HARWOOD EASILY WRAPS UP TWO NZ TITLES
A successful national title defence and
an extra title to go with it... it was an
immensely satisfying 2019 New Zealand
Motocross Championships campaign for
West Aucklander Hamish Harwood.
The CML Makita KTM Racing Team rider
was virtually unstoppable this season,
certainly in the 125cc class, where he
won all 12 races over the four-round
series, and he can count 2019 as his
most successful year to date.
Not only did the 23-year-old builder
from Royal Heights win the national
125cc crown – and he did that with two
races to spare – but he also extended
his MX2 (250cc) class winning streak
to four consecutive seasons after he
successfully defended that title too, also
winning that category with a race up his
sleeve.
Taupo hosted the fourth and final
round of the Fox-sponsored series on
March 10 and Harwood arrived at the
sandy circuit in an enviable position –
he led the 125cc class by a whopping
57 points from fellow KTM rider Ben
Broad (Placemakers KTM), from Ngatea,
and was a solid 35 points ahead of
Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis (Altherm
JCR Yamaha) in the MX2 class.
The only thing that could derail
Harwood in his two title ambitions
would be mechanical failure or, perhaps,
a bolt of lightning.