Pahiatua’s Paul Whibley is gritting his teeth and fighting on, despite barely being able to hold on to his powerful dirt bike.

The 34-year-old former Manawatu forestry worker, affectionately dubbed “The Axeman” on the motorcycling scene, won two major cross-country titles in the US last season, clinching the Grand National Cross-country Championships (GNCC) and the Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) crown as well and his 2013 campaign to defend both titles is proving to be a little tougher than he would like.

Although he is handicapped by a debilitating hand injury, the Yamaha ace finished a strong fifth overall at round four of the GNCC series at Big Buck, in Union, South Carolina, on Sunday.

Unfortunately, that result also means he has slipped one position from fifth to sixth overall after four rounds and the task ahead seems an ominous one.

Whibley (Yamaha YZ450F) gave himself the best possible start on Sunday with one of his now trademark holeshots, but he very quickly had series leaders Charlie Mullins (KTM) and Kailub Russell (KTM) hot on his tail.

Russell soon took over the lead, with Whibley and Mullins scrapping over the No.2 spot.

In a great deal of pain because of the hand injury he suffered two weeks ago, defending US champion Whibley struggled to stay with the leaders and he began to slip back.

American rider Chris Bach (KTM) caught up to Whibley an eventually passed him with just two laps remaining.

Fellow Kiwi Rory Mead (KTM), of Wellington, managed to complete only four of the seven laps before he withdrew from the race, although that was still good enough for him to rate 12th overall in the XC1 Pro class.

The intrepid Kiwis look forward now to round five of the GNCC series, set for The Mammoth Park City, in Kentucky, in two weeks’ time, on May 5, with Whibley glad of the time to fully heal and regain strength.

The tough-as-nails Kiwi legend is no stranger to adversity and, while his Yamaha continues to fire up and shred the soil, the fight continues.

Whibley is a two-time GNCC champion, a five-time OMA (Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV series) champion, a two-time Australian Enduro Champion, a two-time New Zealand Enduro Champion, a two-time New Zealand Cross-country Champion, a former New Zealand GNCC Champion and he has three International Six Days Enduro gold medals to his credit.

Whibley is supported by Monster Energy, Sargent Yamaha in Masterton, MotoSR suspension, BikesportNZ.com, Graphic MX Creation and Yamaha Motor New Zealand.

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

GNCC round 4 outright results:

1st. Charles Mullins
2nd. Kailub Russell
3rd. Thaddeus Duvall
4th. Christopher Bach
5th. Paul Whibley
6th. Andrew Delong
7th. Grant Baylor
8th. Aaron Plessinger
9th. Josh Strang
10th. Jedediah Haines

XC1 class round 4 results:

1st. Charles Mullins
2nd. Kailub Russell
3rd. Thaddeus Duvall
4th. Christopher Bach
5th. Paul Whibley
6th. Josh Strang
7th. Ricky Russell
8th. Takeshi Koikeda
9th. Jordan Ashburn
10th. Adam Bonneur
12th. Rory Mead

XC1 championship standings after round 4:

1. Charles Mullins 115 Pts
2. Kailub Russell 105 Pts
3. Chrtisopher Bach 70 Pts
4. Joshua Strang 63 Pts
5. Thaddeus Duvall 63 Pts
6. Paul Whibley 59 Pts
7. Ricky Russell 53 Pts
8. Jordan Ashburn 51 Pts
9. Takeshi Koikeda 50 Pts
10 Adam Bonneur 44 Pts
11. Rory Mead 38 Pts

XC2 round 4 results:

1st. Andrew Delong
2nd. Grant Baylor
3rd. Aaron Plessinger
4th. Jedediah Haines
5th. Shane Hufford
6th. Jason Thomas
7th. AJ Stewart
8th. Samuel Evans
9th. Zach Nolan
10th. Travis Coy

XC2 championship standings after round 4:

1. Andrew Delong 108 Pts
2. Grant Baylor 87 Pts
3. Jason Thomas 81 Pts
4. Shane Hufford 62 Pts
5. Jedediah Haines 52 Pts
6. AJ Stewart 52 Pts
7. Aaron Plessinger 51 Pts
8. Zach Osborne 42 Pts
9. Travis Coy 38 Pts
10. Mark Heresco JR 31 Pts