The PWR Yamaha team had a positive start to the national cross country season, with the top tier riders and the new PWR Academy team enjoying the venue near Rotoma on Saturday.

Team manager Paul Whibley, who doubles as Motorcycling New Zealand’s cross country commissioner, was kept busy overseeing the teams’ seven riders and was pleased with their results at the opening round of the Whyteline Beta Motorcycles sponsored series.

“There was tight racing on all levels through young pine forest at Peacock Paradise near Whakatane. Both Luke Brown and Wil Yeoman ran up front during the early stages of the Senior race and had respectable finishes when the flag came out,” he says.

Taupo-based, 18-year-old Yeoman, just keeps getting better each season and rode hard to achieve a podium position in the Senior XC1 class.

“I got off to a great start on my Yamaha YZ450FX, securing the hole shot. I led for the first lap, trying to settle in on the farm track at the new venue,” he says.

Yeoman dropped down to 4th after his fuel stop but was able to push on, moving back into 3rd. He couldn’t quite rein in 2nd before the two-hour race finished.

He says he has got “a couple of work-ons before the next round” and thanked Forbes and Davies for the team accessories, the Fowlers for providing the venue, and PWR for the team support.

Eketahuna’s Brown finished fifth in the Senior race, in what was a confident step up from the PWR Academy team to replace top Yamaha rider Tommy Watts, after his recent injury. Watts is awaiting a surgery date.

Brown says his YZ450FX “started straight away off the line, allowing me to be up front early and keep out of the dust.”

“I was sitting in 4th overall for most of the race then a last lap crash put me back to 5th overall for the day. The terrain was rough and fast but the 450 made light work of the gnarly track.”

Brown now leads the XC1 class in the GNCC, with his teammate Yeoman hot on his heels only 1 point behind after three rounds of this four-round series. The GNCC intersects with the cross country nationals’ first and second rounds.

PWR rider Charlotte Russ, of Auckland, won the women’s cross country class on Saturday, which gave her three from three GNCC victories.

Russ says she was able to overcome a tough start to make her way through the other riders “fairly quickly on quite a rough and challenging track.”

“My YZ250FX bike was handling really well throughout the day and I was happy to win my class after battling close with Natasha Cairns right to the end.”

Brown’s younger brother Sheldon, who is in the PWR Academy team, leads the Junior class after winning the 90-minute race. He is also winning the GNCC junior category.

His fellow PWR Academy rider Colton Whibley dominated the separate Minis class and he holds the same winning position in the GNCC Series, with one round remaining.

Whibley’s dad Paul says Masterton’s Max Williams has just returned from a long injury layoff and “was happy to be lining up and turning wheels again.”

The final member of the PWR Academy team Harvey Williams (Max’s brother) finished in 10th place in his class, which was dominated by 250F bikes. His Yamaha YZ 125X was the 4th 125cc bike home.

Round two of the cross country nationals and the GNCC’s final meeting is set for Maddix Park, near Tauranga, on November 25.

2023 NZ CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND ONE RESULTS:

Expert

1st Brad Groombridge

2nd Jared Hannon

3rd Wil Yeoman (YZ450FX) – 3rd in class, XC1

4th Callum Dudson

5th Luke Brown (YZ450FX) – 5th in class, XC1

30th Charlotte Russ (YZ125) – 1st in class, Senior - Women’s

Junior

1st Sheldon Brown (YZ250FX) – 1st in class, Junior 125 2T / 240 4T

2nd Nixon Parkes (YZ250F)

3rd Millen Cargill (YZ250FX)

4th James Bates

5th Harrison Findlay (YZ125)

Mini

1st Colton Whibley (YZ65) – 1st in class, Mini

2nd Miller Spence

3rd Alex Corver

2023 New Zealand Cross-Country Championships Calendar:

Round One - Saturday, November 11, at Rotoma, near Whakatane

Round Two - Saturday, November 25, at Maddix Park, Matata

Round Three - Sunday, December 10, at Tinui, near Masterton