KEY POINTS:
Rising American star Billy Ainsworth will add an international dimension to this Saturday night's supercross at the TelstraClear Events Centre in Manukau, Auckland.
Brought up in the birth-place of the extreme sport, Ainsworth is here to put pressure on the series leader, Kiwi international Daryl Hurley (Hawera, Suzuki), and the rest of the open-class men.
The 22-year-old has been brought here from Connecticut by Kawasaki New Zealand and will ride under the Team West Kawasaki banner, on a Red Baron KX450F and a KX250F.
"It's all about forging relationships," said Darryn Ball, manager of the Auckland-based Team West Kawasaki. "Billy's here to race and see a bit of the country and he may return and race for us again in the future as well."
Ainsworth will also line up alongside Taupo's Nick Saunders on a similar Kawasaki KX450F. Saunders, who rides for the Darryl August Motorcycles team, is third in the open-class standings, behind Hurley and Queenstown's Scott Columb (Suzuki). Saunders won the Valley Motocross Championships at Patetonga at the weekend, clean sweeping all three open-class races.
"I won at the weekend even after crashing twice in one race and being forced to come from behind," the 22-year-old said. "For this Saturday's supercross, I'll be looking at getting in front of Scotty [Columb], that's for sure. Those guys are fast but anything can happen and I'm not far behind in the points."
Team Suzuki riders also lead in the Lites class, for 250cc four-stroke bikes, with Columb just ahead of Hawera's Luke Burkhart and Hamilton's Jesse Wiki (Kawasaki) in third. Two Taupo-based Kawasaki riders, Brad Groombridge and Rhys Carter, are also among the leaders.
