Hawke’s Bay looked set to deliver a rare treat for the July round of the North Island Championship. With clear skies and two venues offering 24 well- planned, technical sections, conditions in the lead-up to the 5th and 6th were about as good as it gets for mid-winter. The ground was ideal — rich, damp soil that would hold up well as 42 riders took on the region’s trademark rock terrain.
But that promising forecast didn’t hold. Rain arrived late in the week, and plenty of it. Saturday’s venue — the McKenzie property — has a bit of a reputation when it’s wet, and it didn’t disappoint. Still, the club stood by the location, knowing it can be world-class when the weather behaves.
Sunday’s round took place at the Prinns’ property on Glengarry Road — a fresh venue for the Hawke’s Bay club. Perched across the valley, it offered a tight, rocky hillside just above the paddock. From some points, riders could glimpse the previous day’s terrain, adding a nice sense of continuity. Again, it was a cracking spot for a trial — at least in the dry.
The relentless rain meant the section setters had to make quick changes. It wasn’t easy deciding what to keep and what to cut, but the goal was to preserve the weekend’s character without tipping it too far. Flattening the challenge or cancelling outright was never really on the table. That’s not the Hawke’s Bay way.
Day 1 – Round 5
McKenzie’s Property – Dartmoor Road
On this day, everyone’s determination, passion, and resilience were tested. This included the observers and spectators. It rained all day, with no chance of stopping. Lucky the rocks that were there still had ample grip – which is what this venue is known for.
This didn’t make riding the sections any easier. Most of the riders finished the day.
In T1, we had the usual contestants, which saw Matt Foster (Taranaki) and John Haynes (BOP) go head-to-head in a small pool of riders for the top New Zealand position. The T1 line for the day was going to be extremely challenging given the weather. Still, both riders excelled considering this. They still managed to scale most of the largest rocks on the venue. Matt Foster held his seat by coming out first for the day with 108 points. John Haynes slipped into second with 127 points. The high tally here really begins to outline the difficulty everyone is about to face.
T2 was battled out between Hawke’s Bay’s own Warren Laugesen, Cameron Judd and Luke March. McKenzie’s property is one of Warren’s original stomping grounds, with years of experience on these very rocks. With some major changes since the cyclone, you would think that this would level the playing field. However, Warren still took the win with an astonishing 35 points for the day. We take the brave leap to Luke March in second place with 91points, and 135 points by Cameron Judd in third place. It is still outstanding for these riders to push through, despite the conditions.
T3 this year has seen a new and exciting bunch of top riders. Wellington riders Zack Furniss, and Finn Pearce have been going head-to-head, which is an exciting experience for those that have watched them both develop across the country. The weather, and greasy ground, was the killing medium between riders in the T3 grade. Finn took an astonishing win of 38 with Zack close in second with 46 points. Third was Hawke’s Bay’s Ricky Hamilton with 74 points, a great spurt of development we have seen from him in the last while. Tightly following was John Ross, and Kevin Pinfold, with 80 and 86 points respectively.
T4 looked like a fun challenge. Enough beef for all riders, though the mud still posed a significant level of difficulty for all riders in this grade. Brendon Wadsworth made an appearance from the South Island, creating a heated competition for the top position in this grade. He took a clean win on the Saturday with 24 points, which goes to show that the effort to travel and get out there does pay off. In second place slid Shane Ace with 31 points. Hawke’s Bay brothers, Billy and Aksel McArdle, had a tight battle for third place. These boys have been training hard and showing true commitment to the sport. Billy made it to third place by one point with 36 points.
Wayne Furniss took the T4 challenge on his air cooled TLM with 43 points getting him seventh place, very tightly behind fifth equal modern bike riders Grant Thwaites and Mike Owen on 42 points.
T5 was a true battle, but a little bit of confidence and momentum goes a long way for these riders through the day. Young James Lawton took an outstanding win with 29 points – a fantastic ride for the day. Second place was nabbed up with a jump to 57 points by Jim Henderson, and in third was Karl Judd with 68 points. Finishing the day was Emily Willard (the only rider in the women’s grade), and Luke Ogier on his twin shock Honda.
In the exciting T6 social grade was only one rider. It’s about time that we see more riders taking up a position in this grade. So, with reverence, we see Rob Cochran in first place with 25 points.
Day 2 – Round 6
Prinns’ Property – Glengarry Road
Sunday was laced with a combination of some fine weather and the remnants of the rain from the day before. Just when everyone thought the finer weather was a saving grace, they began riding on very soft, grassy ground. It wasn’t long before the sections were almost unrideable, or an incredible challenge as some would call it.
In T1, some points were saved compared to the Saturday, which was surprising considering some of the slick lead-ins to the large rocks. Matt Foster came out in first with 92 points, and John Haynes in second with 111 points.
T2 didn’t seem to be as easy as day one, with Warren Laugesen finishing in first with 69 points. We lost Cameron Judd part way through the day, which left Luke March in second with 114.
Congratulations must be given for the resilience of these T1 and T2 riders as they still managed to battle some massive obstacles despite the conditions.
T3 was a true challenge with a tricky competition between these riders and the remaining grades for untouched greasy ground. Almost impossible, even considering the technical and off camber hills, to find a nice piece of traction before hitting either a steep bank or tricky rock. Despite this, there were some extraordinary finishes from these riders. Finn Pearce came out on top with an outstanding 33 points, not giving in to uneasy soil. Zack Furniss tackling into second with 40 points. These two juniors have had a respectful battle all weekend, which didn’t end on the second day. Ricky Hamilton snuck into third place, after a tidy day of riding with 47 points.
The T4 riders showed a great range of skill and perseverance throughout this day. Riding on top of the other grades lines in this amount of mud made for a tricky day. Mike Owen somehow managed to keep his feet on the pegs through all the sloppy ground to come out on top with an amazingly low 27 points. It never is a real surprise to see how this man skillfully polishes off the days, no matter the conditions. In second was Brendon Wadsworth with 38, again, showing his South Island finesse. Third place was Wayne Furniss on his Air-Cooled Honda TLM. One would say that these bikes are made for these conditions – low chance of the brakes biting up to cause an off-balance slip, consistent low-down power? Otherwise, we will just put it down to pure skill and great handling.
James Lawton took another superb win in T5 with 27 points. The New Zealand trials community is excited to see him grow in the coming years. Jim Henderson took out second place with 58 points for the day, followed by Carl Judd in third with 67 points.
In T6, Rob Cochran took first place with 114 points, followed by solo Twin Shock rider, Luke Ogier, with 125 points. As displayed here, it was a tough day for the T6 riders in Hawkes Bay on the Sunday.
Full results from the weekend and updated series results can be found on Harry’s website here:
https://www.trials.nz/trials/2025-north-island-trials-champs—rnd-5-and-6
A big thank you to all the riders who travelled for the event and the Hawkes Bay club for their help and support for the section setting and set up.
Thank you to Warren for Clerk, and Nigel as Steward of the event. Also to the observers for fighting against the weather to be out there – this was not an easy task in the rain!
