This season’s national enduro championships are going down to the wire.

The five-round series comes to a climax in forestry near Taupo on Saturday with any of half a dozen riders each capable of stealing off with the main prize.

Mokau’s Adrian Smith is the hot favourite to win the Yamaha New Zealand Enduro Championships outright but, as always with this most physically demanding of sports, nothing is assured.

A flat tyre, a blown engine, a crash, fatigue or a navigating error and all of Smith’s hard work to date will be for naught.

“It’s certainly going to be a big weekend for me,” said Smith.

“I just hope things go to plan. I had problems at the Tarawera 100 endurance race (just over a week ago) where I blew the clutch on my 250cc bike trying to get past a 450cc rider on the fast course.

“Palmerston North’s Adam Reeves (Yamaha) and Auckland’s Mike Skinner (KTM) are close enough to take the outright championship win away from me and 2011 national enduro champion Rory Mead (Yamaha, of Wellington) is back home from the United States to race at this final round. Rory could throw a spanner in the works too.

“Anything could still happen. I just need to focus on doing my job. If I ride smart, it (the title) should come to me.”

Auckland’s Chris Power (Honda), Opotiki’s John O’Dea (Husqvarna), Hokianga’s Mitchell Nield (Gas Gas), Whangamata’s 2010 national champion Jason Davis (KTM), Auckland’s Callan May (Yamaha) and Tokoroa’s Sean Clarke (Yamaha) are mathematically all capable of ruining Smith’s big day.

However, in addition to outright honours, at stake there are the bragging rights for individual class titles and these are also very wide open.

All rounds are counted in the fight for outright glory but, in the battle for class honours, points from a rider’s worst round are to be discarded.

This means Skinner, Reeves, Clarke, Auckland’s Freddie Milford-Cottam (KTM) and Auckland’s Jonathan Hill (KTM), for example, are all in line for class honours, although each of them can take nothing for granted with rivals close in every case.

Saturday’s race venue is located about 25 minutes’ drive south-east from Taupo at Wainui Forest, Taharua Road, State Highway 5, on the Taupo to Napier Road.

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