Whanganui’s Seth Reardon, leading the NZ
Enduro Champs after four of seven rounds.
REARDON
TAKES OVER
ENDURO
CHAMPIONSHIPS
LEAD
hanganui’s Seth Reardon has leapt to the
top of the standings after four of seven
rounds in this season’s New Zealand Enduro
Championships.
The 21-year-old apprentice engineer had finished
no worse than sixth in the early rounds of the
2019 Yamaha and Mitas Tyres-sponsored series,
but his outright win at the farmland property on
Ruakokoputuna Road, south of Martinborough,
was a breakthrough moment for Reardon, his first
enduro win at senior national championship level,
and it has elevated him to the top of the points
table.
There have been four different winners so far
this season and Reardon will be looking now to
consolidate his advantage at the next round of the
series near Masterton on June 29.
With the points from only six of the seven rounds
to be counted – riders to discard their one worst
result – the race for the championship win outright,
and for the various class titles too, could still
go down to the wire at the double-header final
weekend, rounds six and seven, at Hokitika, in
Westland, in July.
Helensville’s Tom Buxton won round one of the
series near Whangamata in March, Cambridge
rider Dylan Yearbury clinched the win at round
two near Porirua in April and Thames rider Chris
Birch topped the podium at round three near
Tokoroa two weeks later, but it was Reardon
who coped best with the slippery conditions near
Martinborough on Sunday.
Manawatu’s Paul Whibley, a two-time former
cross-country champion in the United States,
finished runner-up on Sunday, with Eketahuna’s
Charlie Richardson claiming the third podium spot.
Reardon won all four of the day’s high-speed
“special tests”, but ended the full day’s racing just
26 seconds ahead of Whibley, with Richardson only
another 47 seconds further back.
“It was a beautiful day, perfect weather
throughout, although the soil was somewhat soft,”
said Motorcycling New Zealand (MNZ) enduro
commissioner Justin Stevenson.
“Everyone seemed to enjoy the course. We had
112 riders enter and not one injury to report.
“The next round at Masterton may be a bit wet too,
but that’s to be expected in winter. Seth (Reardon)
is certainly in the running to take the overall title this
year, but a lot can still happen in the three rounds
that remain.”
2019 YAMAHA NZ ENDURO CHAMPS CALENDAR
ROUND 5 – SATURDAY, JUNE 29 – BIDEFORD, MASTERTON
ROUND 6 – FRIDAY, JULY 19 – HOKITIKA, WESTLAND
ROUND 7 – SATURDAY, JULY 20 – HOKITIKA, WESTLAND