Race brief ... from Justin McDonald - Summercross and SuperX.

Hey guys, I hope everyone had a decent holiday over the New Year and managed to see some moto. I have just finished up the New Zealand Supercross series with the final round last weekend in Timaru. But I'll start you guys off back in 2010 with my final ride of the year at the Summercross on the 28th of December.

While I was driving up to the venue it was only drizzling, I had hoped it would clear up for Tuesday when I was to race. The juniors had raced on the Monday under perfect conditions. When Tuesday rocked around the sky had clouded over and it was raining pretty hard. The track was a pumice like sand base, but under the rain it became like riding in a slushy. The track was rough and rutty but still had a good flow to it.

Moto1:  In the rain, #6 is Josh Coppins, #1 Justin McDonald, #310 Hayden Clark, #15 Blake Gillard.  Obscured at right is #105 Mike Phillips and outside of him was #181 Mason Wilkie.  Whilst the pic does not show it, Coppins was carrying more speed than the rest and went into the corner a little too hot. Phillips and Wilkie were around on the inside and led out. Photo: Alan H.

I had three motos and managed a second in the first one behind Michael Phillips who rode well to claim the overall for the day. In race two I battled a bit with Hayden Clark before settling into a rhythm behind Coppins and claiming fourth. Determined to finish the day on a high, I entered the last race fully focused. I got a good start and focused on staying upright and riding consistently smooth. Sadly I cart wheeled the bike after landing in a hole on one of the jumps. I managed to get back into the race without losing a spot and finish the moto with a win. These results gave me second overall for the day.

Had a bit of a crazy New Year's when some buddies and I tried to get the jet skis onto the beach and managed to get the truck stuck in the sand, 100 meters from the surf, we had to drag the jet skis across the beach and into the waves to launch them. Getting out became a nightmare as some flooding made the boat ramp inaccessible. In the end I had to hold the jet skis tapped to make it up the beach and the others helped me winch them onto the trailer.

After that it was back to Taupo to focus my attention on the supercross series. Taupo was my first event of the year on 02 January, I had concerns of how the track would hold up with the racing. I knew racing would be close after four of us in the MX Open class qualified with lap times on the same second. The track was maintained during the day, as a few of the berms were blown out after just practice and qualifying. It is a really cool track and made for some good racing. In moto one I had to work my way up to second after an average start. In moto two I battled with Mikey P for a few laps and eventually got around him to claim third, I repeated this result in the final moto to give me third overall for the day.

Nice action pic from Guy Maxwell of Justin at the Taupo's SX. 

The next time we would all meet was in Motueka for two days of racing on the Rat Track. I have always enjoyed this track and looked forward to getting there. The weather was pretty hot and the track was looking like it might get dusty. The club always does a good job keeping the dust to a minimum and had watered it in the days leading up to the event. Saturday was the South Island Champs day and was more of a practice for the all important NZ SuperX Round 3 on Sunday. I had a good qualifier and set the fastest time. The first moto went smoothly, I slotted in second behind Josh Coppins and stayed there till the checkers.

In Moto 2 I started the race behind Coppins but made a pass and took the win. This tied Josh and myself on points for the day, I took a comfortable win in the final race as Coppins was playing catch up the length of the moto after spilling it in turn one. This gave me the overall for the day and a high level of confidence going into Sunday. That night, Rooter, my mechanic spent some time to make another holeshot device for my bike, to help with my start on Sunday.

Overnight, the track saw a lot of watering and on Sunday morning there were a few puddles around. This wetness changed the face of the track to create a "one line” feel to the circuit. I knew starts would be important in every race. I didn't holeshot my first moto and was chasing Coppins who was on the tail of Michael Phillips, Mikey went down over the back and I moved up into second where I stayed.

In Moto 2 I got a much better start and led to the end. In the final race I was on the rear mudguard of Mikey P for several laps before passing him over the finish line tabletop. I stayed on while he pursued me and I won another, giving me the overall and closing the point's gap between myself and Coppins to just 10 points.

I spent the following week in Blenhiem with food poisoning, I was being well looked after but had to leave the upper South Island for the final round of racing. Thursday night I had my first full meal and managed to keep it down for some time.

The track was pretty technical and had a pretty gnarly set of whoops. On Friday I was able to post two thirds and a second, my main concern was keeping my fluids up and trying to maintain some energy for Saturdays racing. The track was watered overnight as dust had become an issue and by Saturday mornings practice the track was almost muddy. The day was overcast and the slight breeze took the moisture level on the track to near perfect.

Saturday's race format changed and saw the introduction of the Man vs Man single lap races to change up qualifying position. I was second by the end of it after beating a few others and losing to Josh Coppins in the final Man vs Man. The racing format changed also with the final two races of the day raced back to back for each class. The opening race was my best of the day as I won after getting a good start and riding consistent. In the middle race I managed to gain second after Phillips went down in the whoops section. Sadly the day didn't end well, as I smashed a radiator when I went down hard in the final moto, I was unable to finish the race, which meant my day was over. This didn't change the points however and I was still second overall for the supercross series.

Im back at work now and am looking forward to Woodville at the end of the month. I am excited as my new Fox Shocks have just arrived and I will be testing them this weekend.

I hope everyone has a good return to their riding and racing. I guess I will see you at the races.

Thanks to my sponsors for their commitment to my racing in 2011: Timaru Honda, Castrol. Etnies, TAG, Pro Circuit, Pirelli Tyres, Alpinestars, Dragon, Endura, Ilabb, No Toil Oil, Shoei, TTT 56, Fox Shocks, 201 Racing and Torque Construction.