Wainuiomata ’ s Jake Whitaker (# 64 , above and previous page ), outright winner of the 2024 No Way In Hell Extreme Enduro at Oparau , finished the race four minutes ahead of the second-placed rider
Very few who started this year ’ s No Way In Hell extreme enduro actually made it to the finish line , and that was probably what organiser Sean Clarke had planned all along . Only 34 of the 148 riders to start the 2024 edition of the No Way In Hell ( NWIH ) extreme enduro on April 6 near Kawhia made it to the final hurdle , an ideal foretaste of what Kiwi hopefuls may expect – and perhaps a reality check too – if they were ever to consider tackling the Romaniacs extreme enduro in Europe later in the year .
FALLING AT THE FIRST HURDLE So tough was this year ’ s edition of the Husqvarna-sponsored NWIH event that many of the competitors didn ’ t even make it over the first hurdle , unable to reach the 2.5-hour mark in the required time and , for failing to hit the cut-off , they were promptly withdrawn from the gruelling race . Several more culls further reduced the field at different stages later in the day and , while just 23 percent of the entrants did reach that final treacherous hill climb by mid-afternoon , this was a huge increase over the number of “ survivors ” recorded in previous years . Perhaps this is a testimony to the increased general skill level now being achieved by New Zealand ’ s elite dirt bike racers and it possibly also proves that motorcycle engineering and technology have stepped up to a new high level .
BATTLE OF ATTRITION It ’ s worth remembering that only two of the more than 60 starters in the inaugural NWIH event in 2010 survived until the end of that race . It was again a battle of attrition this year . By comparison , it was a relatively high number of riders who did manage to reach the final hill-climb at the farmland venue at Oparau , near Kawhia , and the toughest of them all was Wainuiomata ’ s record eight-time former national trials champion Jake Whitaker .
26 KIWI RIDER