Team Suzuki Press Office – February 29.
Suzuki’s Todd Waters closed-in the on the New Zealand Motocross Championship lead following Sunday’s second round at Himatangi, where he scored second place, just one point from overall victory.
The Australian 25-year-old MC2 Suzuki Racing team rider recorded a 1-2-2 scorecard aboard his RM-Z450 and only missed-out on the top-step of the podium by half-a-wheel’s width to fellow Australian Dean Ferris in the final moto.
Team-mate Brad Groombridge finished with 5-4-5 race results on the sand-based track and this moved him up from sixth to fifth in the championship standings.
Said Waters: “I qualified fastest and felt good on the track. But I just couldn't nail down the starts. I won the first race and was all over Ferris in races two and three but just couldn't get past him or make it stick. My corner entry speed was faster than his, but I had to brake mid-corner to avoid hitting him and this meant I lost momentum again. It was pretty frustrating actually.
“It's good that I'm up to second in the points but I feel that I should be up front. It's all good though because we're really only racing this series to get tuned-up for our own nationals back home.”
That series is due to kick off at Horsham, in Victoria, Australia on April 3rd.
MC2 Suzuki Racing Team manager Andrew Hardisty said: “I continue to be impressed with the performance of the MC2 team riders. Todd was a huge contender for the overall win, but the penny simply didn't flip our way today. Brad only unpacked his bike from the crate last week and showed, even with a stock standard bike, he could snatch the holeshot. We will go now to round three with a clear vision of what we need to do to win the championship.”
The second half of the Kiwi motocross calendar takes riders to the Rotorua Motorcycle Club's track for round three on March 13th, with the fourth and final round set for the Digger McEwen Motocross Park facility, on the outskirts of Taupo, on March 20th.
