Suzuki and Sowry likely to be winning combo

Suzuki could be pushing hard for glory in this year's New Zealand cross-country motor cycling championships with rising star Scott Sowry announcing his determination to again win in the junior ranks.

The 15-year-old from Pahiatua will race his new Suzuki RM125 in the junior division of the four-round competition with the aim of winning that category outright.

Sowry suffered a frustrating season last year. Despite being a top contender throughout the series he didn't finish at the rain-drenched final round and therefore missed out on defending his 2010 title.

But he's back again this season and faster than ever.

Sowry has been running among the top 3 in the senior ranks at his local Bushriders' cross-country championships races, showing he is certainly on the pace to win the junior competition at national level.

And he won the Australian Off-Road Series junior title in October.

All of which is reason enough to bring a smile to the face of the series' main sponsor, Suzuki New Zealand.

Suzuki will once again support the New Zealand cross-country championships, electing this week to come on board as naming-rights sponsors for the 2012 series. Sowry will have to be wary of threats from last year's outright junior winner, Jason Dickey, and fellow Raglan rider Matthew Quirke, along with Cambridge's Christopher Foster, Te Awamutu's Ayden Dunn and Dannevirke's Stacey Smyth.

In the senior ranks, it's likely to again be defending champion Adam Reeves to the fore, along with other hard-hitters such as Mokau's Adrian Smith, Huntly's Michael Vining, Napier's John O'Dea, Ohope's Brandon Given and New Plymouth's Renny Johnston, to name a few.

Round two will be raced near Huntly on March 25.

The series then heads down to the South Island, with round three in Marlborough on April 22 and the final round near Christchurch on May 12.