New Zealand's Paul Whibley is hitting top form at just the right time.
The Pahiatua man is ready for the resumption of hostilities in this year's Grand National Cross-Country Championships (GNCC) after the mid-summer break and what better way to signal his intentions than by winning the latest round ofthe parallel Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) series in Missouri.
Whibley (Yamaha YZ450F) is fourth in the GNCC standings and knows that, with just four rounds remaining to complete the season, the defending champion needs to win races. The GNCC series starts up again at Unadilla, near New York, on September 12.
But he is also the OMA series champion in the US and looks well in command of that title defence after winning round seven in Newark, Missouri, a week ago.
The former forestry worker, known as "The Axeman" on the American cross-country motorcycle racing scene, is in superb form and made easy work of the race in Missouri.
"The woods were surprisingly dry considering the rain that had fallen around the area in the weeks leading up to the event," said Whibley.
"I got a good jump off the line and was in the top three going around the first turn. I followed Scott Watkins for a couple miles and took the lead when he made a small mistake climbing a bank.
"We set a good pace and opened up a gap on the rest of the pack. Scott latched on to my rear fender and hounded me for the first half of the race. I managed to get a 20-second gap by the fuel stop and I could watch Scott on a couple of sections to make sure I was maintaining the lead.
"The track was open and I didn't want to go too much faster through the trees because, if I made a mistake, the price would have been high.
"Scott kept pace with me and never fell back, maintaining the gap and the pressure. I'm sure his maiden win in this series is not far off."
But Whibley easily held on for his fourth consecutive round win in that series. He is now seven points clear of Watkins at the top of the standings, with three rounds remaining.
