Bay of Plenty mountain biker Matt Walker saved his best for last to take out the sixth and final round of the inaugural New Zealand Downhill series yesterday.
The younger brother of former BMX world champion Sarah Walker showed scant regard for his own safety as he blitzed down the course at Rotorua's Whakarewarewa Forest.
Walker's win secured him the overall series, which was launched this year as a breakaway from Mountain Biking New Zealand's summer series, which gets underway next month.
Racing in the Pro Elite, Walker was placed second about 3 seconds behind New Plymouth's Wyn Masters in the first race of the morning in 3m 21.87s on a wet and slippery track.
Walker told The Bay Times yesterday he threw caution to the wind for his second run down the track.
"I just got used to the conditions a bit better. I wasn't really too sure what to expect after the first [race], I wasn't too sure how far you could push it," Walker said.
"But in the second race I just gave it heaps and put pedals in where I didn't the first time."
The former Kawerau rider, now based in Rotorua, scorched the field with a time of 3m 15.97s followed by Masters, who was 3.05s behind and Kapiti's Richard Leacock 4.05s away in third place.
Rotorua's Louis Hamilton, competing in the under-19 men's class, showed he will be a force to be reckoned with in producing the best time of the two-day event - an incredible 3m 10.15s on a dry track on Wednesday.
He was fifth overall and managed to take out his division in 3m 21.61s ahead of Australian Mitchell Bryant who was 12.26s behind him and Napier's Harrison Redshaw 21.08s further astray in third place.
In the open men's division, Kapiti rider Tristan Ratcliffe was first in a time of 3m 30.65s followed by Rotorua's Stephen Pattle and New Plymouth's Phillip Marfell.
In the open women, Wellington's Sarah Atkin was the best with a time of 3m 51.68s followed by Rotorua's Kaytee Campbell and Auckland's Adrienne Hooper.
Pro-Elite Men: Matt Walker 3m 15.97s 1, Wyn Masters 3m 19.02s 2, Richard Leacock 3m 20.17s 3, Hayden Lee 3m 21.41s 4, Jay Barrett 3m 22.07s 5.
Open Men: Tristan Ratcliffe 3m 30.65s 1, Stephen Pattle 3m 38.55s 2, Phillip Marfell 3m 42.32s 3, Ryan Williamson 3m 51.58s 4, Devlln Montana 3m 57.55s 5.
Under-19 Men: Louis Hamilton 3m 21.61s 1, Mitchell Bryant 3m 28.23s 2, Harrison Redshaw 3m 37.05s 3, Kurt McDonald 3m 38.64s 4, Joel Tunbridge 3m 41.19s 5.
Under-17 Men: Lawrence Cawte 3m 29.00s 1, Connor Hamilton 3m 31.85s 2, Kyle Lockwood 3m 34.34s 3, Kurt Summerfield 3m 45.97s 4, Izac Anderson 3m 46.56s 5.
Under-15 Men: Jack Humphries 3m 44.20s 1, Hayden Melles 3m 53.80s 2, Kale Edwards 4m 02.03s 3, Nathan Saunders 4m 11.15s 4, Matt Lawton 4m 13.02s 5.
Open Women: Sarah Atkin 3m 51.68s 1, Kaytee Campbell 4m 17.24s 2, Adrienne Hooper 4m 33.04s 3, Rosella Pellegrino 4m 58.05s 4, Carolin Friese 5m 23.49s 5.