Former national 125cc motocross champion Hayden Smith had been off the radar in recent times as work commitments and injuries kept him away from dirt bike racing . But the 20-year-old builder from Silverdale , just 30 kilometres north of Auckland , blasted back into the spotlight with a scintillating performance . What ' s more , he raced in two of the premier categories , hit the podium in one of those and all of that while he was giving the newly-minted Gas Gas bike brand its first New Zealand outing at a major race meeting . It was a debut / comeback to remember for the Gas Gas brand and for former Taihape man Smith . As the Woodville motocross was not just the traditional annual Grand Prix title event , but also the first round of the NZ MX Championships series , it also meant Smith was well and truly back among the elite . After his six races on Sunday – three in the MX2 ( 250cc ) category and three in the MX125 class – Smith found himself fifth equal ( level with Wellington ' s Adam Moss , KTM ) and second overall ( behind Matamata ' s Brodie Connolly , Husqvarna ) in the two classes respectively and therefore solidly positioned as he headed to the second round of the championships in Rotorua three weeks later . " I ' m definitely stoked with my showing at Woodville ," said Smith afterwards . " Karl Brabant ( the Gas Gas team manager ) did such a great job with the bikes . " I was pretty pleased to get on the podium in the 125cc class . It would obviously have been nice to get the win in that class . I had a little bit of bad luck in the MX2 class when I got taken out ( crashed into ) at the start of race two , but I managed to come through the field and finish sixth . My lap times were good enough for a top-three finish . I got third in the last race . " I ' ve missed two years of nationals actually , so it ' s great to be back and doing so well . In 2018 I ruptured my bowel and that put me out for a whole year . Then I had a small practice crash at the start of 2020 and broke some ribs , so that put me out of last year ' s nationals too . " I ' m back to full fitness now , although I guess you can always improve , no matter how good you are ."

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