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Woodhill forest lived up to its name as an all-weather track on Sunday 27th June when it hosted the penultimate 5th round of the Suzuki 2004 NZ Enduro Championship.
The day started fine and stayed that way for most of the day, despite a few brief showers. It was only at the end that it decided to rain, but by then it didn't matter.
The trail times were set nice and loose and this, coupled with a very ridable track, meant that 72 of the 78 starters finished, with most people losing very little time.
Wih the end result dependant on the four terrain tests Chris Birch (KTM250) led the way with a totally dominant display. The average gap back to second place in each of the four terrain tests was nearly 22 seconds.
It seems incredible that, especially with riders of the calibre of Sean Clarke (RMZ250), Steven Bird (WRF50), Dene Humphrey (GasGas EC300) and the very fast Cam Smith (CRF450) following him, he could have stopped for over a minute during the last terrain test - and still won the day by over 20 seconds!
With 4 wins Chris has won the "Expert Two Stroke Over" class without needing to appear at the final round (only 4 of the 6 rounds are counted). However the situation is very different in the hotly contested "Expert Four Stroke Under" class.
Sean Clarke managed a ONE SECOND! victory over Steven Bird which gives him the series advantage on paper, but the fact is, assuming that these two riders finish 1-2, the winner at Santoft will walk away with this years title!
An identical situation exists in the "Expert Two Stroke Under" class where Kevin Hermansen (KX125) narrowly leads Todd Mardon (KX125) in the title hunt.
Also close is the "Expert Four Stroke Over" class where Glen Manning (TE450) currently leads the series despite finishing second to Cam Smith on the day. However, a finish by either Cam or Mark Whyte at Santoft will almost certainly pull them past Glen.
However, the "Expert Veteran 35+" class is probably the most hotly contested. The five top riders in this class were all present at Woodhill with Terry Cameron (GasGas EC200) enjoying a comfortable 38 second margin over Mark Fuller (KTM200) who, in turn, finished over a minute and a half ahead of Gary Powell (WRF450).
The title will go to whoever of those three wins at Santoft.
The Waitemata club showed its pedigree with a surplus of eager and able helpers all contributing to an excellent event. The only interesting decision of the whole day was Tjebbe Bruin's use of a four-inch nail as a Palm Stylus. Ouch!
They must make tough computers where he comes from.. :-)
Go HERE: for Woodhill Results.
