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New Zealand cross-country motorcycle champion Paul Wilson will be missing from the start line when the 2000 Suzuki championship series starts this weekend.
The Piopio rider, three times outright champion in this highly demanding form of motorcycle sport, lost two toes and part of his right foot when a tree fell on it just before Christmas. Wilson, one of the hardest men in a hard sport, is already competing on motorbikes again, but feels he is not yet ready to contest a three-hour championship event.
\"The tree fell on the steel cap and that crushed the foot,\" Wilson said. \"It wasn\'t a good year - I broke my back too [earlier in the year]. I\'ll just give it time to heal and then I\'ll attack the championship again next year.\"
Two weeks ago, nevertheless, Wilson contested a non-championship event on a Honda XR250, won his class and finished third overall.
However most of the country\'s other leading dirt riders are expected to compete, including Adam Youren (Hawke\'s Bay), Paul Whibley (Pahiatua), Mark Penny (Hamilton), Kevin Hermansen (Norsweood), Peter Broxholme (Tauranga, Wayne Jennings (Whakatane), Ross Bird (Pahiatua), Steven Turner (Timaru), Elliot Kent (Hamilton), Lance Sutton (Pukekohe) and James Lavender (Christchurch).
A newcomer is Stacey Oldeman of Te Puke, who recently returned to motorcycle racing after a break of four years and finished second in the national 250cc motocross championship.
Cross-country championship events are run over three hours, over courses usually 15-25km in length. The only let-up comes when riders stop for fuel.
The first three rounds are split into North Island and South Island sections, and then all the top riders compete in a semi-final and final. The 2000 series begins on Sunday with events near Huntly and Amberley, north of Christchurch.
The 17km Huntly course includes the notorious \"Big Balls Jump\", although riders can take the big leap quietly if they wish. The Murray Downs course at Amberley is about 23km long after recent extensions, and includes gullies and forest sections; organiser Malcolm Currie said it would be fast and challenging.
The cross-country championship is run in four classes: up to 200cc two-stroke, open two-stroke, up to 300cc four-stroke and open four-stroke. Outright placings are also recognised.
The schedule for the 2000 Suzuki National Cross-country Championship is:
Round one: South Island, Amberley (North Canterbury) Sunday March 5; North Island, Huntly, Sunday March 5.
Round two: South Island, Timaru, Saturday 25 March; North Island, Hawke\'s Bay, Sunday 26 March.
Round three: South Island, Mosgiel, Saturday 15 April; North Island, Rotorua, Sunday April 16.
Semi-final (combined): Woodville, Sunday 30 April.
Final (combined): Nelson, Saturday 20 May.
