KIWI RIDER 01 2020 VOL2 | Page 25

The MX2 class was the most fiercely-fought of all the categories at the Summercross event, with four or five riders all battling within a couple of bike lengths of one another, the handle-bar- to-handlebar racing starting at the drop of the start gate and lasting throughout each of the five races for the class. Eventual runner-up to Natzke was Taupo’s Wyatt Chase (Honda), with Motueka’s Josh Coppins (Yamaha), Taupo’s Brad Groombridge (Suzuki) and Palmerston North’s Luke Freemantle (Kawasaki) rounding out the top five. Josiah Natzke The overall win was an “early birthday present” for Natzke, who turned 21 just a few days later. “I’m personally not a fan of the quick-fire, back-to-back, short-race format they use here and so I was never quite ready straight out of the gate, so whoever was out front fast had the advantage,” Natzke explained. “I struggled a bit with that, but the last race was longer and I knew I had been faster all day, so it worked in my favour. It was a really good day for me in the end. Brad Groombridge “ I WON TWO OUT OF FIVE RACES TODAY AND IT WAS DEFINITELY HARD RACING ON THIS TRACK - TAUPO’S WYATT CHASE KIWI RIDER 25