Kawasaki Ace Wins Class and Takes Second Overall

Kawasaki Ace Wins Class and Takes Second Overall

MAY 20, 2013:Raglan’s Jason Dickey wrapped up another successful season aboard his Kawasaki KX250F at the weekend, finishing runner-up in the senior grade at the fourth and final round of the 2013 New Zealand Cross-country Championships.

It was also enough for him to finish the championship in the No.2 position, a couple of steps up from the No.5 spot he achieved in his first senior campaign last season, and he warns there’s plenty more still to come as he continues to gather momentum.

The dairy farm manager is just 18 years old and is still gaining experience at the top level but, even so, he managed to keep 27-year-old defending champion Adrian Smith, of Mokau, on his toes throughout the series.

Dickey won the championship opener near Te Anau in February and then finished fifth overall at round two in Taranaki in March.

He suffered a disastrous third round near Mosgiel last month and that effectively ruined his tilt at the title. Dickey moved up from last place at Mosgiel to be right on the tail of leader Smith, until he drowned his bike in a deep river.

However, a fighting finish on steep farmland near Norsewood on Saturday at least gave him some consolation for his hard work and sent a warning signal to Smith that he’ll again have a fight on his hands next season.

Smith led Saturday’s series finale from start to finish while Dickey had his work cut out as he battled through the traffic.

“I had so much arm-pump,” Dickey explained. “I just had to be satisfied to sit behind (fellow Raglan racer) Matthew Quirke and bide my time. I knew I had to beat (Te Awamutu’s) Mark Penny if I was to finish the series in runner-up position, so that was my main concern.

“I was going nowhere for a while but then, when the pain of the arm-pump eased, I pushed hard and started picking off riders and worked my way through to second.”

Penny suffered two flat tyres and still fought through to finish the day fourth overall at Norsewood, but that wasn’t enough to keep Dickey at bay, the Kawasaki hero sealing the overall No.2 placing and also winning the under-300cc four-stroke class title, ahead of Patetonga’s Simon Lansdaal and Cambridge’s Andrew Charleston. 

“I completely shredded the tyres. It was pretty rocky out there, with lots of sharp edges on the stones on the steep uphill sections and I now have some dents on the rims too but it was worth it to get the result.

“The Kawasaki was great and I had no bike problems at all.”

Dickey was national junior cross-country champion in 2011, before moving to the senior ranks and finishing fifth in 2012. With the overall runner-up result to his credit this season – plus the class win – Dickey looks on target to again take the No.1 plate in the near future.

Credit: Words by Andy McGechan

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