T he Husqvarna Hard Adventure Enduro , staged each Labour Weekend in forestry land near Tokoroa , is loosely modelled on the notorious Red Bull Romaniacs international hard enduro that is held each year in Romania . So when a former winner of that iconic European challenge shows up to race here in New Zealand , he ’ s surely got to rate as a strong favourite to win the coveted Gold Grade trophy . Thames man Chris Birch – a multi-time national enduro champion and renowned international star , the Romaniacs winner in 2010 and defending Husqvarna Hard Adventure Enduro champion – turned up with his Red Bull KTM 300EXC bike in Tokoroa for Friday evening ’ s prologue event and instantly set the tone for the weekend , winning the crowd-pleasing 10-rider sprint over massive rocks , logs , skip bins and shipping containers .
Birch led a KTM 1-2-3 to the finish of that Friday prelude to two days of gruelling enduro action in the forest on the Saturday and Sunday , Wainuiomata ’ s Jake Whitaker ( KTM 300EXC ) and Helensville ’ s Tom Buxton ( KTM 300EXC ) forced to play follow-the-leader in this Gold Grade shoot-out . Cambridge builder Dylan Yearbury ( Husqvarna TE300 ) stepped up to challenge Birch on the Saturday and Sunday , but even this two-time former winner of the event could not peg back a rampant Birch , finishing more than 12 minutes behind Birch at the event ’ s conclusion and settling for the runner-up spot overall . Whitaker , Buxton and New Plymouth ’ s Tony Parker ( KTM 300EXC ) rounded out the top five overall for the weekend . “ The prologue sprint race was pretty close and I think Jake Whitaker ’ s better than me on that
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