open four-stroke class, a remarkable feat considering that motocross racer Wiki is a relative novice at the cross-country code.
Kawasaki Team Green manager Mike Ramsey was thrilled with the performance of his riders.
“It’s a great result all around,” he said. “I guess it’s all coming together. All the hard work that’s been put in is finally starting to bear fruit.”
Also, a few photos from Round 2....
