Scott has a blast at Forestland
O¯ pa¯ rau motocross rider James Scott had an absolute blast in dominating his final big domestic race before he boards a plane for France next week.
Round two of the popular Forestland Cross Country Series near Atiamuri last Saturday was expected to be a solid workout for the fearless Honda rider from O¯pa¯rau before he jets off with the rest of the New Zealand contingent to compete at the annual International Six Days Enduro (ISDE), this year set for southern France between August 29 and September 3.
The 20-year-old — the current national No 2 in the senior MX2 motocross class and also outright senior national No 1 in the New Zealand CrossCountry Championships — is no stranger to international competition, having previously competed in the European Motocross Championships as a 14-year-old in 2016 and also, as recently as last year, contested several rounds of the World Enduro Championships in Europe.
Therefore it probably came as no surprise that Scott (Honda CRF250RX) should dominate Saturday’s two-hour senior race in forestry at Ohakuri, about halfway between Tokoroa and Taupo¯.
It wasn’t without some degree of difficulty, however, because the starting grid order on Saturday was based on the riders’ finishing positions at round one of the series last month and that’s when Scott had failed to finish after running out of fuel while on the charge in second place.
“That meant I was 25th on the grid and so had a bit of traffic to cope with at the start,” shrugged Scott.
Scott was already in fourth position by the end of the start straight, as the 132-rider field of competitors disappeared into the trees for the first time.
“I was in the lead about halfway through the first [20km] lap,” he said.
Two hours and another four laps later and Scott had stretched his advantage to more than two minutes over eventual runner-up rider Blake Wilkins (Whitianga), with Tauranga’s Damon Nield claiming third overall.
Wainuiomata’s Jake Whitaker and Palmerston North’s Paul Whibley rounded out the top five on Saturday.
“I struggled to get away from Blake [Wilkins] on the first two laps. He was riding really well. But then I got a bit of a gap and never saw him again after that,” said Scott afterwards. “This was my last big race before I go to France. I’m really pumped to be going.”
The winner of round one of the Forestland series, staged closer to Tokoroa last month, was Taupo¯ ’s Wil Yeoman and, while he will be part of the Kiwi team in France, he was a notable absentee from the starting grid at Ohakuri on Saturday.
Scott and Yeoman will be joined at the ISDE by Cambridge’s 2022 national enduro champion Dylan Yearbury, Helensville’s Tommy Buxton, Howick’s Liam Draper, Whanganui’s Seth Reardon, Wairoa’s Tommy Watts, Oratia’s Callan May, Waitoki’s Ben Cottrill, Helensville’s Josh Jack and Rangiora’s Ben Dando.
The third and final round of the Forestland Cross-Country Series is set for August 27, but by then the ISDE stars will be away in Europe, leaving the way clear for a different rider to claim the win.
The top three finishers in the 90-minute junior race staged earlier on Saturday were Auckland’s Millen Cargill, Taupo¯’s Josh Yeoman and Auckland’s Leo Copping.