As predicted, racing went right down to the wire at the fourth and final round of the popular Dirt Guide Cross-Country Championships near Atiamuri on Saturday.

Series organiser Sean Clarke had a problem on his hands when heavy rain flooded much of the circuit at the weekend, but, in typical Kiwi can-do spirit, the racing went ahead, albeit the terrain a little tougher to conquer than usual.

“The junior race was cut back by one hour but the seniors still raced the whole thing,” said Clarke.

“It was very muddy and a bit of a grovel though.”

He said it had been a really close battle at the front between Auckland’s Karl Power (KTM) and Whitby’s Rory Mead (Yamaha) until Mead was forced to pull out late in the day, allowing Power to race unopposed to victory.

However, a solid runner-up finish was enough to give the series win to Tauranga’s Reece Burgess (KTM). With all four rounds counting towards the crown and Power absent from round two, the best the Aucklander could achieve was overall runner-up and fourth overall in the expert under-300cc four-stroke class.

Burgess not only won the senior grade overall but he also won the expert over-300cc four-stroke class, ahead of Auckland cross-country ace Steven Croad (Husaberg).

Auckland youngster Callan May (Yamaha) won the expert under-200cc two-stroke class, with Kane Stow (Yamaha) taking top honours in the expert under-300cc four-stroke class, while Okato’s Sheldon Hill (KTM) won the expert over-200cc two-stroke class.

The battle for intermediate under-200cc honours was also a close one with nothing to separate 16-year-old Putaruru rider Kian Scherer (Suzuki) from experienced Tokoroa rider Steven Andrews (Yamaha) at the finish. It required a count-back to settle the class win in Scherer’s favour.

Clarke said there had been an incredible level of interest shown in his fledgling series — now with a second season completed — with more than 130 riders accepting the challenge to race at each of the early three rounds and more than 100 still turning up to brave the tough, treacherous conditions at Saturday’s final.

Jointly sponsored by Dirt Guide, Yamaha and Kiwi Rider magazine, this year’s series has used some of the same terrain that was raced over by the word’s best when the region hosted the International Six Days Enduro in 2006.

“But that didn’t seem to have discouraged anyone from giving it a go,” said Clarke.

Jonathan Hill (KTM) won the junior grade race, run earlier in the day, finishing just ahead of Morrinsville’s Nathan Tesselaar (Honda) and Mamaku’s Nik Crawford (Kawasaki).

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