Riding with two fractured ribs, Nick Oliver battled through three days of demanding Central Otago terrain to claim the 2026 New Zealand Trials Championship, adding another title to the Oliver family’s trials history.
- Nick Oliver wins the premier T1 title in Alexandra despite fracturing two ribs a fortnight earlier.
- John Haynes takes second, with defending champion Matt Foster third.
- The victory continues the Oliver family’s long involvement in New Zealand trials.
A hard-earned national title
Nick Oliver has been crowned the 2026 New Zealand Trials Champion following a demanding three-day competition in the rocky hills around Alexandra, Central Otago. And while winning a national title is impressive enough, Oliver’s achievement was all the more remarkable because he was competing with two fractured ribs, sustained just a fortnight before the event.
Anyone who has watched top-level motorcycle trials will appreciate just how physical the sport can be. Riders must maintain extraordinary balance and precision while manoeuvring motorcycles over rocks, steep climbs and seemingly impossible obstacles. Doing that with broken ribs certainly isn’t our idea of a relaxing weekend!
Doing that with broken ribs certainly isn’t our idea of a relaxing weekend!
Oliver nevertheless took the premier T1 title ahead of John Haynes, with defending champion Matt Foster completing the podium. The championship ran from October 24–26, with riders tackling challenging sections across Central Otago.
Trials runs in the Oliver family
For those involved in New Zealand motorcycle trials, the Oliver name will be familiar. Nick’s father, Stephen, is an accomplished trials rider and a former national President-class champion, having won that title in 2009. Nick’s brother Peter is also involved in the sport.
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That family connection gives Nick’s national title added significance and is a reminder of the generations of riders who help sustain New Zealand’s close-knit trials community.
Spectacular sections test the best
Hosted by the Pioneer Motorcycle Club and Southern Trials Group, the championship made the most of Alexandra’s rugged, rocky terrain. The premier T1 competitors tackled the orange-marked sections, the event’s most difficult line.
Event organiser Graeme Hibbs praised the work behind the event and the riders’ extraordinary skills. “We made the sections pretty spectacular, especially for the T1 and T2 riders,” he said. “When you look at the results, it might not show this, with some low scores, but these guys are incredible with how, and what, they can ride.”
March defends his T2 title
Luke March backed up his 2025 T2 championship with another victory, ahead of Patrick Dillon and Finn Pearce. In T3, Carl Robson won from 15-year-old Aksel McArdle and 16-year-old Abe Herbert in a class that attracted 20 entries.
Wayne Furniss won T4 on a 1986 air-cooled Honda TLM, ahead of Paul Jackson on a twin-shock Francis Barnett and Grant Anderson. Shane Ace topped T5, with James Blanchard second and Brent Downes third.
Jackson also won the twin-shock class, with Brent Downes second and Simon Jones third. Furniss claimed the air-cooled category, while Shirley McDonald won the women’s class.
Young talent coming through
Fourteen-year-old Zack Furniss won the junior class, ahead of Aksel McArdle and 12-year-old James Lawton. Hibbs singled out Furniss for tackling the top T1 sections at such a young age, calling him a rider to watch.
It’s encouraging to see that level of talent emerging in a discipline that doesn’t always receive the attention it deserves. Trials demands exceptional balance, throttle control and bike-handling skill — qualities that translate well to just about every kind of motorcycling.
Trials demands exceptional balance, throttle control and bike-handling skill.
A championship to remember
For Nick Oliver, this is surely a championship to remember. Not only did he emerge on top against New Zealand’s best, he did it while overcoming an injury that would have kept plenty of riders at home. And with the Oliver family’s long association with trials, there’s something fitting about another generation standing on the top step of the national podium. Congratulations to Nick and all the riders who tackled a memorable event in Central Otago.
Read more: Toni Bou’s extraordinary run at the top of world trials.
