STORY: Andy McGechan/
bikesportnz.com
2018 NZ Xtreme
Off-Road Championship
MOTO TRIALS ACE
SHOWS HOW IT’S DONE
ike riders were pushed to the brink in
the Akatarawa Forest, halfway between
Lower Hutt and Porirua, on Sunday,
and it was local man Jake Whitaker who
emerged on top.
Motorcycling New Zealand's latest
competition initiative – the inaugural NZ
Xtreme Off-road Championship series –
hit the halfway stage on the Moonshine
Valley course on Sunday September 30, the
competition again living up to its name and
delivering more of the same stresses, strains
and physical hardship that it had at round
one near Whangamata last month.
The 27-year-old Whitaker, already a Kiwi
legend in another motorcycling code – a
record eight-time national moto trials
champion – used some of those same precise
throttle control and bike balancing skills
needed for trials riding to conquer the brutal
Moonshine enduro course.
Wainuiomata man Whitaker (KTM EXC300)
finished the day more than two minutes
ahead of runner-up rider Dylan Yearbury
(Husqvarna FX350) from Cambridge.
"It was a pretty demanding course today,
with only a few short stages where a rider
could rest a bit," said Whitaker. "It was an
extremely physical day of riding, with hill
climbs and creek crossings to keep everyone
on their toes.
“The weather was great and the courser
surprisingly dry, although there were a few
spots in the forest that probably never really
dry out, so we did strike a bit of mud too.”
Hamilton’s Phil Singleton (Husqvarna FE350)
had won the day at the series opener at
Whangamata, but he was forced to settle
for third overall at Moonshine. This was,
however, enough for Singleton to keep his
series lead as the riders now prepare for
round three, in Hawke’s Bay on November
3-4.
MNZ enduro commissioner Justin Stevenson
had said before the start of the series that
the racing would be “a little tougher than a
normal national enduro, but not impossible”
and this was true, with just a handful of riders
unable to complete the nine-lap race.
“It was supposed to be a brutal event. We
don’t want to scare people off, but it was
meant to be tough,” he said. “In saying that,
though, there is quite a big step up from the
Bronze Grade course to what the Gold Grade
riders faced and individuals could choose for
themselves how much of a challenge they
wanted.”
The top three finishers in the Silver Grade
were Lower Hutt’s Ryan Scullion, followed by
Cambridge’s Beau Taylor and Whangarei’s
Wayne Cox.
Best of the Bronze Grade riders was
Whitianga’s James Kerr, with Tauranga’s Matt
Reece and Whitecliffs’ Cody Corson not too
far behind.
The series continues now with round three in
Hawke’s Bay and then round four at Oxford,
near Christchurch.
Only two of the four rounds of the NZ
Xtreme Off-road Championship are to be
counted, with riders to discard their two
worst scores, while double points are offered
for the final round in the South Island.