MICHEAL
CLEANS UP AT ROUND 2 NORTH ISLAND JUNIOR CHAMPS
MICHEAL SECOND AT WOODVILLE
RUSSELL
SWITCHES TO HONDA
AUSTRALIA
WINS OCEANIA TROPHY
MICHEAL
SELECTED FOR OCEANIA CHALLENGE
TEAM VR RACE TAUPO LABOUR WEEKEND EXTRAVAGANZA
Monday
18 February 2002
MICHEAL CLEANS UP AT ROUND 2 NORTH ISLAND JUNIOR CHAMPS
It felt like a walk in the park for Micheal at Round 2 of the three
round North Island Junior Champs, held on 16-17 February in the Hawkes
Bay. He won two of his three races on Saturday and finished in second
place in the other one. This was despite having a stock standard bike
as his usual CR125 seized whilst running it in the day before the event.
Like the first round, Kawasaki rider Michael Phillips did not compete,
leaving Mokey with no real competition. Micheal also won the last two
races on Saturday plus the Champion of Champions race. This leaves Micheal
with a total of 194 points out of 200 going into the third round next
month.
Wednesday
30 January 2002
MICHEAL SECOND AT WOODVILLE
Micheal had a great weekend’s racing at the Woodville Grand Prix. He
raced in the 15-16 years 125cc class, doing battle with South Islander
Justin McDonald and Kawasaki mounted Michael Phillips, taking a 1st,
2nd and a 3rd for his three races on the day. This gave him enough points
for 2nd overall for Saturday. With the use of transponders on their
motorbikes the riders were able to find out just exactly how fast they
were riding, and the top 20 fastest riders in the junior classes were
selected to compete the next day in the Champion of Champions class,
a first at Woodville. Micheal finished Saturday with the second fastest
time of the day, which was only a couple of seconds off the top Seniors
times on Sunday. Micheal also continued his stunning form with a 3rd
and a 2nd to take 2nd overall in the Champion of Champions Junior race
on Sunday.
Friday
25 January 2002
RUSSELL SWITCHES TO HONDA
Russell has traded in his YZ400F for a brand spanking new CRF450, hot
off the production line. As both Russell and Matt don’t race as much
any more, they decided it would be more practical to share a bike. Matt
was looking for a new challenge after competing in the Expert 125cc
class for the past 3 years and Russell wanted to make sure that the
bike would get ridden. So it was a simple solution - Matt could race
when he wanted to in the Expert 250cc class and Russell would still
be able to ride in the Veterans class. Best of luck to Russell and Mokey
for the Woodville Grand Prix this weekend.
Monday
17 December 2001
AUSTRALIA WINS OCEANIA TROPHY
Micheal represented New Zealand against Australia in the Oceania Motocross
Champs, held at the Moonshine Park, just north of Wellington in the
Central North Island. In brilliant sunshine Micheal managed to hold
off the Aussies to take a 2nd, and two 3rds in the three races for 2nd
overall in the Junior 125cc class. Despite some strong efforts from
New Zealand, they could not hold off the Australians who took out the
competition with 580 points compared with New Zealand’s 548.
Friday
23 November 2001
MICHEAL SELECTED FOR OCEANIA CHALLENGE
Micheal has been
selected as one of five junior motocross riders representing New Zealand
in the Oceania Motocross Championship, to be held near Wellington over
the weekend of Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 December 2001. The championship
is by invitation only, with the riders being selected by Motorcycling
New Zealand. Ten of the best senior riders from New Zealand will compete
against ten Australian riders, whilst five junior New Zealand motocrossers
compete against five Australian juniors making the trip across the Tasman.
For Micheal this is a golden opportunity to beat the Australians on
home turf. He will have a good advantage over other kiwi riders as he
has already competed against the Australian riders coming over for the
event, during the Australian Junior Motocross Championship back in July.
Tuesday
23 October 2001
TEAM VR RACE TAUPO LABOUR WEEKEND EXTRAVAGANZA
Over the weekend of Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 October, Matthew and Micheal
competed in the Labour Weekend Extravaganza held at the Digger McKewen
track in Taupo. Micheal competed in the 15 -16 years 125cc class on
the Saturday. His 2002 CR125 was running hot, and Micheal was out to
prove that his last weekends placing at the Waikato Champs was no fluke.
Mokey placed 3rd in the first race, then won the second race of the
day, and gained another 3rd in the final race to accumulate 50 points
for the days racing. He was tied for first place with Michael Phillips
(KX125), so it went to countback. As Michael Phillips won the first
race and Mokey was 3rd, Micheal Phillips was awarded first place for
the championship. Team VR supporters were absolutely stoked with his
placing but Mokey was not satisfied. “I would’ve preferred to win,”
said Mokey.
Matthew raced on Sunday in the Expert 125cc class. He was running in
3rd position in the first race of the day until the final lap when he
crashed. Unfortunately there was no time to pick up the places he’d
lost so he finished 10th. The second race was much better - Matt grabbed
the holeshot and raced a smooth race, finishing 2nd. In the final race
of the day Matt didn’t get as good a start, but still finished strongly,
gaining 4th place. This gave him 4th overall in his class, which Matthew
was quite happy about. The boys are looking forward to the first Hare
Scramble of the season to be held next weekend.
More
2001 News
