Mokau's Adrian Smith has nothing left to prove in New Zealand. With two national motorcycle titles in the bag for 2012, the 26-year-old Taranaki sheep and beef farmer is looking further afield and eyeing up fresh conquests on the off-road race scene with a challenging trip to the United States
Motorsport: Champ seeks fresh challenge
Subscribe to listen
Photo / Thinkstock
But Smith now prepares for a trip to the US, where he will join fellow Kiwis Paul Whibley, of Pahiatua, and Rory Mead, of Wellington, and Scott Sowry, of Pahiatua, in racing the final three rounds of the Grand National Cross-country Championships.
Whibley (Yamaha YZ450F) leads the GNCC championship.
"I just want to dip my toes in the water over there," said Smith. "All the other riders know the tracks they're racing and it will be all new to me, so this trip will be about me learning the ropes.
"I hope to race there for a full season at some stage. It just all depends on how this trip goes, what experience I gain, what contacts I make and how much it is all going to cost.
"If I feel I can perform well and do it justice, I'll definitely do a whole season.
"I've got a good stock manager on the farm, so he can be left to run the show for me back home."