HUGE THREE DAYS OF RACING COMING UP AT TAUPO

The 2020 Huka Honda MX Fest at Taupo

All roads lead to the Bay of Plenty this coming Labour Weekend as the reshuffled 2020-21 New Zealand motocross season kicks into life with the traditional annual MX Fest in Taupo.

The popular Huka Honda-sponsored MX Fest event has again attracted all the nation’s major riders and race teams and this year will be an extra special event, now set to run over three days, from October 23-25.

Now in its 35th year, this year’s expanded MX Fest will kick off with the Battle of the Clubs event on Friday, the racing here a traditional fundraiser for Team New Zealand’s annual assault on the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in Europe.

Although the 2020 edition of this international “Olympic Games of Motocross” is not going ahead in France this season, it simply means funds raised over Labour Weekend will help the Kiwis get a head-start on building for their 2021 campaign.

The club-versus-club format used for this event – which is similar to the nation-versus-nation configuration of the MXoN – is immensely popular with the New Zealand motocross community.

The Battle of the Clubs is an event that had originally been scheduled to run earlier this year, before it was postponed due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic.

Wrapping up Friday’s programme will be the Bell helmets-sponsored Dirt Sprint – a knock-out format series of short races – and this is scheduled for late afternoon.

As usual, the weekend will feature the mini riders, junior and women racers in action on Saturday, with the popular Alpinestars-sponsored Speedcross again planned for the man-made “stadium” section of the park on Saturday evening.

The following day is reserved for senior motocross racing and this will be “shake off the cobwebs” time for all of the leading race teams as they build towards the start of the 2021 motocross nationals.

There will no doubt be some exciting match-ups, with draw-card riders such as Mount Maunganui’s Cody Cooper, Taupo’s Brad Groombridge, Tauranga’s Josiah Natzke, Oparau’s James Scott, Mangakino pair Maximus Purvis and Kayne Lamont, West Auckland’s Hamish Harwood, Tauranga’s Brodie Connolly and Waitakere’s Ethan Martens, for example, all keen to start the season with a bang.

“This will be a huge weekend of motorcycling activities,” said Taupo Motorcycle Club president Bevan Weal.

“It will be a huge release for many after COVID restrictions and we can’t thank our sponsors enough for still being there for us.

“It’s a real festival of motocross and this year it stretches for three massive days, so definitely not to be missed.”

PHOTO: Bay of Plenty’s Cody Cooper (Honda CRF450) is among the favourites to win over Labour Weekend. He is a multi-time national MX1 champion and multi-time Team New Zealand representative at the Motocross of Nations (pictured here racing in France). Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com

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

You can catch the below action LIVE streamed by Sky Sport Next on the below links:

• 2020 BATTLE OF THE CLUBS – FRIDAY 23RD OCTOBER – 10AM ONWARDS
• 2020 SPEEDCROSS – SATURDAY 24TH OCTOBER – FROM 6PM ONWARDS