Winston's On An Upward Climb

Winston's On An Upward Climb

Andy McGechan

FEBRUARY 25, 2013: Australian Brock Winston is in the habit of turning heads.

If it is not the intricately tattooed body of this athlete that first catches your eye, perhaps it will be his superb skills on a motorcycle.

Though making his debut in New Zealand this summer, the CMR Red Bull KTM rider has shown that he is a very quick learner, speedily coming to terms with tracks and opponents that he has little or no prior knowledge of.

Winston took his CMR Red Bull KTM 250SX to a race win at the opening round of four in the New Zealand Motocross Championships a fortnight ago – and he ended the day third overall – and then he came within a couple of metres from doing it again at round two near Morrinsville on Sunday, settling for runner-up in the day’s third and final MX2 class race.

On that occasion he finished just four seconds behind the race winner, Waitakere’s former national 125cc champion Ethan Martens.

The Queensland rider finished 7-3-2 on the day, good enough to elevate him from third to second position overall in the championship standings.

The series leader in this class – Scotty Columb, of Queenstown – will need to be wary over the remaining two rounds, aware that the Aussie invader is pushing hard.

"My season in Australia doesn't start for a few months yet, but this is good for me to build-up for racing back home,” said Winston.

"I'm loving New Zealand. The people are so friendly and helpful. I really want to thank KTM in New Zealand and Cannon Smith and Martin Collins from the CMR Red Bull team. They have been awesome."

The team's two MX1 (450cc) riders, fellow Australians Todd Waters and Kirk Gibbs, also enjoyed a positive day's racing at Patetonga on Sunday.

Fifth overall in the class at the start of the day, Waters finished 2-2-3 on Sunday to leap past Gibbs and into third position overall.

That was at the expense of Gibbs, who slipped back from second-equal to now be fourth in the championship chase, although still very much in touch with the leaders.

Another rider to impress on Sunday was Tauranga’s Aaron Wiltshier (KTM 125). He finished 3-6-3 on the day and elevated himself three positions, from fifth equal to third in the overall 125cc championship standings.

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