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FEBRUARY 4, 2008: Meet Feilding’s Haki Waller … he could be New Zealand’s next big international supercross star.
Some are already saying this 12-year-old from the Manawatu is the next Ben Townley, but the modest youngster would be the first to tell you “no, I’m not the next Ben Townley; I’m the first Haki Waller”.
Like Taupo’s Townley, who made a name for himself last season by winning the East Coast Lites Supercross title in the United States, Waller is fast making a name for himself for his ability to race and win at supercross, an extreme, indoor form of motocross.
The North Street School pupil has been compared with Townley and Pukekohe’s Katherine Prumm, two Kiwi internationals who learned their craft by racing and winning on Kawasaki bikes at home, before continuing their progress worldwide.
And that’s exactly what young Waller has mapped out for his future.
While Townley and Prumm both won major international championships on a KX250F model Kawasaki, Waller is happy in the meantime to do his giant-killing on an 85cc two-stroke KX85.
After two of four rounds in this season’s New Zealand Supercross Championships, Waller has been beaten just two races so far.
He has amassed a whopping 37-point lead over his nearest rival, Rangiora’s Cody Murphy, and looks well set to collect his first national supercross crown when the series wraps up in Wanganui’s Cook’s Garden on March 1.
But first of all, Waller is focussed on winning again at round three of the series, under floodlights in a specially-build arena next to the TelstraClear Events Centre in Manukau on February 16.
“I only got fourth in the championships last year,” said Waller. “But that was because I didn’t travel down to the Timaru round. This year I’m doing all the events.
“I’m really looking forward to the Auckland event. It’s the one I’m most looking forward to. It’s in a big city and should attract a big crowd. The atmosphere will be amazing,” he said.
“I just need to race my normal race and not do anything silly. If I just do it right I can win the title. I actually like supercross more than motocross … I like showing off and I think supercross is where I have natural talent. I love jumping the bike.
“I love the Kawasaki. I’ve tried other bikes but this one really suits me and I pick up a brand new bike from the Kawasaki factory before the Manukau supercross.”
With fantastic results from the previous rounds of the series to set him up; a new bike to propel him at Manukau and a proud Kawasaki history to live up to, this young man from Feilding could be well on his way to international stardom.
