Youngsters rev up riding career
Trio of riders bring home a haul of new trophies
Three Taupō youngsters have returned from a national motocross competition with an armful of trophies between them. James Drought (6), Blake Allan (7) and Weston Piper Fredrickson (7) competed in the New Zealand Mini Motocross Nationals in Christchurch over two days in October, alongside nearly 200 other riders aged 4 to 11 from across the country.
For Blake and Weston, it marked their second national competition.
Blake came second in the 50cc Intro Trail and third in the 50cc Intro Motocross categories.
Weston came fifth in the 50cc Motocross and eighth in the 65cc ages 7 to 8 years.
For Weston, this meant competing against riders nearly a full year older than him.
It was James’ first competition, having begun the sport six months ago.
Even so, he scored an eighth-place finish in the 50cc Intro Trail category.
There was a lot of practice in the leadup to the competition, with the boys variously training at home, with Taupō Motocross Club and on local tracks.
As well-prepared as they were, it wasn’t all smooth riding - the weather was unpredictable, leading to a rutted track and even ferry cancellations on the way home, Blake’s dad, Nick Allan, said.
“The event threw everything at them; early starts, freezing temperatures, lots and lots of mud, followed by a sweltering hot sunny day, bike malfunctions, and some exciting racing.
“The first day was very muddy and very difficult.”
Weston said the combination of the rain and the number of riders made conditions tricky.
”[There were] ruts around the corner;
it was real rutty and at the start, it was so muddy. The first people [on the track] went out and ripped it up.”
After the initial laps, the races were postponed until the track had a chance to even out a bit.
Even then, the action made for tense viewing for the boys’ families, with a bike breakdown for Blake and a fall for Weston, although he was uninjured.
“I just couldn’t hold the brakes on
too much, I just full-gassed it and I missed the brake on accident, and I just went straight over the berm.”
Motorcycling NZ motocross commissioner Lindsey Heileson said despite the challenges, the conditions “brought out the best in the riders”.
“It allowed for a true representation of who are the best of the best among our mini motocross riders.
“Saturday was wet, but the host club did a marvellous job to restore
the track for top-class racing to develop.
“The track formed deep ruts, as expected, but the riders did exceptionally well to adapt to the conditions.”
Nick Allan said all of the families were proud of the boys’ accomplishments.
“We took down a lot of family, even the grandparents came down - it was a real family big occasion.”