New Zealand’s Paul Whibley may now have to settle for just one American title this season.

Whibley (Yamaha YZ450F) is the defending Off-road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) series champion and also the No.1 plate holder in the Grand National Cross Country Championships (GNCC) in the United States but his twin campaigns this season have been wrought with difficulties.

The Pahiatua man comfortably leads the OMA series after the seventh round of 10 in Missouri last month, but his GNCC title defence suffered a setback at the 10th round of 13 in that competition at Unadilla, near New York, at the weekend.

The former Manawatu forestry worker the motorcycling world affectionately calls “The Axeman” finished an unaccustomed ninth overall at Unadilla.

“It was a tough day at the office … that pretty much sums up my race at Unadilla,” said the 32-year-old Yamaha ace.

“I got a good jump of the line but got squeezed in turn one and pushed into the post on the inside of the corner, damaging the bike and folding my thumb back.

“I put the pain aside and set my mind to making some passes. I was making a move on team-mate Barry Hawk when I hit an unseen kicker and hit the deck before I even knew what was going on,” said Whibley.

“I was back up quickly and back on the bike but a few other body parts feeling it now. I kept pushing and reminded myself that it was still early in the race and I’d won races before from worse situations.

“But I soon realised I had some more problems with the clutch adjuster not working now … possibly the crash had bent the hand guard back against the clutch perch and caused the problem.

“I signalled to my pit crew that I had a problem and would need some adjustment. I continued to push and a lap later was back behind Hawk, making a pass on him and pulling in behind Cory Buttrick.

“I was into the pits for gas after passing Michael Lafferty and Buttrick. I got gas but no one was ready to fix the issue with the clutch. Frustrated, I went back out with the situation unresolved. It was becoming more difficult to race, with the clutch gaining too much free play and being unable to use it resulting in several near misses.

“The pain in my thumb began to take over and I realised my ribs were pretty sore from the crash as well, taking full breaths was tough. I was into the pits again for the second fuel stop and finally something was done to fix the clutch problem. I could ride properly again, but I was a fair way back and it was too late in the race to do anything.

“I finished the race very disappointed.”

Whibley remains fourth in the overall series standings, now 14 points behind Buttrick.

The day at Unadilla was won by American Jimmy Jarrett (Kawasaki) and, although Australian Josh Strang (Suzuki) finished only fourth overall at Unadilla, he continues to lead the championship standings.

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