Foreign riders arrive here for Asia Pacific races

JAKARTA (JP): The first batch of overseas riders arrived here yesterday for the Asia Pacific Motocross Championship at Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang, West Java, this weekend.

New Zealand favorite Nigel Smith, 19, was the first to touch down at Soekarno-Hatta airport, but five Australian boys who arrived a couple of hours later received a bigger welcome.

No senior officials from the championship's organizing committee turned up at the airport to greet Jason McGuiness, Meng Wong, Luke Urek, Sinclair Cameron and Japanese-born Ketsuya Takeshi but a throng of journalists repeatedly photographed them and fired a barrage of questions.

"I'm pretty confident of winning the race," said Sinclair, who at 12 years old is the championship's youngest rider. He will contest the 60cc category.

Melbournite Sinclair started racing six years ago under the tutelage of his father Ken. Sinclair capped his career with Victorian Tour victories in the past two years.

Despite possessing the riding skills which have helped him come up with the goods on numerous tracks, Sinclair remains a child. He has brought his parents and elder brother along with him on his first Indonesian trip.

The remaining six riders, who include Hungarian Kokenyesi Jr and Japan's Sinichi Kaga, are scheduled to arrive today.

Smith, winner of the last two rounds of the New Zealand Motocross Championship, has been dubbed favorite to win both the 125cc and 250cc classes this weekend, the second round of the Asia Pacific circuit.

But he opted to take a low profile, saying only: "Finishing among the top three looks fair, I think."

The two-day event will also serve as the final leg of the National Championship series, in which four of Indonesia's leading riders are in contention for the title.

The next Asia Pacific round is in Osaka, Japan on Nov. 17 and returns back south to Sydney on Nov. 24, before winding up in Bangkok on Dec. 8. (amd)