Wairoa ’ s Tommy Watts ( Yamaha YZ250F ) was the overall winner for the weekend in Nelson , round two of this season ’ s New Zealand Enduro Championships series . Photo : Kat Gunson
Paul Pavletich on his heavily modified OW-01 ,
sporting his infamous Superman leathers
Two consecutive weekends of racing saw the first half of this season ’ s New Zealand Enduro Championships wrap up in forestry land near Nelson in the middle of May and the battle remains incredibly tight for title honours . It was Omihi ’ s Ethan McBreen , Taupo ’ s Brad Groombridge and Tauranga-based former Wairoa man Tommy Watts who led the way at the opening round of the Yamaha-sponsored series at Omihi , north of Christchurch , the previous week and it was the exact same talented trio who dominated proceedings at Pigeon Valley Road , south-west of Nelson , on May 13-14 , albeit with a slightly different finishing order . With two days of racing back-to-back at each of the four rounds this season , riders ’ strength , stamina and determination is bound to be sorely tested and again it was McBreen , Groombridge and Watts who coped best with the arduous racing conditions at Nelson .
However , while McBreen won at Omihi , it was Watts who stole the spotlight at Nelson and that moved the North Islander up from third to second in the championship standings after the two rounds thus far . The first day on the Saturday was run in a sprint format , with day two the following day a traditional timecard enduro race and Watts won both days at the weekend , with McBreen overall runner-up for the weekend and Groombridge third both times . However , McBreen still tops the championship standings overall , ahead of Watts and Groombridge , with two more rounds left to run , in the North Island in June . Nelson ’ s Bailey Basalaj , Christchurch ’ s Josh Dando and New Plymouth ’ s Sam Parker round out the top half dozen riders overall with the series now at the halfway stage . In terms of class honours , Watts leads the 0-200cc two-stroke / 0-300cc four-stroke class ahead of Basalaj and Parker ; McBreen leads
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