NZ Insider No.55: Off-road Townley!

Transmoto’s weekly web-exclusive column, the NZ Insider, penned by Chris Ritchie.

The 38^th annual Tarawera 100 Off-Road enduro race took place near the Bay of Plenty settlement of Te Teko on Saturday, and unfortunately the weather Gods were not kind to us on this occasion with wet conditions throughout this year’s 100-mile event (160 km).

The shotgun start always creates a mad frenzy for the first part of the race, and this year was no different. Riders out front early included Husky’s Liam Draper, Honda’s Ben Townley and Suzuki’s Brad Groombridge.

After the opening lap, Townley had built a sizeable advantage over Groombridge, but over the next two laps the Suzuki rider made significant inroads into Townley’s lead and as they crossed the line before the fourth and final lap, they were locked in a fierce battle. Townley managed to fend off Groombridge and claim his third victory at the event by two minutes and 35 seconds.

The pair explained post-race that they came to a muddy hill littered with fellow riders who were stranded. Groombridge made the call to head to the left, and Townley to the right, with BT able to reach the top just ahead of Groombridge, by this stage their clutches were barely hanging on, which made their climbs even more challenging.

Third Outright and first in the two-stroke 250cc class was Husqvarna’s Hadleigh Knight. Enduro and cross country legend, Paul Whibley, made a few uncharacteristic mistakes but ultimately could not match the sheer pace of his motocross rivals at the front, finishing fourth. This left Whibley disappointed not to have been able to battle for the win with the pace setting duo of Townley and Groombridge. Fifth went to enduro ace, Scott Birch.

Across the ditch at the MX Central circuit in Raymond Terrace, NSW, was the sixth round of the Aussie MX Nationals with only Cody Cooper in MX1 and Hamish Harwood in MX2 left to fly the Kiwi flag after injuries to Joel Meikle in MXD, Rhys Carter in MX2, and John Phillips being replaced by Dylan Long at NPS Kawasaki.

Coops ended the day with 8-6 for eighth Overall, and is now looking to improve further as the series enters the business end.

After a strong second in 2014, KTM’s Hamish Harwood was looking to solidify his position at the front of the highly competitive MX2 class in 2015, but with some more bad luck and 13-10 scores from his two outings and 13^th Overall, this year has been a case of what could have been for Harwood.

New Zealand’s off-road attention now switches to this coming weekend’s Yamaha-supported 2015 NZ National TT Championship near Kuratau on the Central Plateau. With something for everyone, from Junior classes through to Veterans as well as Quads, it promises to be a massive two days of great racing.