Taupō MX Fest 2024: Hayden Draper wins double after Australian junior success

With 2-1-1 results in the 125cc junior 15-16 class on Saturday, Draper convincingly won the trophy ahead of fellow experienced Auckland region rider Jack Ellingham and local Taupō rider Declan Connors.

On Sunday, Draper achieved 2-1-2 results in the senior 125cc class to also win that trophy, once again finishing ahead of fellow dual-class competitor Ellingham, while local Mangakino rider Maz Parkes, also on a Husqvarna TC125, took third podium. place.

“It was the first time I’ve been back on a 125cc bike in about 12 months as I’ve been concentrating on the 250cc class lately,” Draper said afterwards.

“During the first race on junior day, both myself and Jack (Ellingham) crashed in the first corner and we rejoined the race in last place. We both charged through traffic and in the end he took the race win, with me settling for second place. That really set the tone for the weekend.

“Because I won the next two races, this gave me the overall victory of the day.

“I only managed to qualify third in the 125cc class on Sunday’s senior day, with Jack fourth, and I was a bit surprised by that.”

Ōtorohanga’s Cooper Phillips was fastest in qualifying, with Parkes second, but as it soon became clear, any qualifying spot in the top five or six could easily be a position to win from and that’s exactly what Draper did.

Draper’s day didn’t end there either as he had qualified for the all-capabilities shootout feature race, a knockout format where the slowest riders are culled after each of the progressively shorter races.

Draper retired after race two out of five in that new event, just missing the fastest 10 out of 40 qualifiers.

He and fellow Husqvarna rider Parkes were the only two 125cc riders to survive against 250cc and 450cc riders.

As it turned out, visiting Australian Kirk Gibbs, on a 450cc GASGAS bike, won this champion of champions shootout and the accompanying Nicky Smith Memorial trophy.

Other winners in the senior class this weekend were Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis (MX1); Papamoa’s Cody Cooper (MX2); Joel Hansen of Te Awamutu (veterans 35-44 years); Whakatāne’s Darren Capill (veterans over 45) and Auckland’s Jayden McKenzie (MX3).

Other winners in the junior class this weekend were Ohau’s Phoenix Van Dusschoten (14-16 years 250cc); Oropi’s Levi Townley (12-13 years 125cc); Oropi’s Jaggar Townley (12-16 years 85cc/150cc); Nico Verhoeven from Hamilton (8-11 years 85cc); Matamata’s Henry Millar (8-11 years pro 65cc); Raetihi’s Karaitiana Horne (women); Mikayla Matthews from Auckland (women 12-16 years 85cc/125cc) and Mila Richmond from Te Awamutu (8-11 years 85cc).

Meanwhile, the weekend was a double celebration for Taupō Motorcycle Club, marking the 50th anniversary since the club’s founding and also the 40th anniversary of hosting the Labor Weekend MX Fest extravaganza.