KTM Rider Harwood Still NZ's Pre-eminent MX Racer

West Auckland rider Hamish Harwood has the No.1 emblazoned on the front and sides of his bright orange KTM bike and the much-coveted digit is there for a reason.

The 26-year-old, who recently became a dad, is still New Zealand's pre-eminent motocross racer after he convincingly aced the premier MX1 class at the weekend's Waikato Motocross Championships, taking his CML KTM Racing Team SXF450 to a hat-trick of wins.

The event twice had to be rescheduled, once because of the pandemic and then more recently because of inclement weather, so news that it would finally be run on Saturday was greeted with jubilation by the Kiwi motocross community.

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing all sorts of problems nationwide, the fact that the host North King Country Motorcycle Club had the courage and determination to continue with plans and finally go ahead and run this popular event on Saturday was exciting news indeed.

And the riders responded brilliantly, with a nationals-level field of competitors swarming to the popular circuit just outside Te Kuiti on Saturday.

It was a Who's Who of Kiwi motocross talent that arrived for the one-day spectacle on Saturday with such "big names" as Josiah Natzke, Cody Cooper, Maximus Purvis, Brodie Connolly, Micah McGoldrick, Richard Horne, Hayden Smith, brothers Curtis and Rian King, Cole Davies, Jared Hannon, Josh Jack, Micah McGoldrick, Flynn Watts, Jack Symon, Roma Edwards and Kimberley Chetham, for example, all keen to shake out a few cobwebs.

And the best of the bunch was KTM hero Harwood, who not only celebrated a clean-sweep of wins in the "big bike" MX1 class, but he also "double classed", riding a KTM250 to finish a solid runner-up in the MX2 (250cc) category as well.

"My fitness is not at the level it would have been if we were racing the nationals (which have been cancelled for this season due to the pandemic), but obviously I've managed to keep a base fitness and I've been keeping my riding up," said Harwood.

He said he was riding well within himself – "I didn't want to do anything dumb. It's just a rare opportunity to come and race against all the top guys.

"I came here with the No.1 plate, after winning the New Zealand Motocross Championships in 2021, and it was an opportunity to show off the new bike. It's good for all my sponsors that I show off all the products that we use.

"My starts have not been great in the MX2 class, so it was tougher for me to win that class," said Harwood, a four-time former national MX2 champion and the 2013 under-19 champion in Australia.

"It's tough jumping from a 450cc bike to a 250cc bike and then back again. It's very different to ride the two bikes on the same day," explained Harwood, who raced a total six times on Saturday, more than most other riders."

The MX2 class on Saturday was won by Mount Maunganui's Josiah Natzke (Kawasaki), who is soon to venture to the United States to race there, ahead of Harwood and Tauranga's Brodie Connolly (Yamaha).

Waitoku's Cole Davies (Yamaha) dominated the 125cc class, while KTM pair Jared Hannon, from Cambridge, and Taranaki's Rian King completed the 125cc podium.

Credit: Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

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