Motocross: Phillips has eyes on another title

Rotorua's Mike Phillips, has earned a permanent spot on The Honda Shop Racing Team for the New Zealand Motocross Championships. Photo / BikesportNZ.com

Winning races is becoming something of a habit for Rotorua's Mike Phillips, and that's not bad at all for a man who is supposed to be retired.

Two-time former national motocross champion Phillips is coming into some great form ahead of the four-round New Zealand Motocross Championships in less than three weeks.

He won the MX2 class at Taranaki's King of the Mountain motocross on Sunday and that should ring a few alarm bells for other riders ahead of the nationals.

The 28-year-old builder had not been expecting too much from his comeback to top level racing, after being called into The Honda Shop Racing Team recently to "keep the seat warm" for injured Tauranga rider Aaron Wiltshier.

But now, after Phillips' stunning performance in winning the MX2 class at the annual Honda Summercross near Whakatane just after Christmas, plus his hard-fought MX2 class win on Sunday in Taranaki, the team have decided to make his racing contract a little more permanent.

Phillips now readies himself to race the annual Honda New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville next weekend and the four-round national champs that follow soon afterwards.

The opening round of the nationals will be on February 8 on the same hilly circuit that he conquered on Sunday.

"It wasn't easy today," Phillips confessed, eventually winning the class by just one point from Atiamuri's Hadleigh Knight.

"I feel just happy to have finished that last race. It was hard to see in the blinding dust and it was quite dangerous.

"I had to keep Hadleigh in sight and be aware of where he was on the track. I didn't have to beat him in the final race, but I knew I needed to be close, maybe just one place behind him."

In the end, Phillips' scorecard was 1-2-2 for the day, enough to edge out Knight, who finished 4-1-1.

"This is a great build-up for me for the nationals," Phillips said. "I've now had a few wins on the track and finished runner-up at the Valley Motocross Champs [near Morrinsville] last weekend, so I've won a permanent spot on the team. It has been a few good weeks for me.

"That's not too bad for a guy who is supposed to be retired from the sport."

Meanwhile, Mount Maunganui's Rhys Carter won the MX1 class ahead of Queenstown's Scott Columb on Sunday, with Phillips' younger brother and Honda teammate John Phillips third overall.

Auckland's Kurtis Lilly won the senior 125cc class ahead of Ngatea's Ben Broad and Auckland's Sean O'Connor.