HAVE POWER, MAY WIN | Bikesportnz

It’s true that you may win if you have the power to do so.

And, if you’ll excuse a little fun with words, that’s exactly what happened when Auckland friends Chris Power and Callan May teamed up to win the big annual Castrol Six-Hour dirt bike marathon at Matata, near Whakatane, on Saturday.

The two men shared the riding duties on Power’s Yamaha WR450F, completing 11 laps in a shade over six hours, one of only four teams to do so, with all the other pairings managing just 10 laps or fewer on the gruelling course.

But it was far from easy, with the Power/May combination finishing the marathon race just a fraction over 40 seconds ahead of the runners-up, the Rotorua/Auckland pairing of Cam Negus and Sam Greenslade (Husqvarna CR125).

“It was very close racing indeed,” Power confirmed. “We could see the other team all the way through the race and it was very tight.

“I grabbed the holeshot but, about halfway into the race, at the three-hour mark, we stopped to replace the air filter and the Negus/Greenslade team took the lead from us.

“But then, with two hours to go, they stopped for a filter change and we took over the lead again. It was a bit of a dash to the finish.”

Third overall was the Rotorua pairing of Cameron and Callum Birch (Honda CRF250), while Papakura’s Phillip Cheater (KTM 300 EXC) rode solo to collect the “ironman” prize, completing 10 laps and finishing 20th overall in the process.

The 31-year-old Power is no stranger to winning dirt bike endurance races, having twice pocketed wins in the 24-hour race in Australia in recent years, as well as being a four-time former winner of this Castrol Six-Hour event in New Zealand. He teamed with Taupo’s Cam Dillon to win the corresponding event last year.

“Callan (May) went really well on Saturday. He’s not usually a big bike rider but he adapted really well,” said Power.

Both Power and May now prepare to tackle the upcoming rounds of the Yamaha New Zealand Enduro Championships and this time they won’t be there as team-mates, but as rivals, albeit in separate bike classes.

In the enduro nationals, Power is currently running second overall in the over-300cc four-stroke class and May (Kiwi Rider BikesportNZ.com Yamaha YZ250F) is winning the under-300cc four-stroke class.

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