Motorsport: Venues for Motocross Championship confirmed

A new track and a returning venue on the schedule for next year's NZ Motorcross Championship

The race dates had already been locked down for some time but the selection of venues for the 2016 New Zealand Motocross Championship was only confirmed last week.

There is one new track and a one returning venue on the four round championship schedule that runs through February and March to decide the 125cc 2-stroke, MX2 (250cc) and MX1 (450cc) titles.

The series will once again start at the Backflips MX track near Timaru with a February 7 series opener and then heads north to the Flipps Motorcycle Park near Himatangi for the second round.

This will be the new location for the championship with the Manawatu Orion Motorcycle Club hosting the event.
The Rotorua Motorcycle Club has retained its place on the Nationals calender following a successful 2015 event, again hosting round three at its Horohoro track on March 13.

It’s a quick-fire finish to the championship with the Taupo Motorcycle Club’s Digger McEwen MX track returning to the schedule for the March 20 decider.
The New Zealand title is scheduled just ahead of the start of the Australian MX Nationals to provide a build-up opportunity for the top Kiwi pro riders ahead of their Australian campaigns.

The other major events on the summer Motocross calendar are the Bay of Plenty Motorcycle Club’s Honda Summercross 2015 event at Awakaponga on December 27-28 and the New Zealand Motocross GP at Woodville on January 30-31.