Double blow for Pahiatua 'Axeman'

Pahiatua's Paul Whibley is not called "The Axeman" for nothing.

The international motorcycle ace was certainly sharp when he took on two major New Zealand events at the weekend, including a win at home in Wairarapa.

Whibley, aboard his Yamaha YZ450F, who finished runner-up in the cross-country nationals in the United States last season, knew the focus was on him to win the second round of the inaugural Energy Honda Taranaki Cross-Country Championships at Urenui on Saturday.

The former Manawatu forestry worker-turned-professional bike racer also knew he would have to be at his best to tame local hotshots Adrian Smith of Mokau and Renny Johnston of New Plymouth and it was exactly those two Yamaha riders who kept him on his toes throughout the opening phase of the three-hour race.

"Off the start, I got a good jump and battled with Adrian and Renny in the first few turns before I settled into the lead position," Whibley said.

"The track was extremely slick in places with the hard-packed clay offering next to no bite for my tyres. But I soon began to open up a lead.

"A couple of missed turns resulted in brief moments with me being lost and further down the track having to stop to open a closed farm gate put a dent into my lead, but I kept the heat on and was able to maintain my spot at the front," he said.

Whibley said the opening 32km lap took about 45 minutes as the slick conditions slowed everybody down but still managed to build up a 30-second buffer over the chasing bunch.

"On the second lap, the track had cut up a lot and some of the steep hill climbs had some very big ruts. One bog at the top of one of these hills was also giving some riders fits, it also claimed Adrian on the second lap, with him getting buried up to the seat of his bike and taking several guys to get it out," Whibley said.

"But I continued out front, stretching my lead lap after lap as I got used to racing some fast farmland again."

With Whibley so far in front, he was required to complete an extra lap, coming through the lap-score area with time still left on the clock. But it was a trouble-free run for him to the finish, the only rider to complete five laps in the three hours, with Johnston, on a Yamaha YZ125, eventually finishing runner-up.

Not content with winning on Saturday, Whibley headed to Wairarapa on Sunday to tackle round two of the Bush Riders Cross-country Series near Pahiatua. Again he had to deal with tricky conditions, light rain and galeforce winds, making the course particularly challenging.

Whibley was in command, this time winning ahead of Taranaki's Smith on a Yamaha YZ250F, with Wellington's Hugh Lintott, aboard a Yamaha YZ450F, taking third place overall to make it a clean haul of placings for Yamaha riders.