Pahiatua’s Paul Whibley put the local riders to the sword at the opening round of the Bush Riders’ Motorcycle Club’s cross-country championships at the northern end of the Tararua Ranges on Saturday, perhaps a teaser for the action he has planned for this weekend.

The 2012 double American champion took his Yamaha into the front soon after the shotgun blast signalled the start to the two-hour race on Sunday and he never looked back from there, winning it comfortably ahead of up-and-coming rider Charles Alabaster, of Dannevirke, with Porangahau’s Brad Stoddart finishing third overall.

It came as a surprise to nobody that US No.1 Whibley (Yamaha YZ450F) dominated the race.

The 34-year-old Kiwi international was simply too good for the domestic heroes, many of whom were using the event as a warm-up for Whibley’s own event, the inaugural Yamaha Taikorea 500, set for this Sunday.

Whibley and his wife, Katherine, purchased the Taikorea Motorcycle Park near Himatangi at the start of the year and, with a manager in place to look after things while Whibley was away racing in America, it continued to operate as a training facility for the Manawatu dirt bike community.

This weekend it gets its first big test as a cross-country race venue, the Yamaha Taikorea 500 on Sunday expected to attract the cream of New Zealand’s off-road racers, including three-time former national cross-country champion Adam Reeves, of Palmerston North, and Mokau’s current national cross-country and enduro champion Adrian Smith.

This season’s open class enduro champion Chris Power, of Auckland, and Whakatane motocross ace Darren Capill are also expected to front up at Taikorea.

Whibley said he was keen to put something back into the grass roots at home and would not be racing the Taikorea event himself.

“I will be too busy running the show, so I have no time to race on the day. I would love to, as it would be fun, but I’m really just trying to build something for the future and to give something back to the sport and to the riders.

“This will be the first time I’ve ever run an event. I’ve helped out at events in the past but this will be pretty new for me. It will be a bit of a different challenge.”

The Yamaha Taikorea 500 kicks off at 10am Sunday and will feature four separate races, of varying duration, and offer $500 in combined prizemoney.

“I have planned this event to be a fun and exciting day’s racing. It will have a four-race format, a little different to anything else that’s been done before in New Zealand,” said Whibley.

“The shorter race duration will cater for all skill levels but will still challenge the professional riders. It will also provide an opportunity for plenty of ‘bench racing’ (story-telling) between races.

“The prize money system is designed to spread the wealth around a little, with a bonus if one rider can dominate the day. This will hopefully provide some intense racing right to the final flag.”

The Yamaha Taikorea 500 will comprise two one-hour cross-country races on the ‘long track’, with a $100 prize to the winner of each race.

There will also be two 10-minute cross-country super finals on the ‘short track’, again offering $100 to the winner each time.

A $100 will be paid to any rider who wins all four races.

There will be qualification races for the super finals if needed and he said there will be a ‘fun class’ for those not wanting to race super finals or for the prize money. Riders may enter on the day.

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