Fourteen months on, his legacy is being kept alive by Z Team Motocross comprising Cooke\u2019s eldest three children Zadyn and Siressa (both aged 11) and 10-year-old Zavier; kids Kane proudly brought up as his own.<\/p>\n
Kane Watson lost his life in a sand dune tragedy at Muriwai Beach. Photo \/ NZ Herald composite<\/p>\n
\u201cZavier said he wanted to go back to racing and he said he wanted to do it for Kane,\u201d Cooke told the Herald. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to keep his memory alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Z Team Motocross\u2019 three intrepid racers will line up at a race event on Sunday near Pukekohe.<\/p>\n
While Kane liked road bikes<\/a>, he didn\u2019t race dirt bikes.<\/p>\n But given the young children\u2019s passion for them, he fully embraced the sport so they could follow their respective riding dreams.<\/p>\n \u201cHe really got into the dirt bike racing with the kids and learned everything he could about fixing their bikes,\u201d Cooke said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe ran pretty much the whole track every single race, helping all the kids. He was definitely the best parent at race day.\u201d<\/p>\n Given how much Kane did to help the kids, Cooke said their passion for dirt bikes vanished after his death.<\/p>\n That included Zavier not touching his bike for more than a year.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were not interested at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Cooke said that changed when family and friends gathered for a memorial at her house on the anniversary of Kane\u2019s death.<\/p>\n It came after one of Kane\u2019s friends did a burnout in the young dad\u2019s memory.<\/p>\n \u201cXavier goes, \u2018Mum, is it all right if I get out my motorbike?\u2019\u201d Cooke said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was no way I could say no. It was just like something changed in him. Now he\u2019s wanting to go back to motocross racing.\u201d<\/p>\n The Z Team Motocross\u2019 Facebook page says the team\u2019s motto is: \u201cA family that rides together, stays together\u201d.<\/p>\n Cooke said the team offers a \u201crider of the day\u201d award at each race meeting.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone gets chosen for different thing; either how they were, their improvement or their manners on the track … all different things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Even non-riding Shayla had won an award earlier this season for looking after Cooke\u2019s younger children on a race day.<\/p>\n Cooke said she was proud of her children for returning to the sport they had so much passion for, and shared so many good times with Kane at, before his death.<\/p>\n But she added after losing someone so dear to her heart so tragically, it also led to some nervous moments.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter Kane dying, I have a new phobia,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI always have a \u2018what if\u2019 something goes wrong, especially with racing.\u201d<\/p>\n Racing was an expensive sport and just how often the team competed \u2013 and how far they were able to travel to compete \u2013 would be dependent on sponsorship.<\/p>\n Race fees for the trio to compete in the same event were between $150-$200.<\/p>\n Other costs included fuel to get to events and for the race bikes, and maintaining safety equipment and their dirt bikes.<\/p>\n As well as chasing potential sponsors, Cooke said the team was also selling made-to-order caps and hoodies; with the hoodies featuring an artist\u2019s impression of Kane sitting on his motorbike.<\/p>\n Cooke said she drew a lot of strength from her seven children.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are brilliant kids,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Cooke gave birth to Zire-Kane Watson<\/a> on January 2; the day after what would have been Kane\u2019s 29th birthday.<\/p>\n The couple\u2019s blended family also features Zadyn, Siressa, Shaylah (all 11), Zavier, 10, Zayne, 7, and Zaria, 2.<\/p>\n Cooke and Kane legally fostered Siressa and Shaylah shortly before the Muriwai Beach tragedy.<\/p>\n Zire Kane was now 10 months old, with his mother describing him as a \u201cvery chill baby\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is absolutely good,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s moving around and just about fully standing by himself now.\u201d<\/p>\n Motorcycling New Zealand media manager Derek Morrison said Z Team Motocross would be warmly welcomed wherever it lined up during the 2026-27 dirt bike racing season<\/a>.<\/p>\n He said Zayden, Siressa and Zavier were at a \u201cperfect\u201d age to start to expand their riding skills around fellow like-minded motocross-racing youngsters.<\/p>\n Morrison \u2013 a former motocross racer himself \u2013 said his advice to the trio would be the same as to any other youngster involved in the sport: \u201cEmbrace the fun side of it\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cJust remember how much you enjoy it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cYou should enjoy every single moment of it. That\u2019s the key to really being able to be super successful and do it for a long time.<\/p>\n \u201cKids want to ride as much as they can. And the more you ride, the more you want to ride.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said motocross was a sport that had provided a positive outlet for many young Kiwi kids doing it tough and battling trauma.<\/p>\n That included himself, when his family lost their family farm in the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash.<\/p>\n Morrison said racing went on to become \u201cmy whole world\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen it help kids through traumatic experiences … including me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lost our family farm … it was kind of quite a dark time in my life and then motocross came along and set me up for the rest of my life, to be honest.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems unusual probably that a sport can do that, but motocross gave me an incredible bunch of mates. We were competing against each other but supporting each other as well at the same time.<\/p>\n \u201cYou learn through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n Anyone interested in finding out more about Z Team Motocross can contact them at: zteam.mx.merch@gmail.com<\/p>\n Zadyn (left), Shaylah, Zire Kane, Zavier, Zayne and Siressa, who is holding Zaria, in their team racing hoodies.<\/p>\n
Z Team Motocross \u2013 racing in honour of Kane Watson \u2013 have been selling made-to-order merchandise to help fundraise. <\/p>\n
Zavier works on his motocross bike ahead of the 2026-27 racing season.<\/p>\n
Zire Kane Watson \u2013 aged 10 months \u2013 chills out in a small dirt-bike tyre. <\/p>\n
Kane Watson – who died in a sand dune tragedy at Muriwai Beach – pictured with his partner Jasmine Cooke while she was pregnant with their first child who was born in 2024. <\/p>\n
Baby Zire-Kane Watson was born on January 2, 2026, the day after what would have been the 29th birthday of his father Kane Watson (inset). Photo \/ NZ Herald composite<\/p>\n
Zavier on his race bike at a recent motocross race meeting. <\/p>\n
Zavier (left) and one of his motocross mates. <\/p>\n
Kane Watson’s legacy and memory will live on during the upcoming motocross season via the Z Team Motocross squad.
\nPhoto \/ NZ Herald composite<\/p>\n