Mitchell Nield won his fourth national enduro and with a round to spare in the King Country on Saturday.
Riding a Yamaha YZ125, Nield had already secured the national 200cc two-stroke class title in the penultimate (5th) round of the KTM New Zealand Enduro Championships at Waimiha last month where his finish placings of 2nd, 1st, 3rd, 1st and 2nd over the first five stages of the series gave the26-year-old an unassailable lead on the standings.
However, he still wanted to complete the series in an attempt to secure 3rd place overall - out of all the classes contested - in the national championship. The title had already been won by Kiwi international Chris Birch (KTM350XCF) while Mokau's Adrian Smith (Yamaha YZ 250) secured the overall runner-up spot with Chris Power (Yamaha WR450F) stealing the 3rd place on the podium ahead of Nield in the sixth and final round, also held at Waimiha.
Despite giving up a large horsepower advantage to his rivals, builder from Pakaraka, near Kaikohe, said he was already looking forward to contesting next year's campaign and defending his title.
"I like the venue at Waimiha ... [And] I love riding this bike so much. The YZ125 is so nimble that it's great among the trees and still has plenty of power where I need it."
The latest result has given Nield his fourth national title including two in the under 200cc two-stroke class adding to previous national enduro championships in the under 300cc four-stroke and over 200cc two-stroke classes.
In December, Nield will once again return to the Kingdom of Lesotho, a landlocked country completed surrounded by South Africa, to contest the Roof of Africa extreme enduro event where he will be competing against the best riders in the world. He first raced this event in 2011 where out of 430 riders he came 10th overall, and again the following year although his goal to beat his previous placement was shattered due to being hospitalised as a result of dislocating his shoulder from a fall on day one (despite the chronic pain Nield re-joined the race on the final day). He remains determined to better his 2011 placing this year.
It's certainly been a great start to the year for the Far North rider, who also runs training clinics for dirtbike enthusiasts. He recently got married amidst Cyclone Lusi to his long term sweetheart, Sainella, after the pair became engaged at the Roof of Africa in 2011. As one commentator noted, getting married in the rain reputedly brings good luck "so getting married in a cyclone surely increases the chances tenfold!"
- Additional reporting by Andy McGechan
BikesportNZ.com