Queenstown MX2 (250cc) class racer Scott Columb is a little down but not out after being denied a New Zealand Motocross Championships title, by a slim margin, for the third time.
Defending champion Darryll King carried a one-point lead going into the fourth and final round in Taupo and Sunday went his way and not Columb's.
King won the opening outing while Columb managed only eighth after attempting a jump "that no-one was doing," got it wrong and went down, losing his rhythm for the race's remainder.
Fighting back after "starting poorly" in the second race, Columb surged through the field from 10th to claim second.
The pressure was at boiling point by the third race as, although he was down on points, Columb could still have won with a strong result and misfortune befalling King.
While tussling for the lead, he said King cut him off, forcing him back down the pack and, when another rider crashed in front of him, Columb had nowhere to go but into him - wrecking his front brakes and forcing him to pull out of the race.
Columb still managed to finish runner-up in the championships, with Mount Maunganui's Rhys Carter third.
The "disappointing" feeling was all too familiar to the former international rider after he lost the 2008 title by one point and missed out again the following year to the tune of nine points.
Despite not being able to add motocross glory to his national supercross title success gained earlier this year, he was still carrying on with his training and hoping to find a sponsored ride with a team overseas.
"I don't have any ride but if anyone gets injured or something pops up then I'll be ready."
He was also drawing confidence from the knowledge that despite a prolonged period recovering after a knee injury, he was faster and psychologically fitter than he had been before tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in December 2010.
Former world champion, the Bay of Plenty's Ben Townley won all but one of the series' 12 MX1 races to beat fellow Kiwi international Josh Coppins, of Motueka.
The 2011 MX1 champion Cody Cooper, of Mount Maunganui, was forced to settle for third spot this season.
In the 125cc and under-21 year's dual-title division, Amberley's Micah McGoldrick (16) won both classes.
