A young Te Awamutu motorbike racer has parked himself at the top of the podium again.
Crossing the line with a comfortable lead in Gore at the weekend, Nixon Parkes secured a clean sweep in the junior grade of the New Zealand Cross-country Nationals.
After dominating performances earlier this year in the first two rounds, in Rewa north of Feilding, the defending champ added round three and four wins to his tally (March 20-22) leaving no doubt as to who holds bragging rights at the sport’s junior level.
The competition also confirmed Ōtorohanga’s Trevor De Malmanche as the best in the veteran grade while Taupo’s Brad Groombridge claimed senior honours.
Series winners also included Stratford’s Megan Collins (senior women), Waitoa’s Chad McGovern (under-85cc class) and Grace Fowler from Rotorua (junior women).

Te Awamutu’s Nixon Parkes (Yamaha) who leads the way in the junior grade after two of four rounds in the 2025 New Zealand motorcycle cross-country racing series. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com