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The second round of the three-round Yamaha 2008 North Island Enduro Championship was held at Oparau on Saturday 9th Feb.
The day started slightly overcast and it felt like better enduro weather than the scorcher that was the first round. But the first round had had a small shower of rain on the Friday night that had kept the dust under control.
This time there was no such luck and the lack of a breeze meant that the fine dust hung in the air. It was more of a nuisance than a problem although what would have been the 5th (of 6 planned) terrain test was canceled due to safety concerns. (why?)
The loose trail times over the 136 km meant that, although the day was 5h 30m long, riders managed a short breather at most checks.
Only two riders lost time and only two riders DNF'ed. Simon Bicknell (Suzuki RM250) caught a log in his rear wheel and instantly zapped about 5 spokes while Jon Refoy (Yamaha WRF250) had problems with his bike after a river crossing.
The highlight of the day was the final Expert Extreme test, a short blast up a narrow rocky riverbed that wound up the hill just down the road from the start.
This had the potential to be nasty but the fine weather (and a few carefully placed pongas) meant that it wasn't quite as extreme as it could have been. Never-the-less it was fun to ride and exciting to watch. Damon Nield 10th, Sam Speedy 6th, & Chris Power 4th all looked fast as they jumped back and forth across the creek but trials rider Rory Mead showed them all how it was done with an understated but very classy win, just pipping Mitchell Nield by 3 seconds.
Expert Vet Doug Herbert was another 4 seconds back in 3rd showing again that looking fast and going fast can actually be two different things.
But the day belonged to Mitchell Nield whose consistency won him two terrain tests and a 2nd in each of the other three.
Rory took a well-deserved 2nd place, 6 seconds ahead of Australian Geoff Braico whose final extreme test time let him down.
Reece Burgess, Cam Smith, Chris Power, & Damon Nield finished in a tight bunch, all within 18 seconds or less of Braico, with Veteran Dougy Herbert only another 15 seconds back.
The whole day was close racing, with the top two intermediates (Hamish Thomas, followed by Mark Humphries) separated by only one second.
Greg McWhannell (Honda CRF450) - 4 seconds - Allister Whatmough (KTM 250 EXC) ,- 3 seconds - Jonathan Hunt (Honda CRF250)
16 year old Luke Urhle has swapped his KX125 for a KXF250 in an effort to find a little more top-end speed but is still getting used to the four-stroke. He is a tidy rider and I have no doubt that he'll soon get his speed back.
James Fowlie broke a chain in TT 3 and the time spent getting this repaired put paid to any chance of beating Brett Graham in the Int 50+ class.
After 2 days of riding Mitchell Nield (Husqvarna WR250 47 pts) holds a slight lead over Geoff Braico (KTM 450 EXC) 45 pts, with Rory Mead (KTM 250 EXC) 42 pts still very much in the hunt.
The Intermediates are even closer: Hamish Thomas (Suzuki RMZ250) 45 pts from Mark Humphries (Honda CRF250) 44 pts, Allister Whatmough (KTM 250 EXC) 43pts.
