Whibley Takes A Winning Blast Down Memory Lane
JUNE 9, 2015: Pahiatua's Paul Whibley just keeps on winning.
The 37-year-old packed up his belongings late last year and
returned home with his wife and young son to settle back in New
Zealand after a highly-successful international racing campaign
that spanned 12 years.
And, although this signalled an end to his international racing
career, a new phase in his life of motorcycling was only just
beginning.
The former Manawatu forestry worker, affectionately dubbed "The
Axeman" on the motorcycling scene, was a two-time outright winner
of the Grand National Cross-country Championships (GNCC) in the
United States (in 2009 and 2012) and a record six-time winner of
the parallel Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) series as well.
The Yamaha star's first step back into domestic competition at
home earned him the 2015 New Zealand Cross-country Championships
crown when the series wrapped up near Pahiatua just a few weeks
ago, taking the title from fellow Yamaha ace Adrian Smith, of
Mokau.
Whibley tackled round two of the Central Enduro Series near his
Pahiatua home on Sunday and, for that event, it was a trip down
memory lane.
"This was another event that had been a long time between
attendance for me," said Whibley.
"While my memory is not that good to remember all the twists and
turns and each rock, I could remember the odd hill and
ridgeline.
"There was a short transport section to the first section that
held the first test. Plenty of old ruts and some slick, muddy
tracks kept you on your toes with the smallest mistake easily paid
for with a soil sample. I managed to ride safely and post a solid
time and keep it on two wheels."
He slowly picked up the pace during the day as he warmed up and
ended up celebrating a comfortable win over Eketahuna's Daniel
Christie, with Masterton's Jacob Hyslop filling out the podium.
Whibley now turns his focus towards his own creation, a new
competition he hopes will become a must-do for the nation's dirt
bike elite, the five-round NZXC series.
The first round of the NZXC series is this weekend at Tar Hill,
just south of Tokoroa. The race is expected to draw the country's
elite off-road racers and have them racing head-to-head for the
first time this season.
"With the separate national enduro and cross-country
championships clashing dates in 2015, riders were forced to choose
one championship to chase," he explained. "Now, with the NZXC
series, all of the country's top races will be lining up at the
same event.
"The track will be somewhat of a middle ground for the races,
featuring terrain based in a forest, where the enduro fraternity
will feel at home, but with the event run under a cross-country
format, riders being set off together."
The powerhouse Yamaha and KTM teams will be out in full force,
with riders from both teams featuring a long list of
credentials.
There will also be key representatives from the other
manufactures, riders such as former national cross-country champion
Cam Smith (Kawasaki), Honda's top-five cross-country riders Andrew
Charleston and Scott Birch, Suzuki's Brad Groombridge and the
Husqvarna pair of Liam Draper and Jake Whitaker.
The race is run in conjunction with the Dirt Guide series, with
Sean Clarke in charge of laying out the track and running the
event.
Round two of the NZXC series is the Yamaha Taikorea 500, run on
Whibley's own property and training facility just outside
Palmerston North on July 18.
Whibley is supported by Yamaha Motor New Zealand, Freedom Moto
Yamaha, MotoSR, Monster Energy, Shoei, Sidi, Smith, MSR G2,
Asterisk, Moto SR, Vortex Ignitions, EC3D, Bush Riders MCC,
Spectro, Acerbis, DID, JT sprockets, Leatt, Kenda, Yamaha NZ,
BikesportNZ.com, Unibiker and Tire Balls.
Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Andy McGechan
BikesportNZ.com Ltd
Phone 06-758-5182