KIWI RIDER 07 2018 VOL.2 | Page 90

CLARK FOUNTAIN 3RD If it wasn’t for the Gixxer Cup I would not be circuit racing. I’d always wanted to try it, but I never had the chance until the Gixxer Cup. I started riding motocross when I was three and got 6th in NZ, and I also got 3rd in the Michael Godfrey and 4th at Woodville. Then when motocross became too expensive (sponsors are always welcome) I bought an XR200 solo bike and won the NZ solo champs at Oreti park speedway. I raced solo for two seasons until I snapp ed the crank in half on my Daytona 200. In the end I blew up four XR200s and one Daytona motor. My Dad saw an advert for the Gixxer Cup and asked if I wanted to do it, and I said “Yes!” straight away. He said we could, so we went up to Feilding to get the bike and ride it for the first time. It was raining for the first ride and, as the bike was new with new tyres, I really didn’t want to crash! I rode anyway and it was so much fun. The Gixxer Cup has been a real fun series. I met so many great people, and made lots of new friends. The racing has been so close that one missed gear can drop you four places. The slipstreaming was like nothing I have ever done before! With no road experience, Dad and I were only hoping for a top 10 place in the series. But we smashed that out with a 2nd in the Suzuki Series and overall 3rd in the Gixxer Cup. The GSX150F is so good from looks to performance and the way it stops is just amazing, it’s hard to believe that it is a road bike. The Gixxer Cup is such a good class to get into even if you don’t have much experience, and the benefit is all the gear comes with it. This would not have happened without the help of my sponsors and family. So I would like to thank Hughes Motors, ProMoto and Nelson Motorcycle Centre for the work on the bike, Kiwi Rider magazine and Bikesportnz for the advertising, Mann Security and Cycles, the Mann family, Mum, Dad and my br other Max for the help. I will definitely be back again next year. RACE THE GIXXER CUP Want to give it a go? Ready to race at just $5995, including full Alpinestars race gear and a Bell helmet, Suzuki’s air-cooled four-stroke single-cylinder, fully-faired GSX150Fs are prepared in Suzuki’s workshop by number one Superbike rider Sloan Frost. Fitted with Dunlop AL13 tires and a host of other hand crafted race parts, your GSX150F comes ready to race including a rear race stand. See www.suzuki.co.nz/gixxer-cup for more information.