What a turn around it was from practice day to race day, clear blue skies and sunshine greeted riders on Sunday morning. Although the track was still slushy to begin with, by race run it was a marginal call between running muds or dry tyres with most riders choosing to stick to muds, simply for not having to bother changing them.

The National race circus has kicked off for another year on a wet, drizzly day in Rotorua. There was a bit of carnage on the slightly boggy Rotorua track, including some nasty cases on the finish line jump as the track got wetter.