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Well the Michael Godfrey Memorial Motocross has just wrapped up and I thought Id let you all know how it went.
The
weather forecast predicted a typical Godfrey weekend, with rain
expected on Saturday evening and carrying on for Sunday morning. However
the trademark weather pattern was not to be and we were left with some
light cloud cover all day Saturday and a southerly on Sunday. But no
rain. The track was completely reinvented with berm turns and a
straight of whoops.
I
knew it was going to be a tough weekend with both Josh Coppins and
Mikey P, making the trip South for the event. The track was super long
at around three minutes a lap and was really hard to pass on, due to
being quite one lined in the corners. I knew that getting a decent start
was going to be crucial for a good result.
Race 1: In
Saturdays opening moto I got a good jump out of the gates and settled
in behind Coppins. I chased him around for the first two laps and was
slowly closing the gap but was unable to make a pass and settled for
second.
Race 2: Two was my best race of the weekend as I got out the front
and found my rhythm quickly. Coppins and I swapped positions a few time
through out the moto but when the flag fell I had myself a win.
#6 Josh Coppins, #201 Justin McDonald, #103 Mike Phillips.
Race 3: My last
dash for the day nearly caused me to DNF as after a decent start I was
sitting third behind the boys, I gave it a handful and it caused me to
high-side, when I landed I'd been robbed of breath and it seemed to take
an age for me to get it back. When I got back on my wheels I was
sitting in dead last and about a third of a lap behind. The adrenalin
kicked me into gear and I spent the next four laps passing as many as I
could to get back into the points. By the time I crossed the checkers I
was tenth.
Overnight
I rested up and tried to let my body heal, so that I could recover my
points come Sundays racing. The weather was holding out during the
morning.
Race 4: The first moto saw me getting another second behind Josh, who
never lost his lead from turn one. This put myself and Mikey P on the
tie for points going into the last race.
Race 5: In this last race I was third
in the start and had to chase the #105 for a lap before making a pass. He
stayed on my tail for the rest of the race until I missed a gear on the
inside of a turn and Mikey made the pass by railing the berm. I made a
last minute effort to pass him back but cooked it and went off the
track. I had to settle for third for the weekends overall.
The
30 minute feature for the Michael Godfrey Memorial trophy was the
last event of the day. By this time it was a blowing a cold southerly
wind but the gates were still full at a solid 41 riders.
Sadly
I kept the gas on too long in the start straight causing me to throw
the holey away, drifting wide I handed the holeshot to Josh and found
myself in fifth place. From there it was a game of catch up. Even though
the race was thirty minutes long I couldn’t afford the luxury of taking
my time to get back up the front, as Coppins was surely going to gap
us. I got myself up to third quickly and managed to latch on to Mikey P.
After a few more laps, I made the pass and set my sights on Coppins.
Catching him was no easy task, given his level of experience. As the
race progressed Mikey P and I were too caught up racing each other,
which left Coppins pulling further ahead. After being comfortably in
second with only two laps to go I managed to clip a bale with my front
brake, which caused me to lock the front and go down. This mistake cost
me dearly, but I was still happy to end up third, as having both Coppins
and Mike Phillips there kept me entertained for the weekend and It felt
like we raised the bar for the Michael Godfrey.
Left to right: Mike Phillips, Josh Coppins and Justin McDonald.
I hope that the
spectators who stuck it out in the cold enjoyed the racing as much as I
did.
I
wish to Thank Mikey P and Josh for making the trip as well as my
sponsors for their support. Also a big thanks to the Christchurch
Offroad Motorcycle Club and Graeme Allen for making the event happen. |
