AT THE HALFWAY STAGE | Bikesportnz

The 2013 New Zealand Enduro Championships reach the halfway point with racing on remote farmland in the King Country this weekend.

With three wins from three starts so far this season, Auckland’s Chris Birch has been the man to beat and he will be looking to push on and consolidate his position at the top when he shows up at Waimiha, near Benneydale, for the fourth round of eight in the Yamaha-sponsored series on Saturday.

The 32-year-old rider from Glen Eden has been virtually untouchable since he returned this season after a two-year stint of racing and working in South Africa, although he cannot afford to relax with the title still far from secure and some very talented riders breathing down his neck.

Second and third respectively in the outright standings are Whangamata’s Jason Davis and Mokau’s defending national outright champion Adrian Smith. Both these men will be desperate to close the gap on Birch this weekend.

Meanwhile, Birch also leads the battle-within-a-battle for over-300cc four-stroke class honours and in this struggle it is fellow Aucklander Chris Power who is doing the chasing.

Davis and Smith are close together at the top of the over-200cc two-stroke class standings.

Auckland’s Freddie Milford-Cottam has a slight edge over Hokianga’s Damon Nield for bragging rights in the expert under-200cc two-stroke class, while Auckland’s Callan May leads the expert under-300cc four-stroke class from Wellington’s Jake Whitaker. Tokoroa’s Sean Clarke is on top of the veterans’ (over 40 years) division, but he will need to keep a look over his shoulder for his main challenger, Taupo’s Mark De Lautour.

Riders such as Tauranga’s Reece Burgess and Tuakau’s Jonathan Hill will also be worth watching out for on Saturday.

“There are lots of fantastic battles going on,” said Motorcycling New Zealand enduro commissioner Shaun Prescott. “The sport is in great shape and we have had good numbers of riders entering for all the rounds thus far.

“The host clubs have really stepped up too, putting on some very well-organised events.

“This weekend might be a tough one. We are expecting it to be wet, cold, slippery and horrible … but these enduro guys are tough and they love a challenge.”

The series next heads to Maramarua for round five on June 1, followed by Taupo on July 20. It wraps up near Tokoroa on September 21.

What was originally the third round of the series in March, in the Riverhead Forest, near Auckland, had to be abandoned because of fire risk and it had looked likely that the enduro calendar might be reduced to seven rounds.

According to Prescott, this will not be the case and the championship will remain eight rounds with the Riverhead Forest event to be slotted back into the mix, “on a date yet to be determined”.

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