It was almost impossible to separate Jake Whitaker and Ryan Hayward when the 2023 New Zealand Hard Enduro Championships kicked off north of Wellington on September 9-10 .
It was almost impossible to separate Jake Whitaker and Ryan Hayward when the 2023 New Zealand Hard Enduro Championships kicked off north of Wellington on September 9-10 .
The first of two rounds in the Yamahasponsored series was held over two days in the Akatarewa Forest near Pauatahanui , north-east of Porirua , and Wainuiomata ’ s Whitaker and Papakura ’ s Hayward were both simply outstanding . The margins between these equally-skilled riders were slim indeed , with 32-year-old father-of-two Whitaker edging out 18-yearold Hayward by nearly three minutes on the Saturday and then Hayward outpacing Whitaker by just over three minutes the following day . When the times were added together , Hayward got the nod , winning the premier Gold Grade outright by just 47 seconds . Remarkably , this was Hayward ’ s debut ride in the Gold Grade , but , after his impressive showing at the Red Bull Romaniacs hard enduro in Romania in August , where he finished up as the best-performing New Zealander at the massive international event , it was probably expected that he would step up to the top category for the weekend ’ s domestic championship event north of Wellington . Third best after the two days was South Islander Luke Corson , from Whitecliffs , near Christchurch , while New Plymouth ’ s Sam Parker and Nelson ’ s Tom O ’ Brien rounded out the top five in the elite Gold Grade . Whitaker won this series overall in 2019 and 2021 and then again last season too , and his