Motorsport: Amateur shows pros he's got what it takes

This could be Rory Mead's year.

The 22-year-old builder from Whitby is now out in front in the race for overall honours at this season's Yamaha New Zealand Enduro Championships.

An amateur, part-time rider, Mead (Yamaha YZ250) finished a close runner-up to Kiwi international Chris Birch (KTM 250 EXC) at the third round in this year's championship series at remote coastal Akitio, in southern Hawke's Bay, on Saturday, enough to break free of Auckland KTM rider Karl Power and now stand alone at the top of the table.

Power finished only fifth overall on Saturday and is therefore now six points behind Mead in the final run to the finish, with their respective results at the series' fourth and final round at Waimiha in May now holding special significance.

I took it cautiously today because there were a lot of blind jumps over hills and I wasn't prepared to risk everything. It was pretty dangerous out there but I took a few calculated risks and it all seemed to pay off today, said Mead.

I was nervous about the threat of Power at the start of today's racing but, now that I'm in front as we head to Waimiha, I feel confident. I like that venue and I think I'll do okay in May."

The day's winner at Akitio, former national champion Birch, made up a lot of lost ground with his success on Saturday.

The 28-year-old Aucklander had bike problems in round one near Kawhia in February, forced to end the day prematurely, scoring no points.

But at Akitio, 75km east of Dannevirke, he was back to his best and is now back in contention for at least a class win.

Meanwhile, another Kiwi international, Australian-based Yamaha star Stefan Merriman had an off day at Akitio, finishing an unaccustomed sixth overall. However, it is Merriman who leads the series overall, although he will not be able to contest the final round at Waimiha on May 16 because of international commitments, leaving it to Mead and Power to scrap for the series honours.

Born and bred in Tauranga but now living and racing in Australia, Merriman will have to be satisfied with wrapping up the E4 class title on Saturday.

Only three of four rounds count towards class honours, so even though Merriman (Yamaha WR450) will miss the series finale, he cannot be overtaken for the class win.

Merriman won both the first two rounds of the series outright but said he wasn't prepared to take big risks on Saturday.

I did what I set out to do here (win the E4 title for Yamaha) but the risks were too great today.

It was spectacular scenery today and I got to race along a beach too. You don't get to do that too often, he smiled.

Merriman now heads back to Australia where he will seek to stretch his lead in the Australian national series. He won the opening round of the Australian Off-Road Championships near Port Macquarie, NSW, three weeks ago.