Racing for eight hours with one or two team-mates to share the workload is one thing, but riding solo at a gut-buster event like the inaugural Forestland Eight-Hour Cross-country race is quite another.
This sort of event is a daunting proposition at the best of times, but Taranaki’s Renny Johnston had no qualms in tackling Sunday’s marathon race single-handedly.
What’s more, the Husqvarna rider finished a remarkable 14th overall out of the more than 260 riders entered and easily won the race-within-a-race for “ironman” honours.
Next best of the ironmen class contestants was Hamilton’s Liam Calley (Beta RR300), who finished the race 38th overall, 24 places and also two laps behind ironman class-winner Johnston.
While Calley’s result was impressive too, because just finishing a race such as this is an incredible achievement, the fact that he was so far behind Johnston at the chequered flag truly puts Johnston’s performance in perspective.
This outcome is a testimony to the skills, strength, resilience and determination of Johnston and the reliability of his 2023-model Husqvarna FE350 bike.
Kawakawa Bay’s Ryan Hayward (KTM) co-rode with Oparau’s Hunter Scott at Kawhia on Sunday and between them they managed to finish fifth overall. The 18-year-old Hayward intends to race in the silver grade at the Red Bull Romaniacs in Romania in July. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
Father-of-two Johnston, who owns the Husqvarna motorcycle shop in Inglewood, was an ironman on Sunday in the truest sense of the word.
Of the more than 260 riders entered, Johnston completed more laps than any other individual at the event, 13 of them in fact, and he was on the track for eight hours 19 minutes and 32 seconds before he saw the chequered flag and could finally rest (because he had been sent out again after arriving in the timing zone before the eight hours had elapsed).
Sunday’s race was on the eve of Johnston’s 38th birthday, so his trophy win could perhaps be considered the perfect gift to himself.
“My goal was simply to get a good start and take it from there,” said Johnston afterwards. “I think I was fifth off the start and still okay in seventh position at the end of the first lap. I managed to hold that position for about three hours.
“It was getting tough mentally after four hours (when he’d dropped down to 11th), but I perked up again after seven hours, when I knew I just needed to keep riding steady and bring it home.
Taupo’s Wil Yeoman (Yamaha), who had fellow former national cross-country champion Tommy Watts (Wairoa) as his running mate on Sunday, battled through traffic to claim third overall at the inaugural Forestland Cross-country race near Kawhia. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
“I was continually searching for smooth lines among the deep ruts and slippery mud, but then the track became so cut-up that it was impossible to find any smooth path. I just had to bash ahead and keep going.
“I had been training as much as I could before the event, with lots of time spent just riding the bike, with a little bit of gym work thrown in for good measure, but I don’t think anything can really prepare you for something like this. My shoulders and neck are very sore now.
“It had been a while since I last raced anything as serious as this, but I always like the events that (organiser) Sean Clarke puts on and I was determined to give this a go.”
Meanwhile, outright winners were the two-man pairing of Taupo’s Brad Groombridge and Papamoa’s Cody Cooper, with Oparau brothers James and Cooper Scott combining to finish runners-up.
Each of these two-man combinations completed 15 laps on the rigorous course on Sunday, the racing duties shared between the team-mates.
In addition to Maxima Racing Oils, the event was sponsored by Forbes & Davies, O’Neal apparel, Ogio, Arai helmets, Blur, Muc-Off, Metzeler, Maxi Grip, Husqvarna Motorcycles, Satco Logging Attachments, Forest Trail Events and Kiwi Rider magazine.
© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com
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Oparau’s Cooper Scott (Honda), on the charge at the front early in Sunday’s race. The 15-year-old teamed with his elder brother, reigning national cross-country champion James Scott, and they finished overall runners-up. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
New Plymouth’s Sam Parker (Husqvarna) was co-riding with Cambridge’s national enduro champion Dylan Yearbury and they managed to sneak through and into third position late in Sunday’s race, before slipping back again and forced to eventually accept fourth overall. Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com