Kirk Hutton wins Queensland Enduro-Cross Round 2

Yamaha rider Kirk Hutton beat a strong field of about 170 riders yesterday to take his second Queensland Enduro-Cross Series round win of 2010.

Hutton won the race – held near Boonah – by 38-seconds after seven laps, even despite losing about 30-seconds in the first one.

The win saw the 37-year-old take his tally to two from two: he was also the victor of the Outright and Pro Class at the opening round of the series held near Kingaroy in February.

“The track was marked through a lot of virgin terrain, so it was very hard to see the rocks and stumps in the long grass,” Hutton said.

“This forced me to ride very cautiously the first lap to avoid crashing and I lost a lot of time.

“The other guys put time on me… I ended up giving myself a handicap of nearly thirty seconds.

“After lap one, there was a track and I could ride smoothly and see where the dangers were.

“By being consistently faster each lap, I was able to claw back the margin.

“The track was quite technical, there were a lot of rocks with some fast sections.

“By the end of the day the track was well defined and I was enjoying it.

“My YZ450F is an unreal bike and handled the conditions extremely well.

“I’ve been working with Paul Baerick from MPE Suspension and he’s helped me heaps.

“My times on my test track and in races have improved markedly as a result of MPE’s help and I’m excited about trying more improvements Paul has planned for me.

“I’m looking forward to the final round of the series at Conondale next Sunday.

“I’m not sure how many times I’ve won this series, but it would be around 10, so to wrap it up for another year would be great.”

Kirk’s next race will be the third and final round of the enduro-cross series, being held at Green Park (Conondale) October 3rd. For more info go to www.qldenduro.com

Hutton has won four Australian enduro championships, 10 Queensland Enduro Championships and seven International Six Days Enduro individual gold medals.

Kirk is also Queensland Agent for the Yamaha Academy of Off-Road Riding and runs two-day coaching schools, as well as one-day, half-day and one-on-one sessions.