REARDON
F
our different bike brands featured at
the top this year too – KTM, Husqvarna,
Yamaha and Sherco – and just one rider
won more than one event, Christchurch’s
Hamish Macdonald, with two victories.
But, in the end, just one rider could win
when it really mattered – to become the
outright champion of the premier AA Grade
(formerly labelled the Expert Grade) – and
that person was Whanganui’s Seth Reardon.
Reardon quickly became the favourite to
snatch the main title in this season’s Yamaha
and Mitas Tyres-sponsored enduro nationals,
consistent appearances and solid riding
throughout the season giving him the edge
over some of the other top riders who did
not mount a complete campaign.
Only nine riders in the AA Grade showed
up at every round and there were only five
individuals in the A Grade (formerly labelled
the Intermediate Grade) who raced at all
seven rounds.
But there’s no taking anything away
from Reardon and it was certainly quite a
remarkable season for the rising star.
The 21-year-old finished overall runner-up in
the four-round New Zealand Cross-country
Champs, which wrapped up near Taupo in
May, then took the same Yamaha YZ250FX
bike – modified simply with the addition of
a headlight, as dictated by the competition
rules – to secure the outright win in the
enduro nationals.
He won the enduro title with a round to
spare, wrapping it up after day one of the
two-day final weekend; the last two rounds
of the series that were held near Hokitika on
Friday and Saturday, July 19 and 20.
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KIWI RIDER 29