YAMAHA’S MAY
FINISHES THE
JOB HE STARTED
By Andy McGechan
t's never easy racing dirt bikes at speed
across unknown terrain, but Auckland's
Callan May was in the enviable position
of being able to take it easy in the King
Country in early December.
The 26-year-old from Titirangi had done all the
hard work already, winning the first two rounds
of the Yamaha NZXC Series and accepting
runner-up finishes at the three rounds that
followed, his consistently high results meaning
he arrived at the sixth and final round of the
competition near Waimiha on December 8 with
a massive mathematical advantage.
Second in the points standings at the start
of the day was fellow Yamaha YZ250FX rider
Seth Reardon, his 9-4-4-5-6 score-card over
the previous five rounds meaning he needed
something of a miracle if he was to have any
hope of surpassing May's points tally.
In the end, May battled through traffic to claim
third overall at Waimiha, while Whanganui's
Reardon posted his worst result of the series,
20th position, and this actually allowed
Ararimu's Richard Sutton (Yamaha YZ125) to
sneak through and steal second place for the
series overall.
Reardon had to be satisfied with third overall
for the series.
Helensville's Tom Buxton (KTM 350 EXC-F)
won the day at Waimiha, finishing nearly four
minutes ahead of Cambridge rider Dylan
Yearbury (Husqvarna FX350), with May just
under one minute behind him.
"I didn't have to win today... I wanted to, of
course, always do... but there was no real
pressure today," said May.
"I didn't get the best of starts, which doesn't
help things. The track was tough and it was
pretty hard work over that first lap. This one
and the Riverhead Forest round would have
been the toughest events for me this year.
"I'm pretty happy with my result, to be honest.
I went hard for the first lap and got in front of
the guys I wanted to beat. I was about last off
the start line and then got tangled on the first
hill, having to push the bike up it.
"I've gone from having really good start
to having the worst starts in the world. It's
something I need to work on."
The next competition for Kiwi Rider-backed
May is to tackle the New Zealand Cross-country
Championships, which will kick off in the New
Year.
As for Waimiha winner Buxton, he says he
has "no plans yet to contest the New Zealand
cross-country Championships… I don’t much
like farmland racing and prefer the challenge of
racing in forestry... so the enduro nationals will
be my main focus in the New Year”.
Meanwhile, Taupo’s Wil Yeoman took his
Yamaha YZ125 to win the junior grade race at
Waimiha and also wrap up the NZXC Series
overall, with Tirau’s Alex Butler (KTM) and
Morrinsville’s Liam Calley (Kawasaki) completing
the junior grade podium for the series.