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MARCH 7, 2007: Watch out Australia, here comes the next big thing from New Zealand.
With New Zealand’s prestigious trophy for Most Promising Road-race Newcomer safely tucked away, Pukekohe's Sam Smith is ready for the next phase of his 2007 motorcycle racing season, a stint across the Tasman.
It may be too late for him to expect he'll have an honest crack at the Australian motorcycle crown because he will have missed the opening round -- there was a clash of dates with one of his New Zealand commitments -- but that won't stop the 18-year-old from crashing the Aussie party with his Tecnam Yamaha YZFR6.
His first Australian race will be at Winton, north of Melbourne, round two of the Australian series next weekend (March 18) but first he has this weekend to consider with the fifth and final round of the New Zealand Motorcycle Road-race Championships at Pukekohe on Saturday and Sunday.
He comfortably leads the popular and high-profile 600cc sports production class here and, barring major disaster, should collect that title, the first of his fledgling career, late on Sunday afternoon.
Smith has a 32-point lead over fellow Yamaha rider Scott Charlton (Australia).
Smith is taking nothing for granted but eyes are already now focussed on what he might achieve in Australia this season.
His Sam Smith Racing Partnership Team manager and mentor, Pukekohe’s Dave Cole, said Smith had a few problems in Australia last season but his charge was showing increasing maturity and unlikely to repeat the mistakes he made at Winton in 2006.
“He had a couple of crashes there last year but he's now beginning to show more maturity and there is a noticeable boost in his confidence. I'm looking forward to seeing him race in Australia,” said Cole, himself a former racer of note.
