MOTOCROSS: Mud glorious mud fails to put brake on Chapman

Whangarei's Ross Chapman was far too strong in adverse conditions at this year's first round of the Battle of the Dunes at Kaitaia's Ahipara Sand Track.
Chapman, riding his Yamaha YZF 250cc, overpowered the competition to win both of the motos in the senior A class - in the rain-shortened day of motocross racing on Sunday.
The Whangarei rider was a long way clear of Hokianga enduro specialists, Damon Nield and older brother Mitchell, who battled for second place all day with the younger of the brothers finally successful. Mitchell finished in third equal place with top junior Michael Purdon.
Whangarei's Daniel Wilson won the intermediate class, while Mike Bennett won the veterans class, with a three-way tie in the novice class between Maungataroto's Clint McCarthy, Whangarei's Che Sinclair and Far North's Jimmy Bodle.
In the other classes, Whangarei's Purdon won the 125cc junior class (12-16 years) ahead of the Far North's Jacob Hicks and Myke Te Momo, while the 85cc class (13-16yr) was won by Far North's Hayden Crabb, with Whangarei's Lachlan Sidwell finishing on top of the 8-12 class.
Individual prize money and trophies will be awarded to competitors who score the most points over the three rounds of the competition, while the Club Trophy will go to the club with the most points after the series is completed.
More than 90 Northland motocross riders, plus a few from further afield in Auckland, battled atrocious conditions, with the track pelted by torrential rain as the riders unloaded their bikes for the competition. For many, the rain didn't let up much until they were packing their gear away to depart after a soggy day's racing.
The Battle of the Dunes is a three-round series with each of the three Northland-based motorcycling clubs hosting one event.
"It's a three-club series between Whangarei, Maungataroto and Kaitaia and the main trophy is for the club that accumulates the most points over the three rounds of the series," Whangarei organiser Ray Wedge said.
The Kaitaia club, which is now racing under the new name of the Far North Dirt Bike Club, took advantage of the home ground this weekend, to open up an early lead in the contest.
The Far North club cashed in in the junior classes in particular, to lead the contest at this early stage by more than 100 points, with 369 points overall.
Maungataroto Motorcycle Club is the current holder of the trophy and it is scheduled to host round two at Te Kopuru Sand Track on September 6 but, given the track conditions on Sunday - there is a chance its track at Red Hills Road will be unsuitable for racing.
 If that is the case, round two will be moved to the Ruakaka Sand Track, where the third event is scheduled to be staged, hosted by Whangarei Motorcycle Club, on September 13.
Results (FN Club unless stated)
Experts: Ross Chapman (W) 1, Damon Nield 2, Mitchell Nield 3=, Michael Purdon (W) 3=.
Intermediate: Daniel Wilson (W) 1, Scott Blair (M) 2, Josh Perris (W).
Veterans: Mike Bennett 1, Dave Crabb 2, Warren Wright 3.
Junior: Michael Purdon (W) 1, Jacob Hicks 2, Myke Te Momo 3.
85cc 8-12: Lachlan Sidwell (W) 1, Pierre Fladgate 2, Troy Gielen 3.
85cc 13-16: Hayden Crabb 1, Joel Johnson (W) 2, Jake Stewart (M) 3=, Sam Dowsen (M) 3=.
65cc 8-10: Brodie McCarthy (M) 1, Leroy Porteous (M) 2, Hamish Morgan (M) 3.