Wairarapa College pupil Sam Guise was a dominant winner of the MX3 senior class at the 2015 national motocross championships
Fifteen-year-old Guise may have been competing against mainly older and more experienced opposition in the four-round series which took in events at Taranaki, Timaru, Rotorua and Pukekohe, but when it came to results he was pretty much in a class of his own. He contested 12 races and won eight, and had first placing overall done and dusted before the last of them was staged.
That effort was even more remarkable as he was still eligible to compete in the junior championship, in which he had finished fifth the previous year, and he had only been riding his CRF450 bike for six weeks before this year's national series started.
Ask the youngster why he decided to compete in the higher grade and the answer typifies his competitive spirit. "I just wanted to test myself against the seniors. I didn't really have any idea how I would go but I thought it would be a good challenge," he said.
Guise, who is sponsored by Langlands Motorcycles and WWhite Powersports, says motocross can be a physically taxing sport and training not only includes time on the bike but regular stints of cross-fit exercise and road cycling. Also race results often depend on a swift start to avoid any early traffic problems so mental alertness is also a key factor to success.
