KIWI RIDER JANUARY 2018 VOL.2 | Page 16

Titirangi’s Callan May (Yamaha), the biggest threat to Paul Whibley this season in the NZXC competition the Aucklander winning round five at Matata and round six in the Woodhill Forest, but these were the only races he attempted and so he had no chance of winning outright. “Callan May (of Titrangi) was the rider most likely to challenge me for the outright win, but he didn’t show up at Pahiatua,” said Whibley. “I didn’t know what the points situation was before racing on Sunday, but I thought I’d done enough to win with my consistency throughout the series anyway.” In the meantime, Whibley is hoping to entice 16 KIWI RIDER a handful of leading Yamaha factory team riders to come over from the United States in the New Year, to come under his wing and prepare for their own 2018 GNCC campaigns. “It will be exciting for everyone. It will be great for them to have training here in a different environment and for the Kiwis too who might get to race against them while they’re here. “I’ll run a training camp in Rotorua and Taupo, as well as training them here in the Manawatu. “They will be here for three weeks and hopefully they’ll get to race a proper New Zealand event too.”