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MAY 8, 2007: It may take a miracle, or a disaster, to prevent Auckland’s Chris Birch from running off with the Top Trail Rider (TTR) Enduro Series title this season.
The 26-year-old KTM rider won round three of the northern phase of this popular series at Hukerenui, north of Whangarei, on Saturday, stretching his lead in the Expert Enduro 1 class to five points over Hokianga’s Damon Nield (Husqvarna), but he can’t afford to relax for a minute.
The 16-year-old Nield beat Birch to the finish at round two near Tairua and has been showing remarkable pace since his tilt at the International Six days Enduro near Taupo last November.
Class battles are one thing but nothing can beat the bragging rights that go with winning the series outright and the man most likely to tip Birch off his pedestal in that respect is Auckland’s Karl Power (Husaberg).
Power is also the man most likely to beat Birch in the parallel national championship series.
Power, who leads the Expert Enduro 2 class from Nield’s elder brother Mitchell, finished the day just 30 seconds behind Birch overall, while there was nothing to separate the Nield brothers, the pair finishing just one second behind Power.
“It was a pretty easy ride actually,” said Birch afterwards. “The course was perfect, easy terrain but difficult to ride at speed. It was just right for all levels of rider ability.”
Series co-ordinator Shaun Stanbridge said the two Yamaha-sponsored TTR enduro series -- the event calendar features a five-round northern series and a parallel six-round central series – were a bit of a balancing act because they are also geared towards encouraging novice and first-time riders to tackle the sport.
“It’s difficult to set a course that is both challenging for the top riders but yet still manageable for the less experienced riders. I do think we have achieved it though and, judging by the number of novice riders attending, we are not frightening them off. More than half the field on Saturday were first-timers.
In recent months, the 26-year-old Birch has been riding as many events as he can, using them as preparation for his tilt at the infamous Romaniacs enduro in Romania's Carpathian Mountains from June 17-21.
“I want to spend as much time on a bike as I can,” said Birch. “I try to ride both days of each weekend. It’s what I need to do to stay sharp and get ready for the Romaniacs enduro.”
The TTR series is sponsored by Yamaha, Kiwi Rider magazine, Acerbis, Mitas and supported by Motorcycling New Zealand.
