Michael Phillips heads NZ championship

Posted by Ray | 19 October 2009 | Comment

It wasn’t a long drive to the second round of the NZ series as it was on my dads farm about a km up the road.
Being my home track I wasn’t taking it lightly and I knew it was going to be a tough day, and boy was I right.
The weather wasn’t playing the game or not the game I wanted and the track was slippery and technical all day.

Qualifying went pretty well and I came away with the fastest time. The track was getting better in some places but cutting out in others.

Moto1: I got off to a great start and got the hole shot but on the first lap I saw they had graded a rutted section of the track so I hit it pretty fast but didn’t relise it was still soft.The bike stopped dead in the mud and I went over the handlebars. I quickly got back on my bike and back into the race. I only lost a few positions and before I knew it I was in 2nd hunting down Suzuki rider Scott Columb. I was riding a little too lose for the conditions and I took another big crash on a single jump. I went down hard on my shoulder but I wasn’t too bothered. I got back on in 4th.
I repassed team mate Cam Dillion and fellow Honda rider Jesse Wiki and back into 2nd. But again I was trying too hard and went down. I was getting angry now and it wasn’t making things any better. I got back into 2nd a few laps later and had another little crash before the end of the moto but didn’t lose any places. I finished up in 2nd.

Moto2: I had learned my lesson. I got another hole shot on my Honda Crf 250 but was making a few mistakes on the first few laps and team mate Petter Broxholme got passed. I quickly passed him back but got passed by Columb not long after. Columb and I swapped the lead a few times until he pulled a little gap. I followed a few of his lines and stated to catch him back up when my roll off goggles stopped working. I tried riding with them but couldn’t see. I threw them off and started to close the gap on Columb. With 2 laps to go I was right on his back wheel but a few lappers were in the way and covered me in mud and I couldn’t see a thing for a few corners. I got the mud out of my eyes and finished the race in 2nd.

Moto 3: I got another hole shot and pulled a 4 or 5 second lead over Columb on the first few laps. I laid the bike down when I was looking for a better line in a tricky corner and Columb passed me. I passed him back going into a roller section but as I went to take the next corner Columb came right underneath me and took us both out.
It was a made rush to start my bike. I couldn’t find neutral for what it seemed like 5 mins. I got the bike going but I was down in about 20th. I started the mission up through the field. The track was nasty in some places and I must have had someone looking down in me because I had a few close calls. I managed to get back up into 5th place by the end of the moto.

Overall I was a little disappointed in the day. I have to hand it to Scott Columb he did ride well but the pass or take out in the 3rd moto wasn’t really called for. We are now tied on points for the lead with 2 rounds, 6 races remaining. We have a 3 week break before the next round so I will be sharpening up on a few things before then.
Again a big thanks to my team Honda and Deano my mechanic. Also to dad for letting me have a track in our back yard and sorry for making such a mess.

Tags: cam, columb, crash, goggles, honda, phillips, scott, suzuki