Mini competitors gathered at Richmond Park to compete at the 2018 Nelson Motorcycle Club Mini MX Championships during the weekend.
Around 85 riders competed at the brand-new purpose-built minis track and organisers Delwyn Lovell and Brian Heaphy say they were impressed with the turnout saying it was a great weekend of Mini Moto X hosted by the Nelson Motorcycle Club.
This is the first time the event has been held at Richmond Park and Delwyn hopes it will not be the last.
“In the past we have run the event out at Quail Valley, but we are wanting to bring it in closer to town and make it more accessible for people. This is the first time we have held it here and we hope to make it more permanent in the future. Bringing this event to the heart of Richmond saw many spectators out there supporting these young riders.”
The youngest rider was 4 years old with the eldest rider being 13 in the 85cc Support class.
Riders came from as far afield as Temuka and Franz Josef to attend the event, now in its seventh year.
Abilities ranged from first time riders on the track to the current 2NZ 65cc rider (and ranked 32 in the world) local Wills Harvey.
Wills placed first in the 9 – 11-year olds 65cc event with Luke Schwartz and Dylan Huddlestone coming in a close second and third respectively.
“One of the battles that stood out over the weekend came from two of the smallest riders on the track vying for the top honours in the small wheel 50cc class,” says Brian.
“Another local rider, Samuel Henderson, took out top honours in the trail bike class, dominating every race until a crash put him back in the last moto of the weekend.
“The big wheel 50cc class was dominated by Nelson’s own Bailey Harris taking out six wins from seven races. The battle for second and third place positions was a closely fought one, with Kobi Madsen-Clark from Blenheim just missing out on the third position after a big stack in the last moto.
“Overall it was a great weekend of Mini Moto X. A huge thanks to all our sponsors and to the Richmond A & P Association for allowing us the opportunity to bring this event closer to the public which is massively appreciated by the Moto X community and the Nelson Motorcycle Club.”