SO YOU’RE TOUGH ARE YOU?

So you think you’re a hard man do you? You’ll probably think again when you take a look at what Kiwi motorcycle international Chris Birch packs into his weekend.

The KTM rider from Auckland won the sixth and final round of the New Zealand Enduro Championships at Waimiha, near Benneydale, on Saturday, finishing the series exactly the way he started it back in February.

And this was despite the fact he didn’t have to even show up to Saturday’s event because he’d already wrapped up the KTM-sponsored championships overall and also won his over-300cc four-stroke class with a round to spare after he’d also dominated the day at round five near Kawhia three weeks previously.

But, with several major overseas competitions now on his horizon, the Glen Eden rider decided he’d use Saturday’s national championship finale as part of a build-up.

The 33-year-old Birch won five of the six rounds this season, ending the series ahead of Mokau’s Adrian Smith (Yamaha YZ250) and North Shore rider Chris Power (Yamaha WR450F) in the outright stakes and ahead of Power in the over-300cc four-stroke class rankings.

Birch now prepares himself to contest the Dacer Rally in Canada in June, an 800-kilometre one-day enduro, before he heads to Romania for the big annual Romaniacs Extreme Enduro, in the unforgiving Carpathian Mountains, from July 15-19.

“I’ve been working towards the Romaniacs for the past two months,” said Birch. “It’s not something you can just show up at and ride it. It takes a lot of work beforehand.

“I rode the KTM 300EXC two-stroke on Saturday, instead of the KTM 350XCF four-stroke that I rode at all the other rounds, because that’s the bike I’ll use in Romania.

“Waimiha is always a tough place to ride … mostly because of all the tree roots. And it was quite slippery in places too. I was a bit grumpy with myself at the start of the day on Saturday because I didn’t think I was riding very well at all. But I calmed down and rode intelligently after that and things improved.”

But even late in the afternoon when he was still in danger of being beaten on the day, Birch showed his sporting qualities.

He came across a rider stranded with a broken-down bike, deep in the forest, and he gallantly stopped to offer assistance and loaned that rider some tools before riding on, a gesture that cost him valuable time.

And if the Birch’s rivals harboured any doubts about the KTM man’s prestige and ability, that was soon wiped out by his actions at the end of the day at Waimiha.

Many of the competitors at Waimiha were physically drained, slumped in the pits, steam rising from their bodies following a brutal day of racing, but Birch was nowhere to be seen … he had gone out to ride an extra 40-kilometre loop of the tree-infested course, “just for the exercise”.

“It was getting dark in the end and I had to stop because I ran out of light in the end. But it’s what I need to do because the Romaniacs event is tougher than any New Zealand Enduro Championship race. Day one of Romaniacs could be 10 hours of riding and I would blow out if I didn’t do the work to build up now.”

Meanwhile, Morrinsville’s Simon Lansdaal was something of a revelation on Saturday, taking his Husqvarna CR125 to finish the day second overall, crossing the line just 24 seconds after Birch.

However, although Lansdaal was, obviously, also top finisher in the under-200cc two-stroke class on Saturday, it still wasn’t enough for the 21-year-old fitter/turner to dislodge Kaikohe’s Mitchell Nield (Yamaha YZ125) from the top position in this class.

Nield finished the day seventh overall and clinched the class crown by a meagre four points.

The under-300cc four-stroke class was in the bag already for Wainuiomata’s Jake Whitaker (Husqvarna FE250), but the battle was still very intense to find the class runner-up, with Paekakariki’s Tyler Mills (Yamaha YZ250F) and Feilding’s Freddie Milford-Cottam (KTM 250XCF) close in the points, Mills eventually doing just enough to keep Milford-Cottam at bay.

Mokau’s Smith had already won the over-200cc two-stroke class trophy and had nailed down runner-up spot overall for the championship, but Taupo’s Greg De Lautour (Beta 300) still needed a decent finish on Saturday to hold onto the runner-up position in the class.

De Lautour finished fourth overall at Waimiha, keeping hold of the No.2 spot in the over-200cc two-stroke class and ending the series just ahead of Christchurch’s Jacques Bakkenes (Beta RR250).

New Plymouth’s Dougy Herbert (Husaberg TE300) came from behind to snatch the veterans’ class honours, finishing 11th overall at Waimiha to win the veterans’ championship title ahead of Taupo’s Mark De Lautour (KTM 350EXCF) and the class leader throughout the early part of the season, Tokoroa’s Sean Clarke (KTM 300EXC).

Clarke had won the veterans’ class at each of the first four rounds of the series but opted out of contesting round five because he was organising that event and was a no-show at the Waimiha final.

Meanwhile, KTM riders dominated the Intermediate Grade, winning six of the seven classes.

The Intermediate Grade winners were Helensville’s Tom Buxton (KTM 200XC, under-200cc two-stroke); Ngaruawahia’s Kelvin Babington (KTM 250EXCF, under-300cc four-stroke); Auckland’s Bryce Williams (KTM300EXC, over-200cc two-stroke); Taumarunui’s Cody Davey (Honda CRF450, over-300cc four-stroke); Thames’ Natasha Cairns (KTM200XC, women’s class); Waihi’s Steve Price (KTM250EXC, veterans 40-49 years); Helensville’s John Buxton (KTM300EXC, veterans over 50 years).

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