NZ Enduro Champs Round 2 Whangamata

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New Zealand Enduro Champs Round 2 - Whangamata

RACE BRIEF ... FROM KARL POWER (2009 Honda CRF250R): It had been raining a bit in Whangamata during the week so the bush was a bit wet under foot. We did the normal thing by arriving on Friday afternoon to walk the special test and camp out the night. I picked a wider tyre for the rear of my bike hoping to get a bit more traction on the clay surface. Local lad and buddy Jason Davis was the pick to be at the front for the weekend. So it was no surprise to see his name up the top. We had a big day ahead of us with 160kms and seven special tests and I was really looking forward to this!

The first few special tests were average for me. I missed a few corners and wasn't in the right gear for a few hills. I was trying to get an eye in for the track, come to grips with the slick ground and try and get a feel for how the bike was performing. I got some great results half way through the day and I was looking good for a class win and a top three over all. I knew if I wanted to beat Jason I had to pick up the pace, which I did in special test five and posted a quickest time by 3 seconds. The rest of the day went pretty smoothly trying not to fall and stall the bike. In the final test I caught up to a slower rider which held me up for a little while. This put my time a bit off the pace, but still a second overall and well in front of third place. Overall on the day I was second and won my class - 0-300cc Four-Stroke. I was happy with the Dunlop Geomax tyre. It held up well in the rocky, clay based trails and the Honda performed well all day.

 

Karl Power

RACE BRIEF ... FROM CHRIS POWER (2009 Honda CRF450R): After the first round at Oparau being a bit of a non-event with my shoulder, I was really keen to get some points on the board as I had basically just dropped my worst round - I had no more mistakes to make. Someone should have told my bike that before the race! The Day started off well though, easily winning the first three tests in my class, before posting a second as Cam Smith got one up on me. I then won the fifth and sixth again convincingly, creating a 40 second buffer between me and the rest of the 450cc field.

The final test is where it all went pair shaped. I had a spate of 'troubles' during the final 420 second test which resulted in me being 44 seconds slower through the test than my first time through. I knew I had a good buffer of seconds but I didn't know how many and was eagerly waiting the results at the end of the day. When the times came out it was bad news. I missed out on the class win by a mere 4 seconds from Suzuki rider Cam who had no trouble and was steady all day. I was less than impressed with myself, and now really have an uphill struggle over the remaining five rounds if I am to claw back Cam's lead. I need to win the next three to take the class. Richie Ebbert from Moto SR does RG3 suspension and has tweaked my Honda CRF450R into a bush weapon. Without his tinkering I would be getting bounced all over the forest. Tree roots especially the 450 seems to float over and it's defiinitely improving my times. Another new helper to Team Power is Scotty Brooker from who brings in G2 products. One in particular, the Throttle Cam system turns a fire-breathing beast into a smooth traction machine. It's a simple and easy throttle tube that slows down the cable pull. Google Throttle Cams to see what I mean - both these guys help make me faster in the bush - the rest is up to me.

Full Results at http://www.silverbullet.co.nz/news.php?id=4478  This weekend is the Honda Castrol Six Hour.

 

Chris Power 

 
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