so it’s all stock. There are a lot of hours involved.
I’ll probably spend up to 200 hours on the race
bikes. My favourite tool is my torque wrench.”
Matt Crothers is the man behind Transdiesel
Shell Advance Kawasaki Team rider Josiah Natzke.
The 27-year-old Crothers has been a mechanic
for 10 years and has worked for Kawasaki race
team for five years now.
“I take the bike home with me and it lives with
me through the week, where I will spend 6-7
hours a week on it to get it ready to race. Filters
and oil, grease and all that... if I have to rebuild
the bike it takes a bit longer. Hopefully it’s
smooth sailing on race day. We have a whole
extra bike for spare parts, so that’s good.
My favourite tool is my hammer,” he joked.
Logan Simmonds is at the other end of the
mechanics’ scale and would be the first to tell
you he’s no factory mechanic. In fact, the
15-year-old Simmonds is just a close friend of
young 125cc class rider Madoc Dixon.
“I just sort of help out Madoc so he can get
on the podium. My mechanical knowledge is
pretty basic but I know most of the stuff to do
to keep the bike running. I’m an automotive
student at polytech.”
Dixon is fortunate also that he’s had great
support from family members – his uncle
Cameron, father Darrell and grandfather Peter
have all done their part to help Dixon finish
runner-up in the 125cc class at the nationals
this season.
104 KIWI RIDER