Total dominance doesn’t come much better than this and Pukekawa teenager Tyler Brown will be in a confident mood as he heads now to the national championships.
The popular annual New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville has always been a magnet for the cream of New Zealand motocross talent, the two-day affair last weekend featuring former and current national champions across all the various categories.
And, it’s probably fair to say, a few future champions also revealed themselves at Woodville, the 15-year-old Brown among them.
Brown took his Kawasaki KX250F to record an impressive clean sweep of wins in his 14-16 years’ 250cc class during the junior phase of racing at this 60th anniversary Woodville event on the Saturday. The MR Motorcycles-sponsored star made it look easy, leading from start to finish in the first two of his three outings, although he was forced to work harder in his last race of the day, eventually battling through traffic to take another victory and set himself atop of the class podium.
Kawasaki rider Tyler Brown, from Pukekawa, near Mercer, put his rivals to the sword at Woodville at the weekend. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
Brown (Kawasaki) won race one by seven seconds from New Plymouth’s Logan Kerrisk (Yamaha), then he was even more impressive in race two, winning by 13.6 seconds from Te Puke’s Kyan Loomans (Yamaha).
In race three, he was beaten out of the start gate, but eventually caught and passed the race leader, Hamilton’s Nick Westgate (KTM), on the fourth lap of six and won that race also, zipping past the chequered flag three seconds ahead of Westgate.
“I have lots of confidence now going into the junior nationals next weekend,” said Brown, a year 11 student at Onewhero Area School.
“I expect to be challenged there by Kyan Loomans and Hunter Scott (from Oparau), but there are a few guys sidelined I think, so that should help me out a bit too,” he smiled.
“I’m just focussing on my own racing and hoping now to get the overall win at the nationals.
“I was on the 125cc bike last year and I did well, finishing third overall. I have never won a national title before and this will be my last chance to do that in the juniors, before I step up to the senior ranks.”
Brown’s scintillating performance will no doubt have his rivals scrambling to find answers ahead of the New Zealand Junior Motocross Championships being raced near Tauranga this coming weekend.
With his father Craig – formerly a top rider on the senior scene and still a frontrunner in the veterans’ ranks – to mentor him, it’s probably just a matter of time before young Tyler Brown is a New Zealand champion.
Brown is supported by MR Motorcycles in Pukekohe, Kawasaki NZ, Team Green, Bridgestone tyres, Shoei helmets, Fly Racing apparel, Ryan Young Contracting, Oakley goggles, Renthal handlebars, Polisport plastics, RK chains, Twin Air, Classical Doors Ltd and Bel Ray oils.
© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
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