Motocross veteran battles conditions for title

Whakatane's Darren Capill has pocketed another national motocross title, but it was far from plain sailing for the 47-year-old.

He dominated his class at the first of two days of the Mach 1 Yamaha-sponsored 2015 New Zealand Veterans' and Women's Motocross Championships in Taranaki over the weekend, winning all three races in his 45-49 years' over-300cc class. However, rain and wind arrived overnight to render the track treacherous and this ensured racing on day two was more of a lottery for the Yamaha ace.

"I had three good wins in the dry on Saturday, but I struggled on Sunday," he said.

He took his Yamaha YZ450F to finish third and fourth in the two remaining races on Sunday, and "that was enough to get the job done".

Runner-up to Capill in the class was Blenheim's Steve Lange with Taranaki's Greg Ngeru rounding out the podium.

"I tried hard to win every race, but it simply didn't work out," said Capill.

"I decided not to go for broke, but to use some common sense and just get the points I needed.

"The last time I raced at the veterans' nationals was in Feilding back in 2011 and I won two titles that year. I've had a change in jobs so it hasn't been possible for me to race this event for the past couple of seasons, so it was great to come here and catch up with old friends.

"It's great to ride on a natural terrain track. This is what I grew up on."

The next big event for Capill is to contest the 30th annual MX Fest at Taupo this coming Labour Weekend.

"I've raced at every single one of those events, all 30 of them, and I'm the only rider who has done that. Depending on how I feel fitness-wise, I may race the MX3 support class as well as the veterans' class at Taupo."