A Kiwi on a Kawasaki has done it again and won an American off-road motorcycling title.
Pahiatua's Paul Whibley (Kawasaki KX450F) successfully defended his Off-Road Motorcycle and ATV (OMA) cross-country championship title just over a week ago and now he plans to push for his second major title in theUnited States when he races at the 10th round of 13 in the Grand National Cross-Country Championships (GNCC) this weekend.
Whibley's achievement in America this season follows the outstanding motocross success of Taupo's Ben Townley, who raced a Kawasaki KX250F to win the USA East Coast Lites Supercross title in 2007.
But, with Townley sidelined by injury, it's Whibley who now takes the spotlight and the momentum is with the 31-year-old to further consolidate his position at the top of the US cross-country standings this weekend.
The GNCC series resumes after a summer break with round 10 at Unadilla, north-west of New York, on Sunday and the former forestry worker from the Manawatu has a solid lead in that championship too - 13 points ahead of Australian rival Josh Strang.
So commanding has Whibley been this season, that he made it his eighth win from as many starts when he wrapped up the OMA title at round eight in Bedford, Indiana, last week.
With an unbeaten string of wins, the Kawasaki ace was therefore able to seal the title with two OMA rounds still to be run - at Memphis, in Missouri, and Morrison, in Illinois.
Whibley also won the OMA series last season and finished runner-up in the GNCC series in 2008, but now he looks on target to make it 1-1 for 2009.
