Expatriate New Zealander Chris Birch has dropped off the top spot at this year’s Romaniacs extreme enduro in Sibiu, Romania, after three days of racing, but he remains in hot contention for the overall.

The Auckland rider, who now calls South Africa his home, had led the event after day two but, after being forced to watch helplessly as his bike tumbled down a vertical cliff and into a tree, he is now in the runner-up position, behind Britain’s Graham Jarvis.

“The morning was a bit tricky, and the worst part today was to see my brave bike flip down a steep hill and crash into a tree,” said Birch.

“Big thumbs-up Lars Enöckl’s crew, Niki Stelzmüller and Erich Brandauer who helped replacing the bent handlebars and Brandauer donating his Husaberg’s rear fender. I was able to gain some of the lost time on Graham after that and made good progress. But I certainly do not mind to be beaten by this great guy (Graham Jarvis)!” True sportsmanship, we say.”

Meanwhile, fellow Kiwi Sean Clarke, of Tokoroa, has risen from 13th to ninth place overall in the same pro’s class, just 15 minutes behind Austrian rider Enöckl, while a third Kiwi, Taupo’s Mark Delautour (pictured above), has slipped one spot to 10th overall in the Expert Single Class.

© Photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Results Race Day 3:

Rank No.    Name                  Nat. Bike Time

1       2       Graham Jarvis     ENG Husaberg 300     5:17:21

2       1       Chris Birch          NZL KTM300     5:26:08

3       12     Xavi Galindo        ESP   Husaberg 300     5:30:10

4       3       Andreas Lettenbichler   DEU Husqvarna 5:33:13

5       4       Paul Bolton          GBR KTM EXC    6:03:45

6       9       Melcior Faja         ESP   KTM 300    6:14:16

7       6       Darryl Curtis       RSA   KTM 300 EXC      6:27:27

8       8       Lars Enoeckl        AUT   KTM 7:30:12

9       14     Sean Clarke        NZL   KTM 300exc        7:45:30

10     17     Ervin-Zsolt Kovacs        ROU GAS GAS    8:30:00

11     7       Emanuel Gyenes          ROU KTM 300 EXC-E   8:34:58

12     16     William Clifton Gillit       RSA   Husaberg 300     8:51:53

13     5       Gerhard Forster         DEU   Husqvarna TE 449        9:00:58

14     11     Martin Volny                CZE   Beta 450 RR        10:02:06

15     13     Mathias Weichselmann DEU Yamaha      10:18:57

16     10     Jesus Zavala               MEX   Husaberg TE 300          10:44:46

DNS 19     Paulo Miranda             POR   Yamaha YZ