Taikorea's Paul Whibley (Yamaha), on his way to winning at Tar Hill, near Tokoroa, on Sunday.
Taikorea's Paul Whibley (Yamaha), on his way to winning at Tar Hill, near Tokoroa, on Sunday.
Manawatu motorcycle ace Paul Whibley has strengthened his stranglehold on this season's three-round Dirt Guide Crosscountry Series after taking another solid win at round two near Tokoroa on Sunday.
Whibley, a 39-year-old former Manawatu forestry worker affectionately dubbed The Axeman, won the Dirt Guide series opener at Ohakuri last month,racing a Yamaha YZ125.
For Sunday's second round at Tar Hill, near Tokoroa, he brought out the "big gun", lining up on his Yamaha YZ450FX four-stroke machine.
Helensville's Tom Buxton grabbed the holeshot, with Whibley right on his tail as they exited turn one.
"I bided my time and just stayed behind Tommy until about halfway through the first lap," Whibley said.
"Maybe the pressure was too much because he let me pass him pretty easily.
"I knew that Brad Groombridge, Callan May and Ashton Grey would be pushing hard to catch me, so I lifted the pace a bit to try and create a bit of a gap."
In the end, it was Groombridge who threatened most, taking the lead from Whibley when he stopped in the pits for fresh goggles.
"I caught back up to Brad (Groombridge) on the fifth and last lap and he then just fell off in front of me ... just sort of tipped over in a rut. I went past and pushed pretty hard after that."
Whibley won the two-hour race by nearly four minutes from Groombridge, with Buxton, Grey and May claiming third, fourth and fifth placings respectively.
