New Plymouth teen Sam Parker celebrates first motocross national title

Taranaki's Sam Parker (Johnston's Husqvarna Team TE300), outright winner of the 2023 edition of the New Zealand Hard Enduro Championships after the final two-day round in Canterbury. Photo / Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com

It was probably just a matter of time before Taranaki’s Sam Parker broke through to win his first national title and it finally all happened, a long way from home, in November.

The New Plymouth teenager took his Johnston’s Husqvarna Team TE300 bike to set himself up for overall victory in the 2023 New Zealand Hard Enduro Championships with a solid third overall performance at the first of two rounds near Porirua back in September.

Then he proved that consistency counts most when he repeated the dose at the second round in Canterbury to finally seal the deal.

Sam received two third placings over the two-day event which earned him the round two win and, significantly, combined with his third overall at round one, it also gave him the series win overall.

Interestingly, Tony Parker had finished overall runner-up to Whitaker in this series last season, but the proud father was content to be beaten by his young son this time around.

“It was a good weekend for me,” said Sam Parker afterwards.

“Consistency gave me the result I wanted. Saturday’s enduro was tough, even with all the riders using GPS to navigate. The GPS was on the handlebars of the bike, but you had to pay attention to the terrain as well as look at the device. This meant it was quite difficult to race at a fast pace. It was just a matter of survival. A lot of top guys dropped out. Of the 29 Gold Grade riders who started, only five of us managed to finish a full lap.

“This is a first major title win for me,” said an elated Sam Parker, a young man who has just completed his education at New Plymouth Boys’ High School and is about to begin a building apprenticeship in the New Year.

The national event in Canterbury doubled up as round two of the South Island Hard Enduro Championships and Sam Parker was also declared winner of that separate but parallel series.