Older Updates Jan - Dec 2014
Summer Cross provides a handful of challenges for Vinny.
28 December 2014
After almost 2 months of a break from MX we were back at one of NZ's biggest events: Summer Cross at Awakaponga outside Whakatane. Vinnys riding was very encouraging but we had mechanical gremlins and a mistake by Vinny to put a small dampener on it all. Said that, we came away knowing that Vinny has the fire inside again to fight for placings and he is not far off the top guys in the class. Bring on 2015!!
Vinny has decided to get back to racing!
18 December 2014
After the 2012 KTM 125sx arrived home Vinny spent some time with the bike. It needs some work to be tidyed up (and some minor bling added...). His first comment was; "It's BIG!!"
The next thing he sais was "I will miss the 85!!". Then he decided that he would race a few more meetings on the 85 before moving over to the 12-14yo 125cc class.
So he will race at:
- Summer Cross, Whakatane. 12-13yo 85cc. He is currently 1'st reserve and we are hoping he will be in the group of 38 riders come 27 December (And we don't want a rainy day this year!!!)
- Valley Champs, Patetonga. 12-16yo 85cc on 10 January.
- King Of The Mountain, New Plymouth. 12-13yo 85cc on 17 January.
I sense some excitement in Vinny re all this. And that is good as it had been missing when we took the break!
Here the link to Summer Cross Junior entries:
http://www.mxt.co.nz/SummerX14_entries_Juniors.pdf
Vinny's 2011 KTM 85sx has been sold and we will inside a few days pick up his 2012 KTM 125sx!
Will update when we have the bike at home!
6 December 2014
Vinny has decided that it is time for a break.
11 November 2014
We did not race this weekend. Vinny has lately not performed to his potential and it was clear that three years of racing almost every weekend had taken it's toll. The fun had gone out of racing so now is time for Vinny to spend time with mates, go fishing, swimming and learn to surf.
Vinny will be back in in early 2015 on a 125cc when he has again found the hunger to win.
Vinny in full flight at Valley Rd in Hastings
Vinny in full flight at Valley Rd in Hastings
Waikato Champs end early for Vinny.
1 November 2014
A poor start and two crashes in Race 1 was all Vinny managed when coming 27'th and last in his only race.
MX Fest in Taupo is not a party for Vinny.
25 October 2014
In Race 1 vinny finds out that there were still problems from the blown engine at NI Champs. And middle of the pack (20'th out of 40) was the result at the end of the day
Practice and more practice!
15 - 22 October October 2014
Three practice sessions in a row for Vinny.
Wed 15 Oct Valley Rd Hastings
Sun 20 Oct Flipps Foxton (was supposed to be racing at HB Champs R3, but rain cancelled that)
Wed 22 Oct Ngaruroro Hastings.
All in preparation for MXFest in Taupo!
1 1/2 hour MX series is fun!
12 October 2014
Vinny enjoys the riding at HBMCC 1 1/2 MX Round 1 with the lack of pressure the format provides. We think he finished 2'nd but it could have been 3'rd? Will update as soon as we find out.
NI Junior Champs is hard work for Vinny
3-4 October 2014
Rain and soggy clay makes it to a tiring weekend. Add a blown engine and the experience is nothing we want repeated!
Two days of Broxy coaching for Vinny in Hastings!
29-30 September 2014
The Hawke's Bay MCC had organised two days of free coaching by Broxy for 12-16yo HB Juniors at Valley Rd. Close to 20 riders turned up to learn something new or finetune what they were already doing. The weather stayed good (apart from a little drizzle early in the mornings). Through Broxy's sponsorship of Vinny the two already had a relationship and Broxy knew what Vinny needed to work on, one of the major things being standing up! We will find out at this w/e's North Island Champs in Otorohanga if the coaching worked.
The last round at Taupo is Vinny's best one!
28 September 2014
Vinny wins the last round (Round 6) of Taupo Winter Series and shows that when he has a day of (almost) faultless riding he is at the top!
Round 2 of HB Champs goes almost to plan for Vinny
21 September 2014
We came looking for three wins but managed two wins and a 2'nd place. Will it be enough for the Championship? We find out at the final round in October.
Broxy coaching at Taupo in preparation for final round
19 September 2014
We knew there was time to cut from Vinny's Taupo lap and with Broxy's help we did find 2-3 second!
HB Champs in rain, cold and mud is a challenge
14 September 2014
Vinny finds the slippery mud a hard task to conquer and struggles to place well making our plans of winning the Champs tough!
Despite three crashes in first race of Winter Cross Vinny places 2'nd
13 September 2014
Winter Cross in Foxton was more like a Summer Cross with 18 degrees and no rain all day. After a tricky first race Vinny settles in and manages a deserved 2'nd
A weekend withour racing for Vinny.
8 September 2014
Some minor niggles, oldest brother moving to Australia and no important races over the w/e made us decide on a break. We also made some changes to our approach to help us get where we are aiming!
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4 September 2014
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Round 5 of Taupo Winter Series on a track with many changes!
31 August 2014
The new layout of the Taupo track spooked many and also provided the First Aid and Ambulance crews with a busy day!
Beach Racing is still fun!
30 August 2014
Vinny taces to a 3'rd. 2'nd and 2'nd in East Coast Beach Racing Challenge in Gisborne. A smaller rear sprocket would have helped in the chase for a win. But we are OK with the result that is one place higher than last year.
Two days of practice at Gold Coast MX Club's track just outside Foxton.
23-24 August 2014
Wairoa rained away so we headed to the sand track just outside Foxton. Two days of sun and fun for Vinny. He managed to cut about 20 second of his lap times at end of day two after we focused on some specific bits of the track. We are soo looking forward to the Winter Cross here in three weeks!
A mixed bag in Wanganui includes holeshot money for Vinny!
10 August 2014
A second (coming from last), a win and a broken throttle cable while in the lead was Vinnys results. But as sugar on the top he won the Holeshot competition!
After two weeks off Vinny gets the Ok to go back racing and wins the 2014 HB Magic Series!
10 August 2014
With three wins in the final (Round 5) round of Hawke's Bay Taylor Corp Magic Series, Vinny becomes the only rider in all classes (Senior, Junior and Mini's) to win every race on the way to the series win!
Vinny breaks r/h collarbone in Tauranga School MX practice!
25 July 2014
One lap in memory of Trent Haywood and one and a half lap in practice was all Vinny got in before he crashed and broke his collarbone. Until then he looked good and felt confident he could get a top five placing. But it was not to be.
This also means that he will miss out on the final round of Hawke's Bay Magic series (where he leads with 42 points), possibly two rounds of the Taupo Winter series (where he is 4'th), the final round of Wanganui Winter Seies, the Gisborne TT champs, a couple of school champs and the East Coast Beach Racing Champs.
But we will be back in a months time!!
Rain and mud does not stop Vinny racing to two wins!
20 July 2014
At official opening day of the new Ngaruroro Raceway just outside Hastings in wind, rain and mud Vinny manages two more wins in the HB Magic Series!
Vinny places 4'th in the New Zealand TT Championships!
12-13 July 2014
In his first NZ TT Champs at Kuratau beside Lake Taupo Vinny rides well over two days of rain to get his sofar best Championship result for 2014.
A good day of flat-tracking in Central Hawke's Bay
6 July 2014
A chilly day on a dirt paddock in Onga Onga teaches Vinny a new technique!
Vinny makes hard work out of Taupo Round 3 but gets OK results
29 June 2014
A crash in Race 1 on first lap while in 3'rd, a crash in Race 2 while in 3'rd and a poor start in Race 3 was always going to make things tougher than they needed to be. But even with all that Vinny manages a 6'th, 3'rd and 4'th. When all goes to plan...watch out!
Thanks to the very speedy service from Patterson O'Connor Motorcycles in Rotorua we have two rebuilt cranks and Vinny will be racing in Taupo on Sunday!
26 June 2014
Two blown big ends at Mighty Manawatu stops Vinny
22 June 2014
For the 4'th year in a row Mighty Manawatu does not go well for Vinny. First a blown big end on the racing bike in practice (while he looks really fast!). And then a failing big end in race one on the spare bike. Do we need someone to lift the curse???
Vinny takes a clean sweep in Wanganui Round 3
15 June 2014
Three wins and one holeshot is the tally for Vinny on a brilliant Wanganui track. Plus we achieve our three goals too!
Three wins for Vinny in Hawke's Bay Round 3
8 June 2014
Three out of three makes Vinny the only rider at the Hawke's Bay Taylor Corporation Magic Winter Series to have a clean record after three rounds!
Slippery clay makes the going tough in Gisborne
1 June 2014
First time racing at the Kopua track is not what Vinny was expecting from a track we see each time when travelling to Gisborne.
Our deepest and sincerest condolences to the family and friends of #323 Trent Haywood who died doing what he loved.
1 June 2014
Ride Free Forever
Crashes stops Vinny from achieving potential at Taupo Round 2
25 May 2014
We came looking for top three finishes but crashes and some bad luck stopped that and Vinny had to settle for 6'th, 6'th and 5'th.
A loose oil-drain-plug stops Vinny from claiming three wins at Wanganui.
18 May 2014
Vinnys bike drained itself on the start-line of Race 1, but Race 2 and 3 were Vinnys!
Vinny takes the lead at Gisborne Beach Racing
17 May 2014
One second and two wins guarantees Vinny the lead after Round 1 of the Beach Racing Series just north of Gisborne.
Three wins for Vinny at Hawke's Bay Magic Series!
11 May 2014
A brilliant day of racing sees Vinny take first in all his 85cc 8-12 races!
Redemption at Round 1 of Taupo Winter Series!
4 May 2014
Vinny races to a 4'th, 4'th and a 3'rd in Round 1 at Taupo beating all but one of the boys who he lost against at NZ Juniors.
Vinny finds the deepening ruts at NZ Junior Champs a challenge!
27 April 2014
We went searching for a top ten finish, but came away with a 17'th placing. Clearly there is much more hard work to do!
Our new setup at race meetings!
27 April 2014
We went searching for a top five at Capital Champs and got it!
20 April 2014
In a field of 17 riders Vinny places 5'th at the 2-day Capital Champs on a soggy track. We are happy with this as the riders ahead of him were all older than Vinny!
Vinny's racing number is now 333.
16 April 2014
The 11-12yo 85cc class use a black number on a yellow background. When racing at MNZ sanctioned meetings the rider must use the number MNZ has provided. We wanted to keep the 33 number, but were not allowed to do so as the numbers up to 60 in each class are kept for riders who want to use their placing in the yearly National Championship as their number. In 2013 Vinny placed 29'th, but he did not want that number. So we decided on 333.
Three from three for Vinny at Round 1 of HB Magic Series!
16 April 2014
In the 8-12yo class Vinny finds that he can get the first win's of the year! With only a small off it is a good days racing, but more importantly a boost for his confidence!
Broxy becomes one of Vinny's sponsors!
16 April 2014
Vinny has been coached by some top coaches since he started racing as a 6 year old. But there has been very little in the way of building on his abilities and follow up. We realised that to get to his peak in MX we needed a coach who would take an interest in Vinnys development. This is where Broxy comes in to the picture. The best known MX Coach in NZ will now help us move forward! We are very excited!!
You looking for transport to Race meetings? Maybe we can help...
10 April 2014
Vinny rides every weekend. Sometimes Saturday AND Sunday. We have space for one more bike + rider. If you think this is for you please contact us! And check out Vinny's Upcoming Meetings to see if the ones we race is for you!
Two days of racing in Huntly gives us an idea re where Vinny is with his racing
4 and 5 April 2014
On Friday Vinny races in St Pauls Colleges High School Champs and on Saturday in Huntly MCC's Winter Series Round 1. More mature riding and some encouraging results are the outcomes!
Two first race meetings after the accident goes well!
29 and 30 March 2014
We had two race meetings lined up for this w/e: Wairoa on Saturday and Central HB on Sunday. Vinny completes both without incidents and we are back on track!
We are very proud to announce that Motocross Vest NZ is now one of Vinny's sponsors!
28 March 2014
At the 2014 NZGP Vinny never got further than the practice. He had a bad accident where he damaged 5 of his vertebrae. He is now fully healed, but we wanted to make sure we in the future did everything in our power to prevent bad injuries.
This is where Motocross Vest NZ comes in to the picture. The vests they supply meet all our requirements and Vinny is hanging out to ride with his new vest in the two race meetings this weekend!
We are very happy to have Motocross Vest NZ on-board as a partner in Vinny's quest for MX success!
First practice after injury goes well!
19 March 2014
Vinny had been hanging out for this; to be able to test his new KTM bike but also to get back out on the track. At 12yo 7 weeks is a lifetime without riding!
The Hawke's bay MCC club track was open for a Wednesday practice and Vinny got a good 3 hours of riding in. He loves the new bike, there was no crashes or tricky moments. And we even had time to work on some minor details of his riding.
We have 5 weeks to get ready for the 2014 NZ Junior Champs...
Today Vinny got the All Clear and will be back on the bike tomorrow at Valley Rd practice!!! We have one month to get ready for the NZ Champs...
18 March 2014
After 6 weeks of taking it easy Vinny has started training again!
12 March 2014
It is now just over six weeks since Vinny damaged his vertebrae in the crash. The bones have now healed and on Monday he started some low impact cardio. We will up the intensity slowly and the plan is to be back to full-on workouts after 2 weeks.
There is heaps to catch up on (new bike that he has yet to ride on, build up the fitness again, new safety gear and lots of practice to be done!) so we better get started!!
Check out Vinny in #8 of MX ANTIX free web MX magazine!
15 February 2014
Vinny gets a chest brace so his spine has time to heal properly.
5 February 2014
Yesterday we did see the specialists re Vinnys injury (vertebrae damage to T5 - T10). We learnt that the damage is actually at the Spinous Process of the vertebrae. That is the part that sticks out forward towards the chest and helps keep your back straight and stops you from walking around with a hunched back.
There are 5 of the vertebrae that have a slight compression in this area plus one more that possible has a compression. This would be as a result of a fast bend forward (often seen in car accidents when cars stop suddenly and head is jerked forward).
Vinny will now have the brace in the picture on for 6 weeks to stop him from causing more issues through the healing process. Then, as long as all is well, he can start physical activity. The brace is held in place with a strap around the back and is actually not too uncomfy.
He is home from school this week and will start Y8 on Monday. We still live in hope that he will be ready for the NZ Junior Champs end of April. But as we will need to listen to the orthopedic specialists as they will call the shots, we just have to wait and see.
But just now Xbox 360 is his best mate.
NZ GP at Woodville goes totally wrong for Vinny!
25January 2014
Vinny crashes badly in practice and damages his spine. It puts him out of MX for a minimum of 3 months!
Vinnys 2009 KTM85sx is now for sale for $2,500.
!!! NOW SOLD !!!
21January 2014
A steady King Of The Mountain increases Vinnys confidence!
19 January 2014
After a bunch of race meetings where things have gone wrong Vinny enjoys KOTM where he gets faster and more confident as the day goes on and places 5'th.
Valley Champs goes wrong for Vinny
11 January 2014
A DNF, 17'th and 21'st is lean pickings for Vinny. Add a bunch of crashes, brakes failing in two races and a massive selection of new bruises and you get the picture.
Boneyard 2-Day Champs in Wairarapa only gets one day done as the weather causes havock.
4 January 2014
With the 2'nd day postponed to 1 February Vinny will not be able to complete this Champs. But he had a good day of racing in the first meeting of 2014.
