Rachael’s putting the boys in their place She’s national cross-country champion in the under-200cc two-stroke class
She’s been threatening to beat up the boys for years, but now it’s official . . . Nga¯roma’s Rachael Archer is the national crosscountry champion in the under200cc two-stroke class.
The 16 year old wrapped up the New Zealand title on her Husqvarna TE150 at the fourth and final round of the 2018 series near Mosgiel on Saturday.
It was little more than a formality that she won, as it turned out, because she already had a firm grip on the title thanks to her sensational results at the earlier rounds.
With a 1-1-4- score-card after three rounds, she headed to Mosgiel knowing that a top-two result was all that was required for her to fend off nearest rival Mark Fuller in the three-hour senior race.
“My fourth-place finish (round three) at Taupo¯ was because I had been riding my new Husqvarna FC250 four-stroke bike and it sort of confused me a bit when I jumped back on the 150 two-stroke for the cross-country nationals,” she explained.
“I was in about last place after the start at Taupo¯ and had to pass a lot of riders that day.”
Fuller of Taupiri had scored 2-2-2 results at the previous three rounds, but, because only three of the four rounds were to be counted, with riders to discard their one worst result, Archer knew she couldn’t afford to let Fuller sneak a win at Saturday’s finale.
Archer need not have worried because she comfortably won her class on Saturday, finishing 11th overall (battling with the 300cc and 450cc men) and crossing the finish line well ahead of Fuller.
Fuller finished 17th overall, though still good for second place in the under-200cc class at the weekend and also for the series.
“I wanted to win on Saturday and knew that, if I could get out ahead of Mark (Fuller) at the start, Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
I would win,” said Archer, a year 12 pupil at St Peter’s in Cambridge.
While Archer won the under200cc two-stroke title, becoming the first female to win an allgender class, it was a double celebration for her family.
Archer’s father, Kevin, won the over-45 years’ Super Veterans’ title.
The 50-year-old Kevin Archer finished eighth overall on Saturday,
just three places ahead of his daughter.
“I haven’t beaten dad at a national event yet, but I’m getting closer all the time,” quipped Rachael.
Eltham’s Adam Loveridge won the 90-minute junior grade race, held earlier in the day, allowing him to snatch the title away from Napier’s Bryn Codd, who had led the series at the start of Saturday morning. .
The top five finishers in the junior race were Loveridge, followed by Cambridge’s Callum Paterson, Raglan’s Coby Rooks, then Codd and Cambridge’s Michael Henry.
Loveridge also claimed the over-85cc two-stroke class trophy, while Rooks won the over-200cc four-stroke title and Nga¯ruawahia’s Luke Lempriere won the junior 85cc title.
In final overall junior grade rankings, Loveridge’s 2-1-7-1 scorecard gave him the crown ahead of Paterson (1-20-4-2) and Codd (3-3-2-4), with Loveridge discarding his seventh placing from round three, Paterson ditching his 20th from round two and Codd dropping his fourth placing from Saturday’s finale.