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Overnight rain seemed a poor omen for the fifth round of the Suzuki Northern Enduro Series, held in the Rotoehu forest north of Rotorua. The day, however, was perfect. It is hard to believe that this is the middle of winter when the only possible complaint could have been that it was too warm.
The nights rain meant that there was no dust and generally perfect riding conditions in an event organised by the Cambridge and Rotorua clubs, with current series leader Sean Clark taking a day off racing to oversee proceedings. 55 competitors and over 130 trail riders turned up to experience what must be just about the best days riding yet this year.
The Gibbons family of Te Puke came, saw, and conquered, with Michael (KTM200) winning outright after blitzing every terrain test. Andrew (KTM200) just pipped Chris Rynex (CR250, Te Puke) for the Intermediate win, also taking out the Intermediate 250cc Class. Andrew and Chris were easily the fastest of the Intermediate riders through the terrain tests and neither dropped any trail time during the day.
Dad (KTM 300) let the side down a little with an eighth place in the Veteran class, won by Phil Skinner (KLX300, Putararu). Mark Haimes (KDX200, Taupo) was only 3 seconds behind and was himself closely followed by Mark DeLautour (WR400, Turangi).
It is interesting to see how the different clubs run their events. For a good event the organisers have to play to their strengths and this is what happened at Rotoehu. The receipe was simple: People travel a long way and they want to enjoy themselves. Give them a great track and, as the inevitable challenges present themselves, quietly and compently deal with them.
Everybody involved can take credit from this event, although Sean Clarke deserves special mention. There was more then one occassion when he could have thrown up his hands in frustration but he seemed totally unflappable. For example, after arriving at 5:30 a.m. to add the finishing touches, he was greeted by the local farmer and his wife heading out to round up their cows. They were going to be driving them right back through the middle of his enduro. After it became obvious that the cows were coming whether he liked it or not, he accepted the inevitable and spent his energies making sure that they would cause as little disruption as possible.
As with all great leaders he was virtually inconspicuous during the day but the proof of his ability was a thoroughly enjoyable and stress-free day for everybody.
RESULTS: A big apology to all followers of the Northern series. Hopefully results from all rounds are now up to date, including full results for round 5. Series standings to date are also available. We have taken as much care as possible to get these results correct. If you suspect that there may be a problem please don\'t hesitate to drop me a line.
