For the second time in a row, course planners encountered mechanical problems when setting out the controls, and had to continue on two wheels. Last time at Tunnel Gully it was a rock through a petrol tank, yesterday at St Pats Forest it was a bog which defeated planner Tom Clarkson's 4WD. However in the best traditions of "the show must go on" Tom raced for help on a bike and the event was able to start only 15 minutes late.
Craig Starnes maintained his dominance of the open mens class, though Bryce Lorcet is giving him a run for his money and its a pity that some planned surgery will take him off the scene for a couple of months. Darryl Taylor from Hawkes Bay was also competitive in spite of inadvertently using SH2 (which was out of bounds) on the way to #1 and returning to complete the correct route. The course wound its way via Moonshine Rd up onto the "front hill" immediately above SH2, and then right up the back near the 417m Mt Cecil, before exiting onto the riverbank through a culvert and a flat ride home. Starnes' time was 103 minutes.
NZ champion Kelly Fogden won the womens class in spite of taking it easy in deference to the Crazyman multisport event next day. Jenny Visser who was next is a vet, and its possibly time to move to four courses so the vet women can have a distance that meets their abilities. The womens course also reached 400m, but descended via the horrendously steep but partly ridable Fish's track to achieve a shorter distance.
In the popular vet mens class Steve Betts scored his first win over Graeme Silcock and Steve Meeres, posting the best time on course 2 of 87 minutes. Chris de Roo won the vet womens category on course 3 which snuk around behind the front hill; her time was 70 minutes. Amy Wild took 78 minutes to win the junior women, and surprisingly there were no junior men.
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