Wairarapa's Luke Burkhart and Canterbury's Micah McGoldrick have set the standard for motocross racing this season and it's very high indeed.
Burkhart, from Masterton, and McGoldrick, of Amberley, were in scintillating form at the 51st annual New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville last weekend and few will be ableto match the two CMR Motorex KTM riders in upcoming big races.
Burkhart and McGoldrick won their respective classes at the big annual Woodville extravaganza and, with it, sent loud warnings to their national MX2 (250cc) and 125cc rivals respectively.
Indeed they could be the men to beat when the New Zealand Motocross champs kick off in South Canterbury in less than two weeks' time.
McGoldrick (KTM 250F) was outstanding in racing on Saturday, dominating the junior 14-16 years' 250cc class with a hat-trick of wins and also winning the Champion-of-Champions race that wound up the day, leading a KTM 1-2-3-4 by finishing that feature race ahead of fellow KTM riders Haki Waller (Rotorua), Hadleigh Knight (Atiamuri) and Billy Frank (Levin).
Earlier in the day, Knight (KTM 125) had been a standout in the 15-16 years' 125cc class, winning the honours there with 3-1-2 results, while Frank (KTM125) had wrapped up the 12-14 years' 125cc class with three wins.
Meanwhile, Australian visitors Hunter Lawrence and Blake Cobbin joined with Nelson's Reece Walker to make it a KTM 1-2-3 in the 11-12 years' 85cc class.
The next day Burkhart celebrated a hat-trick of wins in the senior MX2 class, beating national MX2 champion Darryll King, of Hamilton and Queenstown international Scott Columb to the top of the podium.
