A spot of bother for multi-time former national cross-country and enduro champion Brad Groombridge . The Taupo man qualified fastest in the prologue and finished the event 35th overall in this year ’ s NWIH enduro
“ The last time I raced here was 2014 , actually the last time this race was run , so that ’ s 10 years ago , and it was one of my first ever hard enduros and I actually entered it on a trials bike . “ I can ’ t remember where I finished in 2014 but I was up near the front somewhere . When I heard it was back on again this year , I knew I just had to come back and ride it on the KTM enduro bike . “ The first lap here at the NWIH was quite fast and I knew I was going to have my work cut out to keep up with the cross-country racers like Wil Yeoman and Brad Groombridge ( Beta , from Taupo ), but the terrain got a lot tougher after that and this played into my hands . “ I took the lead on the final hill . I knew if I didn ’ t rush things , but played it cool , an opportunity would arise and that ’ s how it worked out .” The event was jointly sponsored by Husqvarna motorcycles , Forbes and Davies accessory distributors , O ’ Neal apparel , Maxima oils , Arai helmets , Ogio bags , Blur , Maxi Grip , Kiwi Rider magazine , Muck-Off , Metzeler tyres , USWE and SATCO logging attachments .
It was a tough day at the office for veteran hard man Tony Parker , although he did recover from this ( and probably a few other ‘ moments ’ too ) to finish the 2024 NWIH event an outstanding fifth overall
32 KIWI RIDER