KEY POINTS:
Wellington's Jake Whitaker won the battle but Motueka's Brendon Eggers won the war at the South Island Motorcycle Trails Championships near Alexandra at the weekend.
Despite meeting his match against teenage superstar Whitaker at the weekend, Eggers easily took the title. With Eggers' main rivals not present for the entire series, he was untroubled to win the Expert grade.
Blenheim's Jason Baker missed the first two rounds of the series near Christchurch and Whitaker was competing overseas for the two rounds in Blenheim, making Eggers the only rider to complete the series in the top division. "Jake is impressive and his experience overseas shone through. But Brendon stuck in there and got the result he deserved," said event organiser Colin Kelland.
Motueka's Karl Clark won the A grade class, ahead of Nelson's Nick Oliver, with Oliver's dad, Stephen, finishing third overall.
The course made for difficult riding on some of the sections, causing a points to be lost by all riders at times, said Kelland.
The sections were challenging for all the grades. Sections looked daunting to some riders because of the large rock outcrops being ridden over. But, with the good traction available on the rocks, rider confidence increased over the weekend.
