Brad Groombridge
“ I had broken my finger late last year and had only had the splint removed and cleared to go racing again on January 6 , so I had not had much time to work on my bike fitness ,” he explained . “ But it ’ s seven weeks now until the South Island rounds and I expect to be 100 percent by then .” Round three is set for farmland near Gore on March 20 , and then it all wraps up with the fourth and final round on Saturday , March 22 . Meanwhile , the battle for senior women ’ s honours appears to be shaping up as a tworider tussle between Stratford ’ s Megan Collins and Auckland ’ s Charlotte Russ , while best of the veteran grade riders early on are Otorohanga ’ s Trevor De Malmanche ( 35-44 years ), Palmerston North brothers Mark and Jason Amey , with an equal share of the lead in the 45-54 years ’ division , and Whanganui ’ s Danny Willemsen ( over 55 years ). In the junior grade , Parkes is the obvious favourite for overall and four-stroke over-200cc class honours , with Fowler leading the twostroke over-85cc class ; Waitoa ’ s Chad McGovern leads the under-85cc class and Rotorua ’ s Grace Fowler tops the junior women ’ s standings . Motorcycling New Zealand cross-country cocommissioner Paul Whibley , who shares those responsibilities with Manawatu ’ s Claire Clare , said the opening weekend of produced racing of the “ highest calibre ”. “ We had two great venues and two intense days of racing ,” said Whibley . “ The tracks came together well , and the racing was very close . The senior title chase looks very tight between Brad and Callum and , with all rounds counting for points , it should go right down to the final round . “ Open farmland is always going to produce fast racing , although we ’ ve created a course that will slow them down a little bit in places , to keep it safer and yet still challenging , with gullies and tree sections . The weekend at Waituna West has been a good start to the series .”
46 KIWI RIDER