Rotorua Motorcycle Club Inc

Event: 4th and final round of the NZ MX Champs
Date: 15/11/09
Venue: Barrett Road Track Taranaki
Bike: Honda CRF250R
Result for the day: 10th
Championship Result: 8th
Track conditions: hard and slippery
Weather: raining on and off throughout the the day
 
Practice: went well, I got a good look at the track and sussed out my lines
 
Qualifying: I let every one go before me thinking that I would get a nice open space to put in my fast lap. But I caught up to the riders that were in front of me on my first fast lap and I struggled to put in a decent lap the whole way through qualifying. I Qualified 14th
 
Race 1: I spun off the start gate and was in the middle pack coming into the first turn and fortunately for me my brother Michael came down and took alot of other riders down with him. I was running in 10th for the first couple laps then I passed the two that were in front of me and held that position for a couple laps until Michael and Scott columb charged on passed which dropped me back to tenth. I rode the rest of the race out in tenth.
 
Race 2: I got a good start and came around the first turn in 4th place, then moved up to 3rd as a rider in front of me went down on the second corner. I slipped back to 4th on the second lap and to 5th on the third. On the fourth lap I ran a corner out the back too high and Yamaha rider Keiran Leigh snuck up on the inside of me and took out my front wheel. I went down and had to start my bike on a slippery uphill. It took a wile to start but I managed to get back going in about 27th and I held it on from there. I finished in 15th place.
 
Race 3: Got away to another good start and was running in 5th for the first lap, then slipped back to 6th and then passed 5th and kept that position for a few laps then slipped back to 6th again. Kawasaki rider Rhys cater stayed in front of me and was doing enough so I couldn’t make any time on him. His gap on me stayed the same right up until the last lap where he got taken out by a lapper. I passed the finish flag in 5th
  
My goal coming into this championship was to finish in the top 10 and I am stoked I have achieved that. I would just like to thank my parents for all their support, my mechanic James for keeping my bike in mint condition, my brother Michael for helping me out, my sponsors: Rowlinson Honda for the awesome bike, fly race wear for the best gear. Smith Optics for perfect vision, motograghic graphics for making my bike look good, and everyone else that helped me achieve my goal.
 
Regards
 
John Phillips