Strong series opener for Altherm JCR Yamaha Logan Blackburn (above) took his Yamaha YZ125 to the top step of the National 125cc class with a solid days’ performance. After coming from behind in the opening moto to finish fourth, Blackburn dominated the following two of motos to claim the overall victory with 4-1-1 results. "The whole day was unbelievable,” said Blackburn. "I struggled with the start of the first race, but after that things ran pretty smoothly. The YZ125 is running awesome, I cannot ask for much more from the team.” MX125 Class
In the MX2 class, defending national champion Scott Columb (above) – fresh from a dominant performance a week earlier at the Gold Nuggets MX event – was keen to start the national series strong aboard his YZ250. Columb did just that, pushing his rivals all day long, and securing second in the first two races. Columb then won the final moto to finish second on the podium with 2-2-1 results; leaving him three points shy of the overall. "It was a tough day. The course was good, but it was difficult,” said Columb. "You always want to win, but I’m reasonably happy. Its early days, and you can definitely lose it here. It’s a long series and I’m looking forward to it.” 
Also competing in the MX2 class for Altherm JCR Yamaha was visiting Australian and recently crowned 2013 NZ Supercross Champion, Jay Wilson (above). Jay is using the Kiwi series as a springboard for his Lites class campaign in Australia with Serco Yamaha. Racing the all-new YZ250F, Wilson ended the day with 3-6-3 results for third overall behind Columb. "The day went pretty good, I really enjoyed the track. I struggled a bit on the faster sections as I’ve been racing heaps of Supercross back home and this is my first Motocross race back,” explained Wilson. "JC (Josh Coppins) runs a fantastic team set up and the YZ250F is a weapon. We will only keep building from here.” MX2 Class
Spearheading the MX1 class for Altherm JCR Yamaha was Scottish International Billy Mackenzie (above) who was back with a vengeance after a tough weekend at the Woodville GP two weeks prior. Mackenzie was in fine form at Timaru racing to 3-2-2 results to end the day third on the podium. The performance leaves just six points between himself and red plate holder, Cody Cooper. "It took me a while to get into the track as it was tricky, and hard to see lines with the dust. I took a lot of confidence out of today,” said Mackenzie. "I feel like I’ve made some improvements from last year on my speed and fitness, and getting used to the brand new YZ450F; everything is working well so far.” MX1 Class
Altherm JCR Yamaha’s team owner and manager, Josh Coppins, was happy with the team’s performance at Timaru, but stresses that this is not the time to get comfortable. "It’s good to get the 125 win and great to have both the YZ250 and YZ250F on the MX2 podium; MX1 was good also. "No complaints on my riders, they rode hard and gave 100 percent. We just need to be a little bit better across the board as everyone is stepping up and trying harder. Overall, I’m pretty happy. We’ve just got to keep our eye on the prize and looking ahead,” finished Coppins. The series now heads north to Tokoroa for Round 2 on Sunday 23 February. To follow the Altherm JCR Yamaha team on Facebook; www.facebook.com/JoshCoppinsRacing or on Instagram: @joshcoppins
Words and images: Chris Ritchie Foto.
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