Story: Andy McGechan
H
usqvarna rider Dylan Yearbury proved
unstoppable at the Husqvarna Hard X
marathon dirt bike race near Atiamuri
on December 14. It was the first time that
the 25-year-old Cambridge diesel mechanic
had attempted to race the annual cross-
country race, but it didn’t take him long to
settle into a groove and he eventually went
on to comfortably win the gruelling battle.
It was meant to be a four-hour race, but with
Yearbury (Husqvarna FC250) taking on average
only 53 minutes to complete each lap, it meant he
entered the timing zone at the end of his fourth lap
with time still time left on the clock and so he was
sent out to complete a fifth energy-sapping lap.
In the end, he was one of four riders to
complete five laps in the allotted time and
remarkably he crossed the finish line more
than nine minutes ahead of runner-up rider
Tom Buxton (KTM), of Helensville, with another
Husqvarna rider, Napier’s Mackenzie Wigg,
finishing 13 minutes later, to claim third overall.
“The race was not as tough as some I’ve
done,” said Yearbury, “but it was very tiring.
Riders never really got a break and I’m feeling
pretty tired now [even two days later].
“I loved the bike. It’s actually a motocross
bike and so I’m thinking about racing it at the
Whakatane Summercross just after Christmas.”
The Husqvarna Hard X event had originally been
scheduled to run in March, but the fire risk art
that time was too great, so it was postponed until
the weekend and perfect weather conditions
greeted the more than 150 riders entered.
Event organiser Sean Clarke said the course
featured “mostly Bronze level trails, but with a few
Gold and Silver deviations”, which meant there
was something to challenge all levels of rider
ability. Riders registered themselves as either
gold, silver or bronze grade competitors, facing
terrain and obstacles to match their skill levels.
Otaki’s Matt Lauder, Aucklanders Ben Hastie and
James Kerr and Pio Pio riders Danny Blakeman and
Shane Singleton were the stand-outs in the Silver
Grade, with Taupo’s Wil Yeoman, Te Awamutu’s
Rachael Archer and Thames rider Natasha
Cairns the leading riders in the Bronze Grade.
Gold Grade winner Yearbury has impeccable
credentials for this kind of competition.
He was exceptional at the Nut Buster Hard
Enduro, part of the two-day final round of the
New Zealand Extreme Off-Road Championship
series, near Christchurch last month, and he also
won the three-day Husqvarna Hard Adventure
Enduro near Tokoroa last year, so his debut in
the Husqvarna Hard X cross-country race at the
weekend was never going to trouble him unduly.
Yearbury was using this event as part of his
build-up towards returning to race major cross-
country events in the United States next year.
“I had my first taste of racing the Grand National
Cross-country Championships [GNCC] in the US
this year and my best result was finishing fifth
in a GNCC race in the XC2 (250cc) class. I also
finished second at a national enduro event there.”
If Yearbury can hammer some of New
Zealand’s best extreme enduro and cross-
country racers the way he did at the
weekend, there is perhaps no doubting that
he’ll be a contender in the US near year.
Yearbury is supported by Husqvarna NZ, Fox
NZ, Mitas tyres, NV Motorcycles in Morrinsville,
Northern Accessories and XRC (Xtreme Race
Components). The Husqvarna Hard X race
was sponsored by Husqvarna New Zealand,
Forest and Trail Events, Michelin Tyres,
Kiwi Rider magazine and Satco NZ Ltd.
KIWI RIDER 21