WOMEN Few could stick with Kawasaki rider Horne in the women’ s class action. Defending champion Horne won six of the 12 women’ s races this season and was no worse than second in the other races, finishing a whopping 46 points clear of eventual runner-up Mikayla Griffiths( Yamaha), from Taupo, and 60 points clear of third-ranked rider Amie Roberts( Yamaha), from Hamilton. Horne had been in a tight battle with Australian visitor Taylah McCutcheon( Kawasaki) during the first two rounds, with McCutcheon leading the way, but when the Aussie crashed out of race three at round three at Pukekohe, she was out for the rest of the series and her campaign was over. McCutcheon was eventually credited with finishing fourth overall for the series.
OUT OF THE RACE Missing the action late in the series were several other riders too, who, in any other circumstance, could have ended up taking a national title – Tauranga’ s Levi Townley( Yamaha), Oparau’ s James Scott( Yamaha), Foxton’ s Phoenix Van Dusschoten( GASGAS)
Cody Cooper( left), aged 41, and Flynn Watts, aged 18, after their classic battle for the win in MX2 class at the final round near Rotorua. Cooper is a multi-time national championship winner( in the 125cc, MX2 and MX1 classes), while Watts won the challenge for Under-19 class honours in the battlewithin-a-battle for the young ones in the MX2 class this season. It’ s interesting to note that Cooper was winning his first senior national MX titles before Watts was even born. In the end, Cooper finished 1-6-1 at Rotorua, claiming the class win overall for the event, while Flynn finished 2-1-6( a remarkable comeback after starting last) and ended up overall runner-up for the day
and New Plymouth’ s Rian King( Honda). Townley had already indicated he had bigger fish to fry and would not be able to complete the series as international ambitions were calling him. The 14-year-old 85cc Junior World Champion left for France after Rotorua’ s round two, heading off to race the European 125cc Championships( EMX125). He was comfortably leading the 125cc class at home before he boarded his international flight. Defending MX2 champion Scott dropped out of the series after crashing and injuring
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