known to be the toughest challenge on the NZ enduro calendar. The Prologue, which determines the start order for the main race, kicked off on the Sunday morning and it was close. Taupo man, Will Yeoman, started his event well, by winning the Prologue by two seconds ahead of Sam Parker and Max Williams, who shared exactly the same time, with Liam Ellis a further two seconds back. The NWIH is designed to give all entrants a good bit of riding before it starts to get too hard. This easier first lap is a cross-country style lap that Will Yeoman completed in about 45 minutes, with most riders making their way around it in about an hour. After that first lap the terrain only gets harder and harder. The first big obstacle is the‘ Big Face’ which really is pretty daunting to look at. At one point there were 50 or so riders all trying to get up it at the same time, which was a pretty spectacular sight. Making it all look a bit easy, Will Yeoman rode away from the rest of the field. Will said later that only being a part time racer these days, he even surprised himself a little. The surprise result of the event was from Max Williams, a
youngster from Masterton, riding in his first ever hard enduro, coming home in second place overall. Hard enduro veteran Jake Whitaker showed up to compete after a break from being on the bike and put in a good performance to finish in third place overall. Bradley Lauder finished in fourth overall, followed by Luke Thomsen in fifth( and the first four-stroke home), which is a massive achievement in a 300cc two-stroke dominated hard enduro world. A big weekend of racing was had by all, it was a big setup, and it could never be done without the awesome landowners out there at Oparau- the Scott family has always been a big supporter of enduro and extreme enduro events. The Forestland MCC put the event together with over 50 people helping each day, which is a huge event in itself. Thanks to all who attended and had a great time. We’ d like to say a big thank you to our sponsors, Husqvarna Motorcycles, Forbes and Davies accessory distributors, O’ Neal apparel, Maxima Oils, Arai Helmets, Ogio bags, Blur, Maxi Grip, Kiwi Rider Magazine, Muc-Off, Metzeler tyres, USWE and SATCO logging attachments.
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