It’s typical of the Kiwi mind-set that the tougher things get, the harder New Zealand sportsmen and women will try to prove themselves.
And this weekend’s No Way In Hell extreme enduro at Oparau could be a perfect example of that.
Event organiser Sean Clarke reports that he now has record entries for the seventh edition of this gruelling hard enduro race.
Yes, more than 160 are willing to put their bodies on the line at the event this coming Saturday, February 1, even after signals have been given that very few could really expect to finish the race.
The Husqvarna-sponsored event will really sort the men from the boys and the women from the girls, with not only some of the nation’s most brilliant and skilled dirt bike exponents pitted against one another, but they’ll be challenged by some of the most brutal terrain in New Zealand and have their fingers firmly crossed that rough weather or just plain bad luck doesn’t also play a part.
The 2025 No Way In Hell (NWIH) extreme enduro will be only the seventh time the event has been run and, quite frankly, that’s quite a surprise because so few riders actually survived the inaugural event in 2010.
In fact, only two out of more than 60 starters did finish that first race 15 years ago and that’s also probably part of the reason why there was something of a hiatus after 2014 and last year’s resurrection of the extreme event had been so eagerly anticipated.
Again being held on steep farmland at 654 Hauturu Road, Oparau, near Kawhia, this year’s NWIH enduro, run by the Forestland Motorcycle Club, will be a little different because its soul-destroying and body-breaking qualities have been toned down just a fraction, just to help increase the number of potential finishers/survivors.
It was a tough day at the office for veteran hard man Tony Parker at the NWIH extreme enduro last year, although he did recover from this (and probably a few other ‘moments’ too) to finish the event an outstanding fifth overall. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
However, that doesn’t mean the race has been softened by any considerable degree and riders are again being warned to brace themselves for a challenge like they have probably never faced before.
The NWIH extreme enduro is a stand-alone event and just surviving it, let alone winning it, is considered such a fantastic achievement.
“There will be some pretty hard sections to test the riders and it’s actually the weather that may play the biggest part in how tough the course becomes,” said Clarke, himself a former international racer.
“The course won’t be impossible, but the riders will certainly have to be on their toes just to finish it and bodies will feel pretty battered.
“The first half of this 70-kilometre race won’t be too demanding, but it gets progressively harder after that. It will really put the riders through the wringer. It is something to be proud of just to finish this race.”
Clarke said the winning rider would probably take about three hours to complete the course … some could still be on the track after eight hours and many won’t finish at all. The “cut-off” time to actually be considered a finisher is five hours.
“We’ve gone from creating an event where nobody could finish, to being extremely hard but achievable. Last year we had 148 riders start the event and only 34 completed the course within five hours.
“We have about 125 riders entered so far, many of them individuals who were probably too young to tackle it back in 2010 and who will be in for a rude shock when they make their respective debuts on Saturday.”
Leading contenders include Kiwi international Chris Birch, from Thames, Inglewood’s Renny Johnston, New Plymouth father and son duo Tony and Sam Parker, Taupo’s 2023 national cross-country champion Wil Yeoman, Papakura’s Ryan Hayward, Amberley’s Archer Pascoe and fellow South Islander Luke Corson, from Whitecliffs, to name just a few.
Birch was winner of the in augural NWIH event in 2010, the only individual to finish unaided, in a time of three hours and 12 minutes. Hokianga’s Mitchell Neild was two hours behind in second place.
Event organiser Clarke is a multi-time former New Zealand champion and a four-time medallist at the “Olympic Games of enduro racing”, the International Six Days Enduro, so he knows first-hand what it takes to win at the ultimate level of the sport.
A prologue race from 9.30am on Saturday morning will determine the start order for the main event, starting at 11am, where riders will be started a minute apart.
The event is jointly sponsored by Husqvarna motorcycles, Forbes and Davies accessory distributors, O’Neal apparel, Maxima oils, Arai helmets, Ogio bags, Blur, Maxi Grip, Kiwi Rider magazine, Muck-Off, Metzeler tyres, USWE and SATCO logging attachments.
For more information, call Sean Clarke on 027 599 6046
© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com
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