KIWI RIDER 12 2018 VOL.2 | Page 36

NATZKE Natzke had been the best-performed of the Kiwi riders at Mt Smart Stadium and so he therefore arrived at Tokoroa with 17 points already in the bank, while Waitakere’s Ethan Martens turned up with 15 points to his credit, Te Puke’s Logan Blackburn had 13 points already, Taupo’s Brad Groombridge had 11 and Dunedin’s Madison Latta had 10 points safely in his pocket. But Natzke’s three wins from three starts at Tokoroa then pushed his advantage out from two points to 15 points over Martens, who managed 3-3-2 at Tokoroa, while Mangakino’s Maximus Purvis captured the third podium position with a 4-2-3 score- card that night. “This track (at Tokoroa) was a lot different RIDE - UPLOAD - REVIEW from Auckland (Mt Smart Stadium, with a crowd of 21,000) and a lot more tame because this is just New Zealand supercross, not really international scale. It was a lot more fun and more low-key here,” said the 19-year-old Natzke. “I got more time on the track at Tokoroa, so it was a lot more relaxed. The previous weekend was so intense. “I had not ridden for two months and then just once last week, before turning up here. I wasn’t planning on riding while at home (from Germany) for the European off-season, but the offer of a bike came along from (Auckland businessman) Cannon Smith and it was too good to say no.