2022 New Zealand Junior Motocross Championships: Where There's A Will There's A Way For Motocross Star

OCTOBER 10, 2022: Appleby's Wills Harvey is feeling pretty good about life at the moment, the 15-year-old year 11 pupil at Waimea College having just wrapped up his first major national motocross title.

And he did it in style, the KTM rider winning all five of his races in the 14-16 years' 85cc/150cc class, the slightly-built teenager surviving three brutal days at the annual New Zealand Junior Motocross Championships in Taranaki.

Modesty prevents him from saying this result was expected, but he did explain he'd been "training hard" in his build-up to the event and that he knew an outright victory at the weekend was certainly achievable.

Harvey is no stranger to tasting success at the top levels of the sport, having finished runner-up in his class in the 9-11 years’ 65cc class at the mini nationals in 2018 and then finishing fourth overall in the 14-16 years' 85cc/150cc class at last season's junior nationals.

"I guess I'm just bigger and stronger now," he shrugged.

Harvey also made his debut in the 15-16 years' 125cc class at the junior nationals this year, finishing an impressive sixth overall and this was despite suffering bad luck with a loose throttle cable in his first 125cc race on Friday, which meant he scored no points. He bounced back though from that disappointment to finish runner-up in his next 125cc outing.

"This year was my last time on the 85cc bike and I'll only race the 125cc KTM from here onwards."

It was actually a stunning KTM 1-2-3-4 in the 14-16 years' 85cc class, with Whakatane's Aydan Hall, Nelson's Connor Heaphy and Dannevirke's Ollie Corbin following after Harvey on the honours list.

Success stories from the weekend were many and Taranaki motocross ace Rian King bade farewell the junior ranks with two impressive podium results.

The 16-year-old King is as sharp as they come and determined to do well racing in two classes at this, his final event, as a junior. However, when you're riding on a knife-edge, you sometimes have to accept that risks are always high and rewards can be hard to achieve.

But an overall runner-up finish and an eventual third ranking too at the nationals is no reason to feel disappointed, especially when you know that you have fought against and beaten most of the nation's elite 125cc and 250cc riders, all the while battling on a difficult track that took no prisoners.

King took his distinctive orange KTM bike to win the first of the weekend's five 15-16 years' 125cc class races and took runner-up spot in the first of his 14-16 years' 250cc races as well, his weekend definitely on track for an impressive conclusion.

But then an uncharacteristic crash early on day two gave him a jolt.

He battled on and continued to show a fighting spirit, although he was eventually forced to accept third overall in the 250cc class, behind Waitoki's Cole Davies (Yamaha) and Invercargill's Seth Morrow, (Husqvarna) and also to settle for overall runner-up position behind Davies in the 125cc class.

"It was a pretty good weekend for me, although of course I always wanted better," said King afterwards.

"I crashed a lot at the weekend and I'm not usually like that. I must have been riding on the edge a bit. It was good to achieve my first ever race win at this level, but now I'm moving to the senior ranks, " said King, a year 12 pupil at New Plymouth's Francis Douglas Memorial College.

It wound up as a KTM bike brand second, fourth and fifth in the younger 12-14 years' 125cc class at the weekend, double-class rider Morrow winning the title ahead of Hamilton's Carson Mackie (KTM), with Leeston's Kase Thoms (GasGas) claiming third and Rotorua KTM pair Delton Manson and Fletcher Saunders rounding out the top five.

Hastings rider Harry Daly took his 85cc KTM to win the 8-11 years' class ahead of Tauranga's Jaggar Townley (Yamaha), with Tauranga's Arama Te Whetu putting his KTM on the podium too, third overall.

Meanwhile, it was a solid 1-3-4 result for KTM riders in the youngest of the women's classes too, for 85cc/150cc riders aged 8-11 years, with Whangarei's Hannah Perris taking the crown ahead of Feilding Honda rider Indie Allison and KTM pair Ella Mackie, from Hamilton, and Kody McDermott, from Dargaville.

Other class winners at the weekend were Karaka's Hayden Draper (Husqvarna, 12-13 years' 85cc/150cc class); Tauranga's Jaggar Townley (Yamaha, 8-11 years' 65cc class); Tokoroa's Breanna Rodgers (Yamaha, 12-16 years' 125cc/250cc women) and Raetihi's Karaitiana Horne (GasGas, 12-16 years' 85cc/150cc women).

Credit: Words by Andy McGechan

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