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Pic: Dene P (Kiwi Rider Magazine)
Former National Enduro Champion, Chris Birch (KTM) took the third round of the 2006 Suzuki New Zealand Enduro Championship at Waimiha Saturday 25 February.
Birch took victory despite an altercation with a tree that saw him finish the fourth terrain test very out of shape.
The incident didn’t cost him any time and at the close of riding Birch had a lead of 37 seconds over Suzuki’s Sean Clarke on the RM250.
Third out right went to Kiwi Rider’s Dene Humphrey on his Yamaha YZ125. The result a testament to Humphrey’s skill as the track was hard work on a 125.
Fourth went to Karl Power on the 450 Husaberg, and fifth to Cam Smith on the Suzuki RM-Z450.
Track designer Gary Powell said the ride was, “the softest enduro track I have ever marked out.” However, the course turned out to be very physically demanding, with almost all riders exhausted at the end of the five loops or 160km.
Still, the conditions themselves were near perfect with a dry loamy track, although the many exposed roots were still treacherous.
In the Open two-stroke class, with Birch taking the win and Clarke in second, Michael Phillips grabbed third. Birch holds a 17 point advantage over the RM250 mounted Kevin Archer, who finished sixth at this round. Kawasaki’s Michael Phillips is third. Clarke with his second at Waimiha is fourth and with four rounds still to come loads can happen.
In the 0-200 two-strokes, the clear winner was Dene Humphrey. Humphrey showed a clear pair of heels to Dhugal McLaren in second. Third went to young Damon Neild on the 125 Husky. Humphrey sits five points ahead of Jason Davis and 11 ahead of Dhugal McLaren in third.
In the Open four-strokes, Karl Power dominated Cam Smith. Power said, “I started of with plenty of crashes with not much experience in the very tight trees on the Husaberg.” Still with 14 seconds in hand Power forced Cam Smith to settle for second. Third went to the 450 KTM of Rob Howe. In the points, Power leads Smith by eight. Third goes to Chris Power a further 12 points behind.
In the 0-300 four-strokes, Mark Pollard fronted and proved that despite doing less riding is still quick by finishing 38 seconds in front of Phil Singleton. Nathan Vassella took third. Mitchell Neild holds the top spot in points ahead of Vassella and Kelly Patterson is third.
In the Expert 35+ Vets, Dougy Herbert held the upper hand over Ross Bird. Third went to the now two-stroke mounted Phil Skinner. So far Skinner holds the points advantage over Herbert. However only five of seven rounds count to the final points, so aging the next four rounds could make for an interesting finish. Third at present is Mark De Lautour.
Ending the day was a demonstration from Sean Clarke about just how much can be achieved during an ISDE 15 minute work period. Other important information like what can be done by helpers was also covered.
The rules are being tightened at each round to bring them closer to FIM standard to educate riders to the reality of racing international events.
