Hamish Harwood (CMR Red Bull KTM) has achieved more than most would take on, coming off a serious injury in December 2014 to finish 2nd Overall MX2 in 2015 NZ MX Championships.
Only just cleared to race prior to NZ’s MX National Opening Round, Harwood completed an impressive 10 top 3 finishes from 12 over the 4 Round Series.
Kicking off Australia’s MX National Opening Round in similar form proved to be a learning curve for Hamish who admits struggled with the Series 30 minute Moto 1 in comparison to NZ’s Motos 1 and 2 of 18 minutes plus 1 lap.
Hamish: ‘Round One for me was terrible. It’s hard to pinpoint what exactly went wrong but I think the main thing was fitness and bike time. I only just scraped through in the 18min + 1 lap races over in NZ. Over here in Aussie the first Moto is 30 minutes + 1 which I definitely struggled with’.
Harwood: ‘These 30 minute motos are usually my strong point, but we’re working on it’.
With the switch to 250F this season, from the start advantage of 250 2-stroke in 2014, Hamish says he has ‘used the 450 for practice while trying to add more intensity during bike time on the 250F’.
Known as a rider under the radar, Hamish remains comfortable lining up against a stacked MX2 class heading into Round 2 at Appin this weekend.
Hamish: ‘I think my whole Series is going to get better and better as I get fitter and stronger. Def recovering from a ruptured bowel has proved challenging to make fitness for racing but yes I feel comfortable heading into the next 4 Rounds before the break in June’.
And goal for Round 2?
Hamish: # 1 goal would be to stay injury free and be on the podium’.
2015 Australia MX Nationals Round 2: Appin, NSW April 12th
Words: Sharon Cox
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