It is mission accomplished for Kaikohe’s Mitchell Nield this season.

But that won’t stop the Yamaha ace from showing up at the sixth and final round of the KTM-sponsored New Zealand Enduro Championships at Waimiha this weekend with an aim to enhance still further his 2014 off-road campaign.

Nield (Yamaha YZ125) has already wrapped up the under-200cc two-stroke class title as the riders head to Waimiha, near Benneydale, in the King Country, for racing on Saturday.

Supported by Kiwi Rider magazine, Nield has finished 2-1-3-1-2 in the series thus far – with only five of the six rounds to be counted and riders to discard their worst result – meaning Nield is in an unbeatable position, with a tally of 114 points, and so even a non-finish on Saturday will simply become his result to discard.

His nearest rival is Morrinsville’s Simon Lansdaal (Husqvarna CR125), who has scored 3-3-2-3-1 results in the previous rounds, giving him 107 points.

Kiwi international Chris Birch (KTM350XCF) has already won the series outright, and Mokau’s Adrian Smith has taken his Yamaha YZ250 to secure the overall runner-up position, but the battle is still on between Nield and fellow Yamaha rider Chris Power (Yamaha WR450F) to see who can clinch the third podium spot in the ‘outright rankings’ stakes.

That prospect has Nield very interested indeed and the fact that he gives up a huge horsepower advantage to the men ahead of him will not deter the 26-year-old builder.

“I like the venue at Waimiha, it is always interesting and always a challenge,” said Nield. “I love the bike too. The YZ125 is so nimble that it’s great among the trees and it still has plenty of power where I need it.

“It may be a bit damp at Waimiha this weekend but I’m sure I’ll enjoy it anyway. It looks like it will be a Yamaha 2-3-4 finish to the outright rankings this season and just a matter now of working out in what order we all finish.”

Nield has previously won the national enduro title in the under-300cc four-stroke class and the over-200cc two-stroke class, with his under-200cc two-stroke class win this season the second time he’s secured that – making it a total of four national enduro crowns for the man from Kaikohe – but a podium finish in the outright stakes would be icing on the cake.

“I think I’d like to stick with the 125cc bike for a while longer too and contest the under-200cc two-stroke class again next season. I love riding this bike so much.”

Nield heads to Kingdom of Lesotho, a landlocked country completely surrounded by South Africa, for the stand-alone annual Roof of Africa extreme enduro event in December, keen to again finish among the top 10 on the international scene, just as he did when he first raced “The Roof” in 2011.

His last Roof of Africa campaign, in 2012, was ruined when he dislocated his shoulder on day one and, although he “plucked up the courage” to ride the final day, his overall finish was well below his potential.

That sort of courage and tenacity just might be enough for Nield to prevail at Waimiha this weekend too.

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

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