from ... Honda Racing at the TTs The
Honda star drove up from quake-ravaged Canterbury region to do a little
earth-shaking of his own at the New Zealand TT Championships at
Kuratau, near Turangi, romping to his first outright win at the annual
event.
The 41-year-old took his Honda Sportrax 450R to clean sweep the ATV Open class, recording a string of five convincing wins at the two-day event, and eclipsing three-time previous champion Quentin Palmer, of Turangi, in the process. Ian Ffitch: "This is the first time I’ve won the TT nationals and it’s certainly nice to be so dominant. I’ve always been at the sharp end of the field but Quentin’s usually been too strong. It was my turn to be strong this year. I got tangled in the first turn of the first race last year and had to spend the whole weekend playing catch-up. This time around it was up to everyone else to try and catch me, so that was nice for a change.” Meanwhile, with the two-wheeled bike racers, it was a heart-warming family affair for Cameron and Alex Dillon, the Taupo brother and sister each claiming class wins. For 17-year-old Alex Dillon it was another story of complete dominance as she rode her Honda CRF250 to an unbeaten string of wins. Her 18-year-old sibling, Cam, may have felt robbed after having a solid grip on both the senior Open class and 250cc class crowns, but then having to settle for just one title. Cam (Honda CRF250) was almost untouchable in the 250cc class, scoring four wins and a second place over the two days and ending the weekend 17 points clear of his nearest rival, Rotorua’s Scott Canham. But the Open Class was the one that got away. Dillon took the bigger Honda CRF450 to tackle the Open Class and, with three of the five races completed, he was on top of the standings, five points clear of Masterton’s Mason Wilkie (Sargent Motorcycles Yamaha). Wilkie won the last two races to snatch away the title, winning it by just one point. Cam Dillon: "It’s the first time I’ve won the 250cc title ... I’ve usually finished second. Pity about the Open Class but, really, I just do this for fun and haven’t been training much lately.” Meanwhile, Wellington’s Josh Bartosh took an identical Honda CRF250 to win the Junior 125-250 title. Edited copy courtesy of Blue Wing Honda written by Andy McGechan. |