DRAPER ON
TRACK FOR SOLID
FINISH IN USA
Howick’s Liam Draper (KTM),
making waves in the United
States again this season
I
t has been an up and down season so far for
New Zealand’s Liam Draper, racing in what is
widely regarded the toughest cross-country
motorcycle competition in the world.
Thankfully for the 22-year-old from Howick,
it has mainly been “ups” in his most recent of
outings and a solid finish to the season seems
highly likely.
He is racing a KTM 250SX-F in the Grand
National Cross-country Championships (GNCC) in
the United States and, after nine of 13 rounds, he
is running an impressive fifth equal overall in the
XC2 (250cc) class.
His score-card for the season thus far reads 14-
7-5-4-13-6-9-3-3.
Now, as temperatures soar, the competition
takes a (Northern Hemisphere) summer break –
Draper will have to wait until September before
picking up where he left off and he contests the
final four races.
Fellow KTM rider Benjamin Kelley, from
Harwinton in Connecticut, currently leads the
108 KIWI RIDER
XC2 class championship chase.
Another KTM rider, Kailub Russell, from
Boonville in North Carolina, leads the XC1 (Open)
class and also the series overall. In terms of an
‘overall’ championship position, Draper is in 16th
place.
“I have mainly been running up front in that
top three group in most races, but have just
had some problems that have set me back from
finishing up there.
“I have been training hard and it just makes you
want it even more when you can’t quite finish up
in that podium position. I have been going well
too in the national enduro series. I have finished
runner-up in all four rounds to start the year, but
I am really wanting a win.”
Draper’s main order of business this year
remains the GNCC series, a competition that has
sorely tested the character of the intrepid Kiwi.
Based in South Carolina, Draper made his
USA GNCC debut last year, racing there for 11
months, and he finished ninth overall in the XC2