NZ’s top Motocross boys to come together
Expect the country’s most talented motocross riders to put aside their traditional rivalries and brand allegiances when they next compete, instead banding together under provincial colours.
They will flock to Taupo this Saturday (June 24) for the eighth annual Battle of the Clubs (BOTC) motocross, the event a fundraiser to help send a three-rider New Zealand team to contest the big annual Motocross of Nations (MXoN) – the Olympic Games of motocross – this year to be held at Matterley Basin, near Winchester, in south-west England.
The format used for racing at the BOTC in Taupo is similar to what the Team New Zealand trio can expect as they line up in England against three-rider teams from all around the world at the MXoN on October 1.
The New Zealanders have faced exceptionally strong teams, from nearly 40 countries, every time they’ve raced at the MXoN and yet they have typically also managed to punch above their weight.
Team New Zealand finished a respectable eighth overall when the MXoN was staged in France in 2015, Bay of Plenty riders Ben Townley, Cody Cooper and Kayne Lamont impressive at the event near Rennes, not far from the World War Two D-Day landing beaches in Normandy.
Team France won the 2016 event overall, the third consecutive time they have won the MXoN, but it was tight and came down to the final race of the weekend, with the Netherlands and the United States of America also potential winners.
But the 2017 team, which is yet to be named, first has to get there and it can be very expensive to send a team of three riders, their bikes, mechanics and everything else they need to compete, to the other side of the world.
It was with this in mind that the Taupo Motorcycle Club came up with the BOTC, a domestic equivalent of the MXoN.
The club-based teams each comprise six riders – three junior and three senior riders – who will compete on 85cc, 125cc, 250cc and 450cc machines.
An assortment of former Team New Zealand MXoN riders are expected to line up to race for their respective clubs in Taupo on Saturday.
Saturday’s racing at Taupo’s Digger McEwen Motocross Park kicks off at about 10am.