see through my dirty goggles , I tucked the front end of the bike in and down I went . “ I definitely should win a world record trophy for picking up my bike the quickest ,” he laughed . “ I don ’ t really have any words to describe how I feel right now . Dad helps me out a lot and I couldn ’ t do any of this without him … or mum too . I had so much support , for which I ’ m grateful . A huge thanks to Kawasaki New Zealand and all my other sponsors too .” “ I ’ m not too sure whether I can race juniors again next year . It depends on when the nationals are held . My birthday is on April 14 and April is when this event is usually held .” The COVID-19 pandemic caused last year ’ s junior championships to be cancelled and an earlier February date was chosen this year . This also meant that titles being defended this time around were actually those earned at Himatangi in 2019 .
It ’ s interesting to note that Brown comes from a family of motorcycling highachievers , his father Craig Brown not only his mentor and mechanic at the weekend , but also a top-five finisher in his senior championship days and more recently a national champion in the veterans ’ grades as well . Tyler Brown ’ s grand-father , Mike Wilkins , was a national hare-scramble ( cross-country ) champion in his day too . Meanwhile , in the most senior of the 125cc categories , for riders aged 15-16 years , Tauranga ’ s Madoc Dixon successfully defended his 2019 title . The Yamaha ace won three of his five races over the weekend at Tect Park and was runner-up in the other two races , giving him a narrow three-point win over Hamilton ’ s Dylan Westgate ( KTM ). “ I felt pretty nervous coming into it , but I ’ ve worked really hard and it paid off this weekend ,” said Dixon . “ I knew I just had to stay consistent and I ’ d achieve my goal .”
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