A FRESH CHALLENGE | Bikesportnz

Cross-country dirt bike marathons such as the fabled Tarawera 100 require speed, courage and stamina in equal doses.

The 100-mile (160-kilometre) race distance from which the event draws its name is typically a test of doggedness and determination as much as it is a battle of pace and power, and the riders know they will be pushed to the extreme when a shotgun blast signals the start to this iconic race near Kawerau on July 13.

One man who should feature near the front of this year’s Honda Tarawera 100 is Tauranga’s Ben Townley, even though he’ll actually be a first-timer at the event.

Mount Maunganui’s Cody Cooper became a four-time winner when he won there last year, leading home Hamilton’s Darryll King, Mount Maunganui’s Rhys Carter and Whakatane Honda hero Mitch Rees.

Overseas duties mean that both Cooper and Carter cannot race the Tarawera 100 this season and Rees is injured, while, for the first time in over a decade, Townley is free of international commitments. Townley is also 100 percent fit.

The Tarawera 100 has typically clashed with Townley’s international responsibilities but, since he announced his retirement from fulltime professional motocross earlier this year, he is now free to make his much-anticipated first appearance at this iconic cross-country event.

Townley is no stranger to top level motocross, having won the 2004 MX2 world championships and the New Zealand MX1 championships in 2012, but, as a Tarawera 100 novice, he’s making no bold predictions.

“I’ve done a bit of cross-country racing over the years but I’ve never been able to race the Tarawera 100 because I’ve been overseas at that time. This will be my first crack at it and I’m really looking forward to it,” said Townley.

“I know it’s going to be pretty gruelling, so I’ve been prompted to get off the couch and do a bit of training,” laughed the father-of-two.

“It’s one of the toughest races around but I really just want to have some fun and I don’t have any real expectations.

“I should be fit enough because I’m also racing a desert race in Australia the weekend before the Tarawera 100. It’s the same type of event so that will be great preparation.”

Organisers report that the venue will be the same as last season, on bush and farmland near Te Teko, but 30 percent of it will be on freshly-cut track and many sections have also been bulldozed to create a very new course.

The event typically attracts a wide cross-section of riders from various dirt bike codes, with leading enduro riders such as national champion Chris Birch (KTM), while fellow Aucklanders Chris Power (Yamaha) and Freddie Milford-Cottam (KTM) and Tauranga’s Reece Burgess (KTM) are also likely to be contenders.

They will hope to match leading cross-country exponents such as national champion Adrian Smith (Yamaha), of Mokau, Palmerston North’s Adam Reeves (Yamaha) and Te Awamutu’s Mark Penny (Suzuki) and motocross heroes such as Peter Broxholme (Honda), Cambridge’s Damien King (Honda) and Palmerston North’s Tom Hughes (KTM) are also among the favourites.

Comments are closed.