Pahiatua man Paul “The Axeman” Whibley is a sharp as they come.

The Kawasaki rider pocketed another valuable win in the United States at the weekend, this time at round four of the Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) nationals series in Michigan.

This extended Whibley’s lead in the series and kept the 2008 OMA champion’s title defence well on target.

The former Manawatu forestry worker they affectionately call “The Axeman” snatched the lead at the start but he had his Kawasaki team-mate, Jimmy Jarrett, right on his tail.

“About midway through the opening lap, I made a small mistake in a tight section and clipped a tree, luckily at slow speed. The front end of the bike tucked under in the loose sand. At this speed nothing was damaged but the lead was lost.

“I was back on the bike quickly and into the race before I lost second place. A mile or so later Jimmy dropped it too, handing the lead back to me.  I led the rest of the lap but went down again in a slow corner when I hit an exposed rock just before we got to the scoring tent.

“Jimmy took the lead and ran with it, not making any more mistakes and holding me at bay. I was searching for a way around but this was difficult on such a tight track. I managed to get beside Jimmy several times but just couldn’t make a pass stick.

“After a lap of passing attempts, Jimmy let me by. After the race he said he was struggling with stomach cramps and couldn’t hold me up anymore, so decided to let me go. Half a lap later, I was left to complete the race alone at the front as Jimmy crashed in a rough section of the track.”

American Scotty Watkins made it a 1-2 for the JG Offroad, GEICO, Monster Energy Kawasaki Team, bringing his KX250F home in second place.

This weekend Whibley switches his focus back to the prestigious Grand National Cross-Country Championships (GNCC) series.

Whibley produced another stunning ride at the eighth round of 13 in the GNCC in Millfield, Ohio, just over two weeks ago to go storming back to the top of the championship standings.

It’s a lead he has every intention of preserving at round nine in West Virginia on Sunday.

The Kiwi ace has plans to put an end to the season-long see-saw battle between him and his main rival — Australian rider Josh Strang (Suzuki) — and cement himself solidly at the top with another strong showing on Sunday.

From being back in third place and six points behind Strang after a difficult time at round seven in Pennsylvania last month — when he punctured a hole in his bike’s radiator, lost the race lead and ended up finishing seventh — Whibley now finds himself back in the lead and three points clear of Strang.

“It was pretty cool to win at Ohio,” said Whibley.

“It has been a tough year. I’ve had a few problems this year with some bad luck so this was a good race. I feel pretty good about taking the win. It’s good to be back on the top of the GNCC series again.”

Whibley was named New Zealand’s Off-road Rider of the Year at a black-tie function in Auckland late last year and, following this recent success, he could be on target to nail down that honour again this season.

Whibley won the OMA series and finished runner-up to Isle of Man rider David Knight in the GNCC series last year.

OMA series points standings:

1. Paul Whibley (Kawasaki) 120 points (maximum);

2. Jimmy Jarrett (Kawasaki) 90;

3. Scott Watkins (Kawasaki) 70;

4. Adam Bonneur (Yamaha) 58;

5. Jeff Melik (Yamaha) 49.

GNCC series points standings:

1.Paul Whibley (189 points/3 wins),

2. Josh Strang (186/4 wins),

3. Charles Mullins (179/1 win),

4. Jim Jarrett (144),

5. Barry Hawk (119),

6. Nathan Kanney (118),

7. Kurt Casselli (110),

8.Glenn Kearney (83),

9. Jesse Robinson (78),

10. Rainey Gainey (75).

Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com