News Release

Suzuki's Smith Hunting Title No. 2

28 May 2008
Marton's Cam Smith is having a golden season.
 
Just over a week ago, the Suzuki rider wrapped up the New Zealand Motorcycle Cross-Country Championships with a round to spare; now he's planning on making it two national crowns for the season after a solid performance at the fifth of six rounds in this year's New Zealand Enduro Championships in the Gwavas Forest on Sunday.
 
Riding exactly the same Suzuki RM-Z450 he'd raced with so much success in the cross-country series, the 31-year-old Smith battled through to finish fourth in the tight and muddy Central Hawke's Bay forest on Sunday.
 
On a course that obviously better suited the smaller bikes, Smith was first of the big bike finishers, strengthening his stranglehold on the fight for E3 class honours.
 
But, while winning the E3 class title may now be a formality for the Rangitikei farmer, he is determined to win the expert grade overall.
 
And he's in the box seat to do just that.
 
The sixth and final round of the enduro championships is set for his own back yard, the Santoft Forest, just down the road from his Marton home.
 
"I felt fast on Sunday, despite the added weight of mud on the bike and despite the fact I crashed several times. But I'm looking forward to the Santoft Forest. I finished second overall there last year. I love racing in sand."
 
Just three points separate Smith from the man who tops the expert class overall, his own riding mate Adam Reeves.
 
"Adam is fast in sand too. I think it will come down to whomever makes the least mistakes at Santoft," he laughed.
 
Reeves was a thorn in Smith's side throughout the cross-country series and the Marton man has no intention of letting Reeves take revenge at Santoft.