Oparau National Enduro

A rider's perspective

maddix park mx

Reece Burgess sent in this report:

The National Enduro Round 2 was held in Oparau which is clay based native verging on steep farmland. This area has a lot of rocks and large river crossings. In the dry it is great but in the rain it becomes almost impassable and a survival game at times.

I was planning on camping the Friday night but due to heavy rain and flooding, I saved the drive for the morning when the rain eased eventually to a stop. Rivers were flooding and paddocks underwater but arriving at the event it made little difference to the format as it was all go. The first large section gave you a false sense of the traction and riding as it soon got tough and ugly with riders getting stuck and struggling for traction. The day eventually took its toll on a number of bikes and riders including Sam Greenslade and Mark Penny.

I was running my tyres in the 13 psi range causing an unexpected loss of traction as I got dumped in one corner landing on my right leg. It was a bit sore but okay so quickly got up and going.

The next test rolled up and the front brake was very sensitive throughout putting me off before I came across 2 slower riders on a very steep clay section costing valuable time as one crash across the track stopping my momentum. At the end of the next stage I discovered the brake lever rubber was forced into the brake by the hand guard so this was one problem down. I wanted to drop tyre pressure to 10 PSI for traction but with the sharp edge rocks it was simply too much of a risk.

The next test I hit a neutral on a tight uphill corner before catching one of the same slower riders as the previous test, this time I went off course to get past twice and twice finding myself off the track as a result the third time I ran into him but the damage was done on this steep down hill track. It was a struggle to clear the mud and get back into a rhythm.

By half way through the ride my leg was starting to cramp up so I decided to ride more conservatively than I would like but that ensured a finish.

Some of the tracks were very difficult with little traction and single line hills meant for a good challenge. The Husaburg’s chassis seem to keep you safe from bellying out which was great as over 1/3 of the experts either did not finish or lost time so this was a notable benefit in the ruts.

My leg was starting to become a real distraction and when it came time for the Extreme Enduro test we had a 40min wait and walked the track. This did me no favours as we got cold and I could hardly walk after that as my calf muscle went rock hard but I knew it was simply a strain so I am a bit disappointed that I let it distract me so much but it is hard not to be sometimes.

In the end I held on for third in the 300+ class on the day but still 1st  for the season so it wasn’t all bad and we live to fight on in the next round”.

Members of the Sheely family were also among the few riders representing Tauranga but they did not have a good day.  Dion did well in the first terrain test but became dehydrated and was one of the many “no card” finishers. He agrees that the rain had made it a “real” enduro and even the experts had to help each other up some hills.  Drisana drowned her bike. It created much laughter and joking in the pits when they tipped it upside down and water seemed to flow out from everywhere, including the exhaust. Aden Sheely was progressing well in his junior class until some confusion over a marshall’s instructions led him to miss the final terrain test.

Tauranga’s Hayden McGregor came 8th in the up to 200cc 2 stroke class and Murray Jensen from Te Puke came 7th in the Intermediate Vets 50 years + class.

As far as the main winners were concerned, Rory Mead (pictured above) won the overall and the  Expert 300+ 4 stroke class, Karl Power was 2nd overall and 1st in the up to 300cc Expert 4 stroke class and  Chris Birch was 3rd overall and 1st in the Open 2 stroke class.

Full results are on www.silver-bullet.co.nz

Read Andy McGechan's article on www.bikesportnz.com

And just a footnote:

Mike Sheely was not competing but he had some comments to make about the Scott property where the event was held and the course of the river that goes through it. Mike took part in events there 30 or so years ago.  He says it’s quite amazing but the river has moved a good 200 metres since that time!  A couple of big storms resulted in sudden changes of direction for the river but the rest of the time the change has been more gradual. There was a point 30 years ago where the more experienced riders could actually jump the river leaving the less so to ride slowly through.  Now that is impossible.  But, he adds, it’s also amazing how the old path of the river has healed up.

 
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