21 Feb 2012

The season has only just begun but Manawatu’s Adam Reeves has made his intentions quite clear from the outset – he’s still the man to beat on the New Zealand cross-country motorcycling scene. 

The 29-year-old Palmerston North man kicked off this year’s national cross-country championships near Pahiatua on Sunday with a convincing win.

With riders able to discard one of the three rounds – so that only three rounds actually count towards the national title – Reeves (Yamaha YZ450F) has put himself in prime position to make it four national cross-country titles in a row by the time the 2012 series wraps up in Canterbury in May.

Reeves snatched the lead early in Sunday’s three-hour senior race and, by the time it was over, he had stretched out his advantage to seven minutes over the chasing bunch.

“I had a reasonable start. I was inside the top 10 and quickly made my way up to fourth,” said the Yamaha ace.

He was in the lead less than a lap later and never looked back from there.

“The track had a bit of everything. It was greasy to start off with because of the early morning dew and slick grass.”

Reeves finished ahead of Hawke’s Bay brothers Lance and John O’Dea (both on Husqvarna bikes), with New Plymouth’s Renny Johnston (Yamaha YZ125) third and Mokau’s Adrian Smith (Yamaha YZ250F) fourth, making it three Yamahas in the top five.

“I was quite impressed with the bike,” said Reeves. “The bike was brilliant but I still think I need to do a bit of work on my own fitness.”

Meanwhile, in the junior class action, South Islander Ethan Bruce took his Yamaha YZ125 to the top of the standings with an impressive win on Sunday. 

Bruce finished ahead of Raglan’s Mathew Quirke, Pahiatua’s Scott Sowry and Pahiatua’s Daniel Christie.

The next round is set for Huntly on March 25, before heading to the South Island for rounds three and four, in Marlborough on April 22 and, finally, near Christchurch on May 12.

Reeves is supported by Darbi Accessories, Sargent Motorcycles in Masterton, Graphics HQ, Agnew Auto Services, MJ Custom Engineering and BikesportNZ.com.