KEY POINTS:
The Chris Birch express continues to steam towards national glory and nothing short of a massive derailment in the remaining two rounds of the New Zealand Enduro Championships will prevent him from successfully defending his title.
Fresh from his podium finish at the prestigious Red Bull Romaniacs Enduro in Romania, the Auckland engineer was again untouchable as he stormed to victory in the fourth of six rounds, staged in Santoft Forest, north-west of Palmerston North on Sunday.
He now leads the expert over-200cc two-stroke class by 15 points from Palmerston North's Steven Bird (Yamaha YZ250), their respective points adjusted to delete their worst result because only five of the six rounds in the series count towards the title. Birch's worst result was when he did not show at round two, because he was getting married that day, and Bird's worst result was a third placing.
There are still two rounds remaining, in Gwavas Forest in Hawkes Bay on September 16, and in Woodhill Forest near Auckland on September 29.
Several leading riders - including Ngaruawahia's Heath Howlett, Hokianga's Mitchell Nield, Hamilton's Chris Singleton, Awakino's Adrian Smith and Wellington's Rory Mead failed to finish the Santoft event and they will be looking to make amends in the following rounds.
But for Birch, Sunday didn't pose any problems. "There were no real dramas for me today, although the course was extremely physical," said Birch (K" EXC 250) afterwards.
"You really needed to concentrate today because there were a lot of tree stumps to trip you up," said the 26-year-old engineer.
Outright runner-up to Birch on Sunday was surprise first-time entrant in the series, Marton's Cam Smith (Suzuki RMZ450), while Pahiatua's Adam Reeves (Suzuki RM250) was third.
Smith, on the comeback from injury sustained while racing at the big annual Woodville motocross in January, had several incidents among the trees on Sunday but he still kept Birch honest and won his expert over-300cc four-stroke class.
However, while Smith's riding was impressive, having missed three of the four rounds thus far, the 30-year-old farmer has no chance of taking the series honours.
Birch's main rival for overall honours, fellow Aucklander Karl Power, had a difficult day at Santoft and declared afterwards that he considered himself lucky just to have survived the day.
Bike mechanic Power, who battled a succession of mechanical glitches including a broken clutch perch and broken rear frame, finished fourth overall at Santoft and runner-up to Smith in his class battle. Despite his indifferent day, Power (Husaberg FE450) remains on target to win the expert over-300cc four-stroke class.
The event at Santoft was slickly run, as would be expected when the New Zealand Army is involved. Warrant officer Mike Ross (Linton Army Base) co-opted support from his employers, providing tents for the events administration and catering equipment.
The national series is sponsored by Yamaha, Kiwi Rider magazine, Acerbis, HJC Helmets, Mitas and supported by Motorcycling New Zealand.
