from ... Rhys Carter
Tuesday 05 April: Hey guys sorry it taken a while to get this out - had no internet at the house. Final Round of NZ MX Champs at New Plymouth - MX2 Class. Edited by Alan H.
Practice/Qualifying: So it rained like crazy for the days leading up to the final round of the Champs and on the morning of the event it was rumoured there was only going to be two rounds. So we went out for practice and qualifying - they gave us the usual 30 minute session. On the first few laps it wasn't too bad but it started to get technical. On the fourth lap my bike started missing and didn't sound too good so I managed to do a half decent lap and pulled off to get my bike sorted.
Moto 1: Being another concrete start and with it being wet, made it tricky to get a good jump. Somehow I managed to and came round the first turn in 5th which was good. I moved into 4th within the first few laps and was feeling good 'till coming down this slight down hill bend the front went from me and I went down, losing a couple spots. I got back going and tried to stay upright and get as many points as I could. Then I made a stupid mistake and stalled it going into a corner. By the time I got my bike going I had dropped back to 9th and was there 'till the end of the race.
Moto 2: Hoping for another good jump like the first moto but for some reason I just spun and was third-to-last going round the first corner. I put my head down and avoided all the carnage that was happening and stayed on my bike and slowly worked my way through the pack. The track at this point was gnarley, it had ruts everywhere and was hard underneath. It was like ice in some spots and was a technical track to get around. The 2 lap board come out and I managed to get past one more guy and put myself into 6th for the moto which I was pretty happy with considering my start.
Moto 3: I got another average jump out of the gate and was sitting mid-pack going round the first turn. I again avoided the carnage on the first few laps and just stayed upright untill everything had settled down. I got myself into the top 10, then my shoulder had nothing left and all I could do was just cruise round and try stay on the bike. I ended up 11th in that moto and was not happy with that as I couldnt push and get myself good points.
Championship 6th overall. The Nationals this year went really fast and before I knew it they had come and gone. I am pretty happy with my result after only been on the bike three weeks before the first round. Having had nine months off with my shoulder and was not even going to do the first two rounds but I think I rode the best I have and used my head alot and didnt crash my brains out like previous years. I felt like I adjusted to the Suzuki real good and with Baz at Speed Shop getting it sorted and Jimmy at Performance Factory doing my suspension really made a difference on how my bike handled - it was amazing. A big thanks to my parents again for coming all over the country to the races, my family for travelling to a couple rounds, Coops for working on things that he found I struggled with and made a huge change to my riding, BT for all the bits and pieces he has put towards me. Ricey for getting the pics for me over the rounds you did a sick job.
To all my sponsors that have been there for me again and also my new sponsors that jumped on board and helped me out. Not having the best results over the last few years I can't thank you all enough and hope to carry all this on to the future: Moto GB, Speed Shop, Loose Kid Industries, DVS Shoes, Protege MX, Fox, Shoei, Skull Candy, Addiction, Pirelli, EBC Brakes, Rice Photography, Tsubaki Race Chains, Supersprox and Repsol Oils.
Top 10 overall for MX2:
- Daryll King
- Dan McCoy (Aussie)
- Cody Mackie (Aussie)
- Luke Burkhart
- Peter Broxholme
- Rhys Carter
- Damien King
- Cam Dillon
- Jesse Wiki
- Brad Groombridge