Motocross: Seth comes home

Seth Reardon's North American motocross sojourn has been dogged by injury sustained early in the piece.

The Whanganui rider and New Zealand enduro champion crashed in his first Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) race, round 12 in West Virginia earlier this month, injuring his wrist. Reardon was forced to pull out of the round, posting a DNF (did not finish).

The 21-year-old followed this up with a two-hour midwestern cross country, placing fourth in the Pro class.

Reardon then rode the three-hour Amsoil Ironman, the final round of the GNCC in Indiana over the weekend, where he struggled with arm pump and a number of crashes to finish 13th in the XC2 Pro class.

Father and travelling mechanic Brian Reardon said his son had hoped for better results, but takes home some valuable experience.

"Seth plans to focus on his racing opportunities in New Zealand for 2020, where he has been selected for the Yamaha off-road team, but he still may try to return to the States for another GNCC round or two," Reardon senior said.

Seth Reardon wrote on his racing Facebook page that he had no excuses.

"But I have learnt a lot from this experience and am going to build on my riding and go harder back home. After a long drive to Indiana we made it to the last round of the GNCC at Ironman Raceway here in the States (Crawfordsville, Indiana). Massive build up with over 1500 riders over the weekend.

"The track was a 45-minute loop with extreme mud and ruts and a few good hill climbs. After the three-hour race I ended up 13th in the XC2 class. I'm really grateful to everyone who supports me and has helped me get here."

Meanwhile, Te Awamutu rider and sometime North American training partner Rachael Archer was leading the women's race at the Amsoil Ironman with a lap to go before wilting to run third. She ended the meeting second in her class and sixth overall.

Iain Hyndman
Whanganui Chronicle 31/10/19