Steiner Uses Taupo MX To Open His Account With Suzuki

Bay of Plenty’s Tyler Steiner had a smile on his face a mile wide at the weekend … almost as if he’d struck gold.

And, in a way, he had done just that.

He was racing for the Tauranga Motorcycle Club team in the big annual Battle of the Clubs motocross event on a fresh, new, bright yellow Suzuki RM-Z450.

He was the only rider in the premier MX1 class racing the distinctive Suzuki bike and that was just fine with the 24-year-old from Te Puke.

It meant his many fans would have no problem at all with tracking his progress around the track and that was generally seeing him in close battle with many of New Zealand’s motocross elite.

The Battle of the Clubs motocross attracted six-rider teams from all parts of the country, the competition to raise funds for Team New Zealand's potential assault on the Motocross of Nations (MXoN) on the other side of the world.

The MXoN was last year staged near Chicago, in the United States, but this year that major event is returning to Ernee, in north-western France.

But that was really just a side issue as far as Steiner was concerned.

The talented rider on the No.8 bike, a ranking he achieved when riding a different brand of bike in the MX1 class at the nationals earlier this season, was keen to help the fundraising efforts, but Saturday’s racing at Taupo was really all about him getting sorted on the new Suzuki.

In addition, he was just beginning his mission to build up his physical fitness in what is one of the most demanding sports in the world.

He managed to tenth in the MX1 class qualifying race, then finished 11th in the combined MX1/Veterans’ race and then finished seventh in the combined MX1/MX2 race that wrapped up the day.

“I am simply loving the bike,” beamed Steiner afterwards.

“It suits me for the way I ride and it’s a stock bike. It’s probably one of the best stock standard, straight-out-of-the-crate bikes I’ve ever ridden.

“I nearly pulled off a holeshot in the first race … I was actually second through turn one … and that was the first race I’ve done on this bike.

“I can only get better from here,” he said.

“I have not raced since the nationals (which wrapped up in March), so my body fitness needs some work. I’ve only done about two hours of riding on this bike so far. At the moment, I ride about one lap and then my fitness goes out the window.

“Since I have everything sorted now and all the sponsors have come on board, I’ll be getting right back into it and begin training in earnest. I might need to adjust my suspension to suit me better, but basically this bike is good to go.”

The busy part of the season typically begins in January each year, with the big annual New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix at Woodville, followed by the nationals through until about March, so that gives Steiner plenty of time to get into shape for a crack at putting his Suzuki on the podium or even perhaps winning a New Zealand title.

Words and photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com