KIWI RIDER JANUARY 2018 VOL.1 | Page 89

awesome trials riding ability to completely annihilate the Gold class, which gave him the first starting spot on day one. DAY ONE The first day started ten minutes from Tokoroa and headed north towards Putaruru with about 140km of riding for the Gold riders. The morning’s run through to the lunch stop was raced in typical hard enduro style, with Beau Taylor leading the Bronze class and getting there first. Gold riders were treated to a couple of great sections – with the Log Garden proving to be a real talking point after the event. A couple of the top running Gold riders didn’t follow their GPS units correctly and missed the second Gold section, so they received a penalty at the end of the day. The organisers were a little concerned that day one might be on the easy side of hard because, despite a lot of wet weather before the event, the weather cleared up leading into the event and the tracks were in perfect condition. Jake Whitaker was the first rider to complete the day but received a 15-minute penalty for missing the second Gold section, as did six other Gold class riders. This resulted in Dylan Yearbury KIWI RIDER 89