Feature race win reward after tough day
It was a tough day at the office for Oparau’s Reece Walker, but the KTM man earned rich reward for his courage and tenacity in the final outing of the day, the allimportant feature race.
The 19-year-old, originally from Nelson, was one of the standout performers at the annual King of the Mountain Motocross in Taranaki at the weekend. Walker ended Sunday only 10th overall in the MX1 class after a mishap in the first of his three races saw him fail to finish, but he was top of the podium in the standalone final feature outing of the day, leading a KTM onetwo to the chequered flag.
Runnerup to him in the allcapacities, invitation-only feature race was Tauranga’s Micah McGoldrick, riding a KTM 250F, and he finished just over one second adrift of Walker in the gruelling six-lapper.
The same Barrett Rd circuit will be the venue for round one of the 2019 New Zealand Motocross Championships in two weeks’ time. However, the racing, under a blazing sun, did take its toll and not all riders invited to take part in the feature actually lined up to race. But Walker was made of sterner stuff and keen to push his body a little harder.
‘‘I was getting in the rhythm a little bit towards the end of the day and it was all good buildup for the nationals. Not all the top riders lined up for the feature race ... I think a few of the guys were pretty worn out, but I felt I needed as much track time as I could and was keen to push on,’’ he said.
The 23-year-old McGoldrick, also a former South Islander, from Rangiora, was pleased to complete the weekend without injury and with a few bike settings sorted for the upcoming national series. ‘‘I felt better as the day went on and my fitness is getting better too.’’
McGoldrick had finished third overall in the MX2 class races earlier in the day, behind Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis and Taupo’s Wyatt Chase.