The signage pictured at the junction of Herbert Road and Korito near Egmont Village says ‘No Exit’ no matter which way you go and that sounds kind of ominous.
Okay, so we did have winners and losers on the track at this eighth annual Korito Technical Matrix (KTM) in Taranaki yesterday, but mostly it was the habitat of winners with bike enthusiasts, mostly cross-country and enduro fans, a few motocross and trials exponents too, and certainly the large number of spectators showing up to watch the action unfold.
For the first time this year, the KTM event has been elevated to be an integral first phase of the 2025 New Zealand Hard Enduro Nationals, a seven-round competition that will stretch over both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, with the final round set for rugged land near Wellington in November.
This was surely a testimony to the superb job that’s been done over the years by Taranaki enduro legend and event organiser Dougy Herbert and his valiant team of volunteers, with them turning this novel cross-pollination of dirt bike codes into a must-see and must-do event.
Yesterday was the first phase, the Korito Technical Matrix, and today is day two, labelled the Urenui Back Basin Hard Enduro, with points from both Saturday and Sunday added together to give an overall result from one of the national series.
It was a Taranaki 1-2-3 at the KTM on Saturday, with New Plymouth’s Luke Thompson winning the day ahead of local mates Sam Parker and Matt Foster.
But it’s far from settled, however, with racing at Urenui today likely to mix up those results and a little sprinkle of rain in the forecast also sure to upset a few ambitions.
Today’s racing at Urenui will be run more like a No Way In Hell extreme enduro and it will be the first time in 25 years that this venue has been used for such an event, although “some of the older riders do still have fond and/or fearful memories of it”.
In the meantime, here are a few snap shots from the KTM phase yesterday.
© Words and photos by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ
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