Hayden Smith is back after two years in the wilderness to claim two national motocross podium finishes

Taihape's Hayden Smith (Gas Gas), now Silverdale, on the podium in two separate classes this season, champion in the MX125 class and also third in the MX2 class. Photo / Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com

Two years in the wilderness can seem like an eternity to a young motocross racer, but Taihape's Hayden Smith is thrilled to announce he's back.

The four-round 2021 New Zealand Motocross Championships winds up in Taupo on Sunday, with Silverdale-based former Taihape man Smith, 20, on the hunt for glory in two separate categories.

In the end he had to accept the No.3 ranking in the MX2 (250cc) class. While that's already more than many riders ever achieve in a lifetime of racing, he doubled down by following through on his threat to win the highly-charged MX125 class title.

Smith took over the championship lead in the 125cc class at the series' previous round at Pukekohe a week earlier, and when he wrapped it up at Taupo on Sunday he became a rare two-time champion in the class. He had previously won the New Zealand 125cc motocross title in 2017.

The intervening past couple of seasons went ahead without Smith as he fought to recover from injuries and deal with work commitments. So his victorious comeback this year was particularly sweet.

Riding one of the distinctive new red GasGas 250 bikes in the MX2 class and a GasGas MC125 in the smaller engine capacity class, Smith was the only rider (of the very few) to tackle two categories to also finish on the podium in both.

The day's racing programme meant Smith had to endure three back-to-back 20-minute races at Taupo on Sunday, an exhausting schedule for the young man.

But he was more than up to the task.

Smith's best result in the MX2 class during this series was a runner-up finish in one of the races at Pukekohe, but by also consistently finishing no worse than sixth in his other races, he was able to give the Spanish GasGas brand a positive debut season in New Zealand.

In the 125cc class, Smith beat off challenges from Clevedon's Cobie Bourke, Tauranga's Madoc Dixon, Hamilton's Dylan Westgate, Tauranga's Brodie Connolly and New Plymouth's Rian King on Sunday, eventually clinching the title by 14 points from Bourke, with Dixon capturing the No.3 ranking.

"I'm over the moon. I'm just happy to be healthy again," said Smith.

"I've missed two years of the nationals and I'm just happy to be back. I don't think the win has sunk in yet.

"It's tough weighing 80kg on a 125cc bike, but the GasGas machinery was awesome. The list of people I need to thank is huge. I'm going to have to write a big list so that I can rattle them all off at prize-giving.

"The 125 was awesome, simply flawless. And the 250 is also a really fun bike to ride. My goal was to be on the podium in both classes, but after round two (at Rotorua in February) I was starting to get a bit worried.

"But I really like Pukekohe and Taupo too, so I started getting the points I needed. I would have liked to go 1-1-1 in my three 125cc races at Taupo but I finished 1-1-5 on the day. My partner Mia and I had done the maths and we knew what was required."

Meanwhile, West Auckland's Hamish Harwood celebrated winning his first national championship title in the MX1 class on Sunday, while Mangakino's Maximus Purvis made it back-to-back title wins in the MX2 class and Bay of Plenty's Connolly became the New Zealand Under-19 champion (as the best-performed rider aged under 19 in the MX2 class).