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MARCH 11, 2007: A pattern is forming in this season’s New Zealand Enduro Championships series and it all revolves around four men.
Auckland’s Karl Power (22), Hokianga’s Mitchell Nield (16), Whitby’s Rory Mead (20) and Tokoroa’s Sean Clarke (39) revealed themselves as the men to beat this season when the dust cleared following the second of six rounds in the series, in Kapiti on Saturday.
Power and Mead, in particular, will take some beating as they each recorded their second straight wins in the Yamaha-sponsored series.
Power (Husaberg FE450) won outright at the steep, dry and rocky course, just off the Haywards Hill Road on Saturday, and is now six points clear of Waverley’s Wayne Neilson (Yamaha WRF450) in the expert over-300cc four-stroke class.
“The first special test today was a bummer,” said Power (22), who works as a motorcycle mechanic. “I crashed but managed to keep on going. I crashed again later on. I didn’t hurt myself but I lost a lot of time lying on the ground.”
The 20-year-old Mead, who finished the day outright runner-up, despite the fact he was on the small KTM 200EXC machine, has leapt to a massive 28-point lead over Hokianga’s Damon Nield (Husqvarna WR125) in the expert under-200cc two-stroke category.
Mead was lucky to win after losing his way briefly.
“I got lost when I missed an arrow in the trees,” said the Kapiti Coast builder. “But I won one of the special tests and gained me a lot of time on the lead.”
In the expert over-200c two-stroke class, Damon’s Nield’s elder brother Mitchell (Husqvarna WR250) finished runner-up at the series opener near Dargaville last month but surged to the top of the class by heading the division at Kapiti on Saturday. He is now leading the class by seven points from Palmerston North’s Steven Bird (Yamaha YZ250).
Round one winner in this class at Dargaville was Auckland’s Chris Birch but he was a non-starter on Saturday, instead celebrating his own wedding. Riders are to count points from only five of the six rounds, and the Kapiti event will obviously be Birch’s sacrifice result.
Enduro veteran Clarke (KTM 250 EXC) finished runner-up in the expert under-300cc four-stroke class at Dargaville but there was no stopping him at Kapiti and his 2-1 results thus far have moved him two points clear of Awakino’s Adrian Smith (Honda CRF250) at the top of this division.
The series is sponsored by Yamaha, Kiwi Rider magazine, Acerbis, HJC Helmets, Mitas and supported by Motorcycling New Zealand.
The series is coordinated by Auckland’s Shaun Stanbridge, phone 09-479-1490.
LEADING standings after two rounds of the Yamaha New Zealand Enduro Championships:
