GROOMBRIDGE
GROOMBRIDGE
TAYLOR
“
“It’s been a lot of hard
work to get here. I’ve been
riding the bike every week
and training after work, but
it’s all been about being
consistent” ~ Cairns
Cairns (KTM 150XC) knew that if she could
maintain her momentum throughout the
double-header Santoft/Martinborough
weekend, then she was on target to win
the grade and become the first female in
New Zealand history to claim an enduro
title in a grade that is not gender-specific.
She finished with a 2-3-2-2-3 score-card for
the five rounds this season and eventually
topped the A Grade ahead of Masterton’s
Sam Callaghan and Putaruru’s Phil Skinner,
in the process also claiming the Top Trail
28 KIWI RIDER
ARCHER
Rider trophy for winning the separate battle-
within-the-battle for women’s class honours.
“It has been a number of times now that
I’ve finished runner-up in the intermediate
grade, but I’ve never won it before,” said
Cairns, a sales assistant at a building
company.
“It’s been a lot of hard work to get here. I’ve
been riding the bike every week and training
after work, but it’s all been about being
consistent this year.”
“I fell off and drowned my bike in a river at
Martinborough and I thought it was all over
for me. But I ended up not losing any time,
[fellow competitor] Jeff Van Hout stopped
and helped me out. I’m grateful for that.”
In the Top Trail Rider class battles within
the A Grade, Sam Callaghan won the
under-300cc and under-200cc two-stroke
class; Havelock North’s Tom Hislop won
the over-300cc and over-200cc two-stroke
class; Phil Skinner won the Veterans 2 (50-
54 years’) class; Auckland’s Jeff Van Hout
won the Veterans 3 (over-55 years’) class
and Masterton’s George Callaghan won the
Veterans 4 (40-49 years’) class.