Yearbury Takes Over Series Lead In Marlborough

APRIL 26, 2021: There has been a change at the top of the 2021 New Zealand Enduro Championships after Cambridge's Dylan Yearbury struck back hard at the second round of five in the series in Marlborough at the weekend.

Helensville's Tommy Buxton won the opening round of the Yamaha-sponsored series near Tokoroa two weeks ago, but Yearbury and Oparau's James Scott both responded perfectly at the weekend's double-header round in Marlborough.

Yearbury was the best-performed rider on Saturday, finishing the day 20 seconds ahead of Buxton, with Wairoa's Tommy Watts third overall, returning to base a minute later.

Teenager Scott topped the timing sheets in all four of Sunday's "special tests", finishing the day 54 seconds overall ahead of Yearbury, with Buxton claiming third overall for the day.

This gave Yearbury the overall win for the weekend, with Scott finishing runner-up and Buxton third.

So, after two of five rounds, Yearbury is in the No.1 position for the championship overall, with Buxton now dropping back to second and Scott moving up from fourth to third overall.

There's a month-long break now before the competition resumes, when the riders head north again for round three of the series, another double-header, at Moonshine Valley, near the Kapiti Coast, halfway between Porirua and Upper Hutt, on June 5-6.

Other riders to impress in Marlborough at the weekend included Whanganui's Seth Reardon and Omihi's Ethan McBreen, Taupo's Wil Yeoman, Palmerston North's Paul Whibley and Nelson's Bailey Basalaj, to name a few, and the battle for outright honours remains tight.

All rounds are counted towards the championship overall, but riders are to count only four of their five results in terms of capturing an individual class win, ensuring it will also be tight to the finish in the chase for bike class honours.

The 2021 Yamaha NZ Enduro Championships are supported by Mitas tyres Macaulay Metals, Best Build Construction, Silver-bullet and Kiwi Rider magazine.

2021 Yamaha NZ Enduro Champs calendar:

Round 1 – Saturday, April 11 – Tokoroa;

Round 2 – Saturday and Sunday, April 24-25 – Marlborough;

Round 3 – Saturday and Sunday June 5-6 – Moonshine, Kapi-Mana;

Round 4 – Saturday, June 12 – Masterton;

Round 5 – Sunday, June 13 – Martinborough.

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

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