Despite failing to achieve a prime finish at this edition of the “ Olympic Games of Motocross ” in Michigan , in late September , the Kiwi contingent can justifiably feel proud of their efforts in trying circumstances . The popular Motocross of Nations was packed with drama throughout the two days of qualification and points race action at the RedBud circuit near Chicago , and the threerider team from New Zealand battled through to finish up 21st out of the 34 countries represented . The Kiwi trio – Tauranga ’ s Josiah Natzke ( MXGP class ), Tauranga ’ s Brodie Connolly ( MX2 class ) and Waipukurau ’ s Rhys Carter ( Open class ) – rode with courage and should not be too disappointed with their overall result . After failing during preliminary qualifying races on the Saturday to earn direct entry to the main races , the Kiwi trio were obliged to contest the B Final race first thing the next morning . Natzke had finished 17th in his MXGP qualifier on the Saturday , Carter finished 20th in his Open Class qualifying race and Connolly was
sidelined by an engine failure , meaning he completed just five of 11 laps in his MX2 ( 250cc ) class qualifier and , while credited with 29th , his was the score to be discarded from the Kiwi ’ s total . Unfortunately , this consigned Team New Zealand to 23rd place out of the 34 nations entered this year and they therefore missed the 20-team cut , unable to progress directly to the finals races the following day . So it then became a must-win assignment for the Kiwis . Team New Zealand had to win Sunday morning ’ s B Final overall and therefore earn a last-chance , backdoor route to the finals ... nothing less would do if they were to achieve a top-20 result for 2022 . But it wasn ’ t to be . “ Rhys had a huge crash in the first corner of the B Final and so it was down to Brodie Connolly and Josiah Natzke to bring it home ,” explained team manager Shayne King . Connolly took his 250cc bike to lead the B Final for much of the race , eventually settling for a runner-up finish , behind Venezuelan 450cc rider Lorenzo Locurio .
50 KIWI RIDER