It's like being chosen for the All Blacks, the riders put their hands on their
hearts and go out and give it their best shot
-CARTER
"I believe the Americans have won the
MXoN every time it's been held in America.
And the way their riders are performing at
the moment, they will be a very hard team
to beat. I think that if we can get around a
top 10 placing that would be massive. We
[NZ] are such a small part of the world and
always have to travel huge distances to get
to this event.
"But the team we have this year is very
solid. Hamish (Harwood) has just come off
a strong Australian campaign and Cody
(Cooper) has been racing in America this
season too, so this is one of the strongest
New Zealand teams we have had in a long
time," he said.
All three riders compete in their individual
classes with points earned in reverse – a
rider is awarded one point for a race win,
two points for second place, three for
third, and so on. The lowest combined
score wins and maximum points are
assigned for a non-finish, which means
finishing each race is vital.
"I guess it's a little bit more pressure
because you don't want to let your team
RIDE - UPLOAD - REVIEW
and country down, but, in the same
respect, you kind of use it as a motivation,"
Carter said.
New Zealand's MXoN team co-manager
Bevan Weal, from Taupo, said it was a
huge honour for a rider to be selected to
race for his country.
"It's like being chosen for the All Blacks,"
he said. "The riders put their hands on
their hearts and go out and give it their
best shot."
Despite being a newcomer to the Yamaha
brand, Carter has been quick to adjust and
he is feeling comfortable on the YZ450F,
putting in impressive laps times at the
weekend's latest training session at Taupo.
When the domestic season kicks off later
on October, Carter will be racing under his
own Yamalube Yamaha banner, but closely
associated with the Josh Coppins-managed
Altherm JCR Yamaha Racing Team.
Carter and Yamalube Yamaha are
sponsored by Yamaha-Motor New Zealand,
Crown Kiwi, Alpinestars, Pirelli, 100% and
CFX Seats and bLU cRU.