WORDS & PHOTOS:
Andy McGechan
Hamilton rider Phil Singleton
(Husqvarna FE350) won
the opening round of
the new Xtreme Off-road
Championship series
SINGLETON RISES TO THE
NZ XTREME CHALLENGE
It was brutal, it was tough, relentless and
unforgiving... just as the organisers had
promised. Motorcycling New Zealand’s
latest competition initiative – the inaugural
NZ Xtreme Off-road Championship series –
kicked off near Whangamata on Saturday and
pushed the nation’s elite dirt bike riders to
the limit.
In the end, it was Hamilton’s Phil Singleton
who coped best with the extreme terrain at
this first of four rounds in the Taungatara
Forest, winning the premier Gold Grade by
more than two minutes from Aucklander
Tausten Gibbs, with another Auckland rider,
Mitchell Gallagher, claiming the third podium
spot, finishing another 10 minutes further
back.
MNZ enduro commissioner Justin Stevenson
had said before the weekend’s series opener
that the racing would be “a little tougher
than a normal national enduro, but not
impossible” and, for the hardiest souls at
least, this was true.
KIWI RIDER 83