Yamaha continued its domination of the Queensland enduro racing scene at the weekend, with YZ450F pilot, Kirk Hutton, leading the charge with another Pro Class win, followed by YZ250F rider, Tom McCormack, and YZ125 flyer, Grant Siebenhausen.
Kirk being interviewed on Channel 7 TV
Competition at round two of the Yamaha Queensland Enduro Championship (held at Pioneer Valley, west of Mackay) was fierce for the trio, with about 200 riders flocking to the event.
Hutton, from Kobble Creek (northwest of Brisbane), took a convincing win of the “tough” two-day enduro race, finishing just over two-minutes ahead.
The 37-year-old now sits in good stead to take his 10th Queensland Enduro Championship (and 10th aboard a Yamaha machine).
“This weekend at Mackay was really tough on the Saturday,” Hutton said.
“With only six to eight minutes to spare at each control, it was kind of like riding an [International Six Day Enduro], all I had time to do is fuel my bike, put some food in my mouth and go again.
“With the temperature at about 30 degrees, it was a really challenging event.
“All the special tests were quite fast and I rode all of them virtually mistake free, which gave me a good lead after day one and I consolidated that on day two.
“I just rode smooth and focused on the track, rather than trying to ride over my head, and the results followed.
“My YZ450F ran awesome all weekend, it didn’t miss a beat and was well suited to the conditions.
“Hopefully at round three I can have a consistent finish to bring home the series and 10 years of an unbeatable partnership with myself and Yamaha.
“But, I’m just taking it race-by-race at the moment - don’t want to get ahead of myself until I get there.”
Hutton also took the win at round one of the three-round series (held at Goomburra in June).
McCormack, 17 (Byron Bay), and Siebenhausen, 39 (Rush Creek) also repeated their round one results at the weekend.
Mackay racer, Michael Hand, was the next highest placing Yamaha rider, finishing sixth in the Pro Class. All up, Yamaha racers claimed nine of the 14 Pro Class awards.
Yamaha also took the top spot in Expert All Powers: Jarrid Corbell the victor.
The WR250F continued its winning ways in the Ladies All Power’s Class, with Jemma Wilson at the helm.
The final round of the championship will be held at Cherrabah Resort (near Warwick) on September 11th and 12th.
The next off-road event on the national calendar is round nine and 10 of the Yamaha Australian Off-Road Championship, being held at Kapunda (SA) this weekend (August 7th and 8th). For more info visit www.aorcracing.com
QLD Enduro Championship Round 2, Pro Class Top-12
1. Kirk Hutton YAMAHA
2. Tom McCormack YAMAHA
3. Grant Siebenhausen YAMAHA
4. Dominic Hoyal
5. Adam Giles
6. Michael Hand YAMAHA
7. Chris Reading
8. John Day YAMAHA
9. Matthew Sprenger YAMAHA
10. Jarrad Vanderhor YAMAHA
11. Brad Peterson YAMAHA
12. Matthew Dumijan YAMAHA