HOMECOMING WITH STYLE

It was the perfect homecoming for Aucklander Chris Birch at the weekend as he immediately got back into his winning ways on the national enduro racing scene.

The 32-year-old had only recently arrived back in the country after he and his wife Monica had spent a two-year stint in South Africa, Chris continuing to race international and domestic South African events while abroad.

The soon-to-be first-time father, with the couple’s baby daughter due to be born any day now, was able to push aside the distraction of that momentous occasion to concentrate on the task at hand as he raced to outright victory at the opening round of eight in this season’s Yamaha New Zealand Enduro Championships at Oparau, near Kawhia, on Saturday.

The KTM ace eventually won four of the day’s six timed ‘special tests’ to edge out defending national enduro and cross-country champion Adrian Smith (Yamaha), of Mokau, by two minutes overall at the end of a brutal day of racing on the steep and unforgiving, dusty farmland circuit.

That also gave Birch (KTM 350 XCF) the top spot in the over-300cc four-stroke class, while Smith’s performance saw him finish top of the under-300cc two-stroke class.

Other expert grade class winners were Auckland’s Freddie Milford-Cottam (KTM, under-200cc two-stroke class); Tuakau’s Jonathan Hill (KTM, under-300cc four-stroke class); Tokoroa’s Sean Clarke (KTM, veterans’, over-40 years’ class).

“I have not raced a New Zealand enduro in a number of years and had forgotten how much I like them,” said Birch afterwards. “It was a great day.”

Intermediate, women’s and junior grade class winners were Mokau’s Aaron Jones (Yamaha, under-200cc two-stroke); Te Kuiti’s Adam Benefield (Honda, over-200cc two-stroke); Ngaruawahia’s Kelvin Babington (KTM, under-0300cc four-stroke); Cambridge’s Dylan Yearbury (KTM, over-300cc four-stroke); Hamilton’s Greg McWhannell (KTM, veterans’ 40-49 years); Te Kauwhata’s Lewis Speedy (KTM, veterans’ over-50 years); Waipukurau’s Hazel Rushworth (KTM, women’s class); Oparau’s James Scott (Kawasaki, junior 12-14 years); Helensville’s Tom Buxton (KTM, junior 15-16 years).

Event organiser Sean Clarke, of Tokoroa, said he was pleasantly surprised by the high number of entries at Oparau.

“It shows the sport is in great shape. It was a good, challenging ride for all the different grades of competitors … if a few people had followed the arrows properly, it would have been perfect,” he laughed, referring to the several competitors who had missed arrows in the dust and headed down the wrong pathways and lost valuable time by then having to back-track.

The championship series continues with round two at Whangamata on February 23 and wraps up near Tokoroa on September 21.