It may be a long way from Wellington to Auckland, but Chris Power and his Yamaha WR450F were up for that journey at the weekend.

The 32-year-old former New Zealand over-300cc four-stroke class enduro champion used the same bike to race in two separate national championship events over the weekend, the two high-profile outings putting slightly different strains on both man and machine, and they came through both with flying colours.

The North Shore man raced his Yamaha WR450F to third overall at the second round of six in this season’s New Zealand Enduro Championships near Porirua on Saturday and then, his bike still caked in mud from that excursion, he drove through the night to reach Pukekohe to race at the third round of four in the year’s New Zealand Motocross Championships the following day.

He won the day in the MX3 class on Sunday, moving up from ninth to fourth overall in the series, with just the fourth and final round left to come, at Taupo in less than two weeks’ time.

That he should feature in a podium position on the enduro scene probably comes as no surprise at all – the bike is an enduro bike and he is a specialist enduro rider with plenty of international experience – but his performance at the motocross was truly remarkable.

Power finished 2-1-1 at Pukekohe on Sunday, outperforming many riders on full-blown motocross, one of those being fellow Yamaha rider Darren Capill, the Whakatane man who raced his YZ450F to overall runner-up spot in the class on Sunday.

Capill also moved up the series rankings with his 1-5-2 results on Sunday, improving from seventh overall after round two to now sit in fifth position overall.

What is also remarkable is that neither Power nor Capill were able to contest the series opener near Timaru in February, so, to be in contention for an outright podium finish with only two-thirds of the championship to their credit, speaks volumes for the strength and character of both these men and their machines.

To emphasise or perhaps underline his performance on Sunday, Power would further entertain the crowd by sounding off the Yamaha’s horn as he flew off the many jumps on the steep Pukekohe circuit.

Power is currently just six points behind the rider who is ranked third in the MX3 class, Napier’s Rhys Wheatley (Honda CRF250), and another solid performance from Power at Taupo could see him earn one of the three podium steps when the series wraps up.

Matamata’s Ben Lightfoot (Honda CRF250) leads the MX3 class after three rounds and Mangakino’s Jamie Lamont (KTM SXF 250) is in the runner-up position, but just 21 points cover the top five riders and the final round at Taupo is sure to be a fierce battle.

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

Find BikesportNZ.com on Facebook HERE