Kiwis set their sights on world Motocross titles
Kiwi high-flier James Scott is among New Zealand's best title hopes for the FIM Junior World Championships in Australia.
The 16-year-old from Oparau, near Ka¯whia, was the New Zealand junior motocross champion in the 13-16 years' 85cc class in 2016, but he has been turning heads in Europe this season where he is racing the European 125cc Motocross Championships (EMX125).
And the teenager is excited about being able to shows his skills closer to home when the FIM Junior Motocross World Championships blast off at Horsham, north-west of Melbourne, on August 25-26.
The young KTM rider finished runner-up to Mangakino's Maximus Purvis in the 15-16 years' 125cc class at the 2017 New Zealand Junior Motocross Championships and, although injured at the start of this year, he was quick to recover and is making an impression in Europe.
Breaking an arm at the Woodville motocross event in late January meant Scott was forced to skip the first two of eight rounds of the 2018 EMX125 series but he has been quick to catch up. Based near Antwerp in Belgium, Scott finished fourth overall at the latest round of the EMX125 series — round five in France last month.
He took his F4E Racing Team KTM 125SX bike to twice finish fifth at the steep circuit at St Jean d'Angely, near Cognac, and lifted himself to 21st overall in the title chase, despite having contested just three of the five rounds so far.
“The team and I have been doing the hard yards at the moment, although my last few races haven't shown it,” he said.
“It would have been better if I hadn't crashed. I hope the next EMX125 rounds [set for Belgium, Switzerland and The Netherlands] will be good for me.
“My riding has improved a lot in the past two months of riding in sand, which is going to make me very bike fit for when I come back to race at Horsham.
“I expect at least a podium there [at Horsham], but I want to win. KTM in Australia will be supplying me with a bike. I haven’t raced the Junior Worlds before, but I don’t think it is going to be any bigger than a motocross GP and I have raced a few of them now. I am coming home for 10 days after the Junior Worlds, then going back to Europe. After that, I don’t know what my plans are but, if I am in New Zealand, I will be racing the senior nationals in the MX2 [250cc] class.”
Other Kiwi riders entered in the premier 125cc class at the FIM Junior Motocross World Championships in Australia are Taihape's Hayden Smith, Tauranga's Brodie Connolly and Rongotea's Zac Jillings.
New Zealanders who have entered the 85cc class are Rongotea's Rhys Jillings, Rangiora's Cobie Bourke, Darfield's Tyler Wiremu and Rongotea's Seth Henson.
Kiwis set to line up in the 65cc class at Horsham are Waitoki's Cole Davies, Palmerston North's Lachlan Barr, Cambridge's Harrison Findlay and Nelson's William Harvey.
The annual FIM Junior Motocross World Championships were held in Estonia last season but no New Zealand riders entered.