New Zealand BMXers edge Australia in test series

New Zealand edged Australia for the second time this year to win the Mighty 11 BMX Test Series in Rotorua over the weekend.

The test series was held as part of the BMX North Island Championships.

Australia took the opening moto with all three podium placings, before New Zealand fought back winning the next three races in the five-race series with Tauranga’s Kieran Ngatai winning two races and Gisborne’s Lewis Smith the other.

The Australians fought back impressively to win the final moto today when Justin Beattie from the Blue Mountains club in New South Wales prevailed.

New Zealand managed to outlast the Australians 100-95 in a hard fought and exciting test series.

World No 2 Sarah Walker, just back from victory in the World Supercross in France, was untroubled in winning the elite women’s honours, winning both races from Australians Lauren Reynolds and Rachel Bracken.

But Australians dominated the elite men with Brian Kirkham winning both motos from compatriot Luke Madill with Cambridge rider Kurt James was third.

Australians also claimed both junior titles with impressive Queenslander Melinda McLeod taking the junior women from fellow Queensland rider Chesea King and Papakura’s Nicole Wright while Western Australia’s Darryn Good win prevailed in the junior men from Nic Fox (Gisborne) and Daniel Franks (North Avon Chch).

It proved a double for the same winners in the UCI Oceania titles with Walker winning all three motos and the final in the elite women and Kirkham achieving the same in the elite men. Goodwin and Franks shared top spot in the heats of the junior men but the Australian prevailed in the final while McLeod, only fifth in qualifying, claimed the junior women’s final.

Results:

Mighty 11, moto 1: Australia 28 NZ 11; moto 2: NZ 24 Australia 15; moto 3: NZ 27 Australia 12; moto 4: NZ 22 Australia 17; Moto 5: Australia 23 NZ 16. Overall” New Zealand 100 Australia 95.

The North Island age group winners were:

Boys 5 and under: Alex Reid (Christchurch City); 6 year, Lachlan Stevens-McNabb (Rotorua); 7 years: Rico Bearman (North harbour); 8 years, Zach Peterson (Rotorua); 9 years, Tuhoto-Ariki Pene (Rotorua); 10 years, Mark Harland-Croft (Taupo); 11 years, Maynard Peel (Sunset Coast); 12 years, Joshua Smith (Te Awamutu); 13 years, Codi Merito (Te Awamutu); 14 years: Jordan Lecher (Penrith, AUS); 15 years, Jack Buchhorn (Queensland, AUS); 16-29 years, Ben Walter (Cambridge); 30-39 years, Corey Stafford (Queensland, AUS); 40 plus, David Mohi (Rotorua).

Girls 6 years, Lucy Macready (North Harbour); 7 years, Tia Hastings-Thurgood (Cambridge); 8 YEARS, Ella Hansen (Rangiora); 9 years, Jessie Smith (Gisborne); 10 years, Ruby-Mae Hoad (Queensland, AUS); 11 years, Lisa Roguski (Tauranga); 12 years, Rebecca Petch (Te Awamutu); 13 years, Tahlia Hansen (Rangiora); 14 years, Jade Parker (Queensland, AUS); 16-29 years: Nicole Sarten (New Plymouth); 30 years plus: Vanessa Quin (Tauranga).