Late Start To NZ Series Should Be Worth The Wait

JUNE 14, 2023: It has been some time in the making, but a 2023 edition of the New Zealand Cross-country Championships is now on the horizon and organisers Paul Whibley and Claire Clare believe it will have been worth the wait.

When Motorcycling New Zealand’s long-time cross-country commissioner Chris Smyth retired from the role earlier this year, it left a void that was hard to fill.

The time delay between the retirement of Dannevirke man Smyth and the appointment of his two-person replacement, Manawatu pair Whibley and Clare, put pressure on from the beginning and, as former national cross-country champion Whibley explained, “getting a series up and running during the traditional early New Year dates became problematic and we were facing the prospect of not being able to run a series at all this season”.

But Whibley, also a multi-time cross-country champion in the United States, is no stranger to overcoming the odds and he wouldn’t accept defeat.

“This series is usually up and running by February each year and there simply wasn’t enough time for us to get things organised,” said Whibley.

“It was tough to find space on the motorcycling calendar that didn’t clash with other major events and access to farmland in winter and spring for motorcycle racing is difficult.

“Farmers have had it tough lately with flooding and cyclones, so to find property outside the typical nationals season has been difficult.”

But the dates for a three-round national cross-country championships series have now been nailed down and they are: Round one, Saturday, November 11, at Pongakawa, near Te Puke; Round two, Saturday, November 25, at Maddix Park, Tauranga; Round three, Sunday, December 10, at Tinui, near Masterton.

“I’ve tied in the nationals with the GNCC series that I also run,” Whibley explained. “This will lend the nationals some great venues so we can get a series together for 2023. We will have a couple of tweaks to the format this year to allow the two series to run together.

“I’m quite excited see it kick off. We have had a lot of feedback from the riders and it has all been positive,” said Whibley, who is now retired as a regular racer with the event management role taking most of his time.

“Claire and I have a plan to grow the New Zealand Cross-Country Championships. We want to streamline the classes a little, slow down the average speeds to make it safer, mix in some variety of terrain and work alongside the clubs to improve marking systems. We hope these improvements will boost entries and create some intense racing.

“This will also align the nationals closer to what is going on internationally, providing a platform where aspiring racers can launch from to take the next steps in their racing careers.”

2023 New Zealand Cross-country Championships calendar:

Round one, Saturday, November 11, at Pongokawa, between Matata and Tauranga;

Round two, Saturday, November 25, at Maddix Park, Matata;

Round three, Sunday, December 10, at Tinui, near Masterton.

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

© Scoop Media