WE
RACED
ONE
A
s I was returning the YZ125X to Yamaha
NZ HQ I had an idea... so I rang Josh
Coppins, the Director of Motorsport
for Yamaha NZ, and laid it out.
It was a simple plan. I offered to put long
time tester and KR-sponsored rider James
Scott on it for the Enduro Nationals. He
thought it was a great idea, so I got down
to sorting the logistics.
Mitas Tyres is a sponsor of the Enduro series
so it was a no brainer to get some Mitas
tyres on the bike. We put a Terra Force on
the front with a medium Nitro Mousse, and
a C18 Green stripe on the rear with a soft
Nitro Mousse. We put a one tooth bigger
rear sprocket on as we had heard that the
first round at Callaghan’s property would
be a bit gnarly. we also made it slightly
richer on the needle – and that was it.
The first round was a wet day and the
conditions were indeed gnarly. James had
ridden one enduro at Whangamata many
years ago on a KX85, so, in essence he was
a complete newbie... albeit one with some
serious MX skills. He had placed 3rd in MX2
at this years MX Nationals on a KTM 250F.
James was on minute eight, riding with Paul
Whibley (YZ450FX) and Sean Clarke
(Husqvarna TE300), so he had some
seriously illustrious company for his debut.
The YZ125X was on song all day and, like
the little engine that could, it did just that.
By the end of the day he was 3rd in E1 and
12th overall. I was happy with the result, but
James wasn’t that enamoured with it.
Day two dawned clear and crisp at the
Ruakokoputuna Hall for the 32nd running
of the Martinborough enduro. Knowing the
organiser Wayne Finlayson, I had an idea it
would be a tightly timed, nicely flowing event.
The event was an intense day for all the
riders, with most of the Experts just
managing to stay on time for the first loop.
The times were tightened up for the second
60 KIWI RIDER