YAMAHA MEN FINISH 1-2-3 AT TOKOROA

Palmerston North’s Adam Reeves (Yamaha), 

in a Yamaha sandwich at the top 

of the standings on Sunday

Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

It was a stunning Yamaha 1-2-3 at the seventh and final round of the Yamaha Top Trail Rider Enduro series (northern region) near Tokoroa on Sunday.

Former Wellington rider Rory Mead, who now calls Taupo his home, was happy to turn his “home” advantage into maximum points when he won the event by more than three minutes from fellow Yamaha man Adam Reeves, of Palmerston North, with a third Yamaha rider, Mokau’s Adrian Smith, taking the third step on the podium.

Smith came in just over three minutes behind Reeves.

The course at Tar Hill, just a few kilometres south of Tokoroa, featured a bit of everything for the dirt bike experts after recent heavy rain made the terrain quite tricky.

“It was a bit muddy but I managed to get around okay. Plenty of riders got stuck,” said Mead (YZ250F). “The junior riders had been set off about half an hour ahead of the seniors, so the track was cut up pretty rough.

“But the bike was awesome. I felt really strong on it.

“I have been training a lot lately for my trip to the International Six Days Enduro in Mexico (in November) and that seemed to pay off for me too.”

Reeves (YZ450F) really had no answer for extreme enduro exponent Mead but it was a solid day in the office for the Manawatu man as he continually pushed to keep Mead honest.

Reeves is the New Zealand champion in the parallel cross-country racing code, having wrapped up his second consecutive national cross-country title just a few months earlier.

Former national cross-country champion and reigning national under-200cc enduro champion Smith (YZ250F) adapted quickly to his 250cc four-stroke bike after he had campaigned the little Yamaha YZ125 two-stroke motocross bike earlier in the season.