Phoenix flying as title beckons

• Published date: 26 April 2024
• Author: Andy McGechan, bikesportnz.com
• Publication title: Horowhenua Chronicle

While the boxing analogy might not be quite right, it was certainly the teenager from down the road at Ōhau who stood tallest when the final rounds played out on Sunday afternoon

Racing for the Motul Honda Racing Team, the just-turned-16-year-old initially set tongues wagging on Friday when he won the first two of five races in the premier 14-16 years 250cc class, setting a benchmark that only a few of his rivals might match.

Van Dusschoten took his immaculately prepared fire-engine-red Honda CRF250R to finish second, behind Karaka’s Dayden Draper, in the first of his two races the next day, before winning the fourth of five races in the championship later that afternoon.

All that was left was for him to finish among the top six rides in his fifth and final race on Sunday to clinch his first New Zealand title.

And that’s just what he did, settling for third in that race, behind Draper and Australian visitor Kayden Strode, more than enough for Van Dusschoten to prevail in the end.

“I’m still able to race the junior grades until I turn 17 early next year but it’s still good to win this title now,” he said.

“I’ve been trying to win a title for a few years but now I’ve got the job done.

“I had issues with my goggles in the third race and got passed by Hayden on the last lap. I wanted to win every race but getting those early wins gave me some breathing space.

“I knew what I had to do on Sunday. The pressure was off, but I still wanted to go for the win, just to make sure. Kayden is a good mate too, so to create a Honda 1-2 championship result with him is pretty special.

“We’re fierce rivals on the track but good mates off it.

“I want to thank all my friends and supporters who helped make this possible.”

The consistency also shown by fellow Honda star Strode was the key to his finishing the championship overall runner-up, making it a Honda 1-2 for the class.

Sixteen-year-old Strode, from Melbourne, achieved a 2-2-3-2-2 scoreline for the three-day event, enough to clinch the No 2 step on the final podium.

Meanwhile, it would be no stretch of the imagination to say Raetihi teenager Karaitiana Horne is on top of the world, the New Zealand motocross world at least.

The Kawasaki ace was virtually unstoppable, winning the junior women’s title at Himatangi to go with the senior women’s Taranaki crown she won a week earlier.

Timing suited Horne this season, with her 15th birthday falling just in time for her to be eligible to race in the senior championships. And...