TEAM NZ at
the VETS MXdN 2017
by Gary Smith
T
eam New Zealand had a trip to remember
to the Veterans’ Motocross des Nations
at Farleigh Castle in England . The team
comprised Brendan Locke as team
manager, with riders Ben Harding,
Mitch Rowe, Greg Ngeru and Tom Twist
supplied with specially-leased and factory-
prepared EVO Class bikes. Twist raced a Yamaha
YZ490, Harding was on a Honda CR250 and
Rowe and Ngeru each rode Honda CR500s.
With very limited time in England due to work
commitments, the team managed a shakedown
test on the Wednesday before racing at the
Milkrun track near London, where the bikes
were dialled in to each riders preferences
and the odd little gremlin ironed out.
Thursday gave the team a chance to do some
sightseeing and weight training at Stonehenge
whilst travelling to Farleigh Castle. There was
also a little excursion to watch the Swindon
Robins versus the Belle Vue Aces (speedway)
and meeting up with Kiwi Bradley Wilson Dean
and the Ozzie World Champion Jason Doyle.
Friday got the formal signing on and track
walks done, followed by a spot of shopping for
those exotic and hard to get parts from the
many trade stands. Excess baggage costs are
likely to be significant especially for the team
manager who was like a kid in a sweet shop.
One of the highlights and attractions of this
event is the fact you can rub shoulders and then
bang handlebars with the likes of Doug Dubach,
Mike Brown, Todd De Hoop, John Dowd, Jeff Emig,
Excess baggage costs are likely
to be significant especially for
the team manager who was like
a kid in a sweet shop