If you were to pin-point one guy who’s turned out to be a MX Nationals dark horse this year, you can’t go past New Zealand’s Hamish Harwood.

Despite not winning any MX2 races yet in his rookie campaign, the 19-year-old’s consistency and ability to always finish near the front of the pack sees him just 10 points in arrears of championship leader Luke Clout.

It’s a similar tactic that Harwood used to win the MXD title last year, where he’s happy to continue accumulating truckloads of points without necessarily winning races.

“At end of the day it’s not race wins that win a championship,” the matter-of-fact Harwood states. “I haven’t won a race this year, but I’m only just behind Clout. Race wins would be awesome, but I think with such a stacked MX2 field this year I could win the championship without winning a moto. It sounds silly, but that’s the way it is.”

Born and raised in the small, isolated South Island town of Takaka with an older brother and a younger sister, Harwood jumped on his first bike when he was six. The bug soon bit and he soon became a regular on the New Zealand scene.

Results through juniors were solid as he progressed through the ranks, but it wasn’t until 2011 that he won his first Junior Nationals title in the 14-16 Years 250F class and placed runner-up in the 15-16 Years 125cc field.

The same year Harwood raced the Australian junior titles at Murray Bridge and claimed the 150cc 15 Years championship and finished runner-up in the 250F class. Soon afterward, a family friend approached the Harwoods with an opportunity for Hamish to ride for the Dirt Bike Gym Honda team in Belgium.

“I remember sitting down as a family and making some decisions on where I was going and what I wanted to do with my life,” he says. “I decided to jump at the opportunity; I wanted a change of scenery and it seemed like a great way to jump-start my career.”

Harwood flew by himself to Europe and raced the MX2 class at the 2012 British Motocross Championships, as well as three grand prix races at Matterley Basin, Lierop and Teutschenthal. He placed outside of the top 20 in each GP, although he did finish 10th at the World Junior Motocross Championship – his best result in Europe.

“The whole experience racing overseas was awesome,” Harwood recalls. “It was a huge step up for me as I’d never even raced a senior event in New Zealand. I went straight from the junior scene to the British championships and the GPs.”

Despite getting thrown in the deep end, Harwood believes it was the boost his career needed.

“It definitely did what it was supposed to do,” he admits. “If I’d waited another year until I was 17 I don’t think I would’ve progressed as much, and I learnt a lot of race craft that has helped me in Australia.”

After his European adventure, Harwood set his sights on the Australian MX Nationals’ MXD class, riding a KTM 250 SX for the New Zealand-based CMR Red Bull Motorex KTM team. Despite being fresh off a broken leg and only riding a mate’s 250 two-stroke for 20 minutes before the season opener at Raymond Terrace, the unknown Kiwi ripped to second on the day.

From there, Harwood continued to race with a maturity beyond his years and post consistent results to eventually claim the MXD title. Still, no-one picked the rookie to be a force in the MX2 championship this year, especially after he only finished a disappointing sixth in the New Zealand nationals.

“That was a long way from what I wanted, but I didn’t get good starts and never felt comfortable on the bike,” Harwood muses. “I find it funny because I always race heaps better overseas than I do at home. I’m almost the opposite of Cody Cooper who’s unbeatable here, but overseas he struggles.

“To be honest, if you’d told me after the New Zealand series four months ago that I’d be second in the MX Nationals championship and closing in on the red plate, I wouldn’t have believed you. Now I’m going to work really hard on my starts, early moto speed and a few technique touch-ups over this break, then I want to step it up in the second half of the series. The goal is to get some race wins from here on out.”

While it’s a strategy that worked for him in 2013, Harwood, who has a reputation as one of the most fierce trainers on the paddock, is well aware that the 2014 MX2 landscape has changed dramatically, even from last year.

“I was talking to [Kale] Makeham the other day and he made the comment that the competition is a lot tougher this year. There are more two-strokes, and last year you could recover from a bad start and finish in the top three. This year you really struggle to move forward if you get a shit gate-jump.”

As for the whole two-stroke versus four-stroke hot potato, Harwood takes a diplomatic stance on the issue.

“If you ask a two-stroke rider, they’ll think it’s an even match, but all four-stroke riders think it’s unfair,” he laughs. “For me, if you put a stock two-stroke against a stock four-stroke I’d choose the two-stroke every day. But if you had a factory 250F against a privateer 250 two-stroke, I’d choose the four-stroke; the power is similar but they’re so much easier to ride.

“I find it interesting that if half the field rides two-strokes and one Raceline Suzuki can holeshot the race, the factory team bikes can’t be underpowered. Starts are where the power really shows.”

Looking forward past the 2014 championship, Harwood is eager to step up to the MX1 class next year.

“Cannon Smith (CMR team owner) is keen to see me on a 350 or 450 next year, so depending on what I do there and other opportunities that might pop up, I’ll race New Zealand and Australia in the MX1 class,” he reveals.

“There haven’t been any offers thrown my way yet. I’m under the radar and no-one knows who I am or much about me, but that might change if I continue getting consistent results and take over the championship lead.”

If he continues his current form, Harwood can forget about remaining off the grid. He’s proved he’s a savvy, viable title contender with speed and race-craft in spades.