Motorsport: Mid-size bikes deliver maximum allure

The engines on these motorcycles may be only 250cc, but don't make the mistake of comparing them to your 1.5 litre family car, these motors pack enough punch to rip your arms straight out of their sockets.

The MX2 (250cc) category has the potential to steal the thunder at this season's 52nd annual Honda New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville on the weekend of January 26-27.

And while many fans will focus on the action unfolding in the MX1 (450cc) class, where Tauranga's current Woodville champion Ben Townley (Carlton Dry Honda) and Mount Maunganui's Cody Cooper (Moto City Suzuki) are predicted to hog the spotlight, it is in the smaller bike categories, the 250cc and 125cc classes, where the biggest boil-overs are likely to occur.

The senior MX2 class at Woodville will again be extremely hot this time around, with the likes of Tauranga's Peter Broxholme (Botany Honda) battling Queenstown's Scotty Columb (JCR Yamaha Racing), Mount Maunganui's Rhys Carter (Moto City Suzuki) and Mangakino's Kayne Lamont (CMR Red Bull BikesportNZ.com KTM).

Taupo's Cam Dillon (Huka Honda CRF250) and Amberley's Micah McGoldrick (Timaru Honda CRF250) also rate among the star attractions, alongside Waitakere's Ethan Martens (Yamaha NZ) and Auckland's Shaun Fogarty (Spectrum Kawasaki).

The class is pumped up this year also with the arrival of international stars Jake Nicholls (KTM), of Britain, and Australian champion Jesse Dobson (Kawasaki), not to mention a handful of former Kiwi juniors who have stepped up the grade in recent months, riders such as Chatham Islands' Kairyn King (Yamaha), Whakatane's Damon Rees (Honda) and Levin's James Anderson (KTM).

The 22-year-old Nicholls - the MX2 world No4 in 2012 - has been training in New Zealand, spending time with Kiwi international and reigning Woodville MX1 champion Ben Townley before he heads to Qatar and Thailand for the opening two rounds of the Motocross World Championships in March.

But the man to beat in this class could well be Kiwi former GP rider, five-time former Woodville Motocross Champion, current national MX2 champion and 2012 world veteran's champion Darryll King (Fox DC Fuzion Yamaha), of Hamilton.

It is impossible to pick a clear winner in the MX2 class, with so many potential champions, but these races will certainly have the crowd roaring.