January 18, 2021: “Michelin SX4 – I’m coming for ya” was the call Josiah Natzke made on the day of the inaugural event on Saturday 9 January 2021.

Wanting redemption after being pipped at the post at the trial event in November, Bridgestone Kawasaki star Natzke was all class as he not only took the inaugural Michelin SX4 title but also managed to grab the Motul Lube Ladder and win three out of four of his heat races.

Natzke was in stellar form leading into the event and labelled his Michelin SX4 win as his favourite to date.

The best in the business were on show for all to see at Taupo Motocross Club in front of a packed crowd on Saturday. The event kicked off with introductory laps from all the riders alongside Michelin Juniors who we’re invited to ride and experience the pit lane alongside the professionals. The Motul Lube Ladder was competitive with only half a second splitting the top four riders Wyatt Chase, Cody Cooper, Campbell King and Kayne Lamont. That was until last competitor Natzke started his engine and came home with a lap time of 25.435 seconds, over one second faster than his nearest rival.

The NZ Natural Clothing Nitro Lane was a crowd favourite and keep the heat races tight with the top 6 riders finishing within three points of each other. Qualifying for the Semi Finals were first time competitors Tommy Watts and Tyler Steiner, MX2 rider James Scott, nine-time MX1 NZ Champion Cody Cooper, Altherm JCR Yamaha rider Kayne Lamont, Campbell King, late comer Wyatt Chase and table topping Natzke.

Post the two very tight Semi Finals the Final saw Natzke line up against Altherm JCR Yamaha standout Kayne Lamont and both the Honda Racing Teams Cody Cooper and James Scott. With Lamont taking an early lead a costly mistake saw Natzke capitalise on an inner line and there was no way of stopping the Hamilton man. The chocolates were his!

Michelin SX4 proved to be a crowd favourite with spectators travelling from around the country to experience the most recent innovation on the motocross calendar. The Rock’s Mike Garvey was on hand to keep fans engaged while they were given the chance to experience a hot lap in a Yamaha YXZ with Red Bull athlete Mad Mike Whiddett. With families being a key component of the event, junior riders were given the chance to ride with the professionals on track thanks to Michelin. Dad’s grabbed their kids and competed in the NZ Natural Clothing Piggy Back race. We found a new Michelin SX4 icon in #ChainsawMan and ticket holders were given an exclusive opportunity to ride the Michelin SX4 track on the Sunday morning post event. The food trucks, bar and Isuzu Taupo Bumper Party saw huge numbers through and nobody wanted the night to end.

Ben Townley summation of the event “Until next time” clearly shows the directors intentions to keep the new innovative format of the sport going. “There is plenty to do in the wash up but we’ve got some big plans for Michelin SX4. We’re looking forward to working with all riders, sponsors and fans to see what needs tweaking, but you will most certainly see us going again in 2022 – stay tuned!”

To stay up to date head to www.sx4.co.nz or follow through Instagram @sx4nz.

OCTOBER 26, 2020: The Bay of Plenty region was bursting with motorcycling talent over Labour Weekend, the country’s motocross elite all determined to take a share of the glory at this traditional season opener.

And Hamilton’s national MX2 (250cc class) No.2 Josiah Natzke was certainly one man who made the most of his opportunity to steal the limelight.

The Bridgestone Kawasaki Racing Team star was a stand-out performer at Saturday evening’s Alpinestars SX4 Speedcross stadium event and was also winner on both of the two days of senior racing on Friday and Sunday, either leading his races from the start or simply carving through traffic after a mixed start.

Just a few months ago, racing like this was not thought possible as the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic sent jitters across the planet, but New Zealand – an isolated and self-sufficient island nation so far away from the virus troubles of Europe and the USA – is almost experiencing life as normal.

The popular MX Fest event again attracted all the nation’s major riders and race teams and this year it was an extra special event, run over three days, from October 23-25, as it was expanded to include the annual Battle of the Clubs event on Friday, that stand-alone event a traditional fundraiser for Team New Zealand’s annual assault on the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) in Europe.

Although the 2020 edition of this international “Olympic Games of Motocross” is not going ahead in France this season, it simply meant that funds raised would help the Kiwis get a head-start on building for their 2021 campaign.

The Battle of the Clubs is an event that had originally been scheduled to run earlier this year, before it was postponed due to the pandemic.

Natzke and his Cambridge Motorcycle Club team-mates – Mike Cotter, Carson Mackie, Brodie Connolly, Hunter Scott and Dylan Westgate – dominated the BOTC on Friday, winning the event outright, thanks in a large part to Natzke’s rare outing in the MX1 class, riding a Kawasaki KX450F.

Natzke qualified second to multi-time national MX1 champion Cody Cooper, who was representing the Tauranga Motorcycle Club, and then Natzke won the MX1/Vets combined race, before finishing runner-up to Cooper in the MX1/MX2 combined race.

Westgate was similarly impressive for the Cambridge effort, winning both his junior grade races.

Natzke also finished a brave runner-up to Cooper in the supercross-style SX4 Speedcross event on Saturday evening before reverting to a solely MX2 (250cc) campaign in the senior motocross on Sunday.

With four wins from four starts against his MX2 rivals, Natzke dominated the 250cc racing, finishing the day a whopping 15 points clear of his nearest threat, current national MX2 champion Maximus Purvis, from Mangakino.

“My first two races were pretty smooth sailing,” said Natzke. “I got two holeshots and two comfortable wins. I’m in a great position now in terms of my build-up for the nationals, probably better than where my rivals are right now to be honest. It could be a different story in March.

“In my third race I messed up the start and had to fight through to the front. I was behind James Scott and Maximus Purvis. Scott was leading but he fell off and then Purvis crashed too and the win kind of fell into my lap.

“The bike is great and I’m feeling confident right now. I can’t wait for the nationals.”

Purvis finished overall runner-up, with Tauranga’s Brodie Connolly third, while Hamilton’s Seton Head impressed by taking his Kawasaki KX250F to fourth overall, probably his best result at this level of competition.

Credit: Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com