Two Men Standouts At Opening Round Of Series

Two men were standouts at the opening round of the 2025 Yamaha New Zealand Hard Enduro Nationals in Taranaki at the weekend – both of them from New Plymouth.

Battling on home turf certainly seemed to suit Taranaki pair Luke Thompson and Sam Parker, the dynamic duo finishing an incredibly close first and second respectively over the two days.

Racing near Egmont Village on Saturday had previously been a stand-alone event, the annual edition of the popular annual Korito Technical Matrix event near Egmont Village, although it was elevated this year to being an integral opening phase, the first half of round one of the Yamaha New Zealand Hard Enduro Nationals.

Phase two the following day was a traditional hard enduro event, held on steep and unforgiving farmland just up the road in Urenui.

With points assigned equally to both days of action and then added together – this constituted the first round of seven in the 2025 Yamaha-sponsored New Zealand Hard Enduro Nationals that will feature racing in both the North and South Islands and finally wrap up near Wellington in November.

Saturday was dubbed the Korito Technical Matrix, with Sunday’s phase being labelled the Urenui Back Basin Hard Enduro.

The weekend’s series opener drew the cream of the crop from across a diverse range of motorcycling codes and the riders brought something special to the popular event with many opting to ride trials bikes – giving them an advantage over the tricky arena-style obstacles – or motocross and cross-country bikes, which will offer a speed advantage in the more open and flowing sections.

The first day of competition, just off Korito Road, about 15 kilometres south-west of New Plymouth, was won by Thompson, with Parker finishing runner-up and New Plymouth’s Matt Foster claiming third, while day two on Sunday was on rugged terrain inland from Urenui, just 35 kilometres north of New Plymouth, with Taupo’s Wil Yeoman winning the day, ahead of Parker and then Thompson.

Yeoman managed only eighth overall on day one at Korito, so when the riders’ points were tallied up it showed Thompson’s 1-3 was superior to Parker’s 2-2 results by just a solitary point and Thompson therefore took overall glory for the weekend.

Yeoman’s 8-1 results were however good enough for him to settle at third overall for the series after round one.

Wainuiomata’s Jake Whitaker (who finished 5-4) and Auckland’s Mitchell Gallagher (6-5) rounded out the top five for the weekend.

The Clerk of the Course for both events for Motorcycling New Zealand, New Plymouth man Simon Houghton, said he was “delighted to see so many entries” at the weekend.

“The sport is obviously in a healthy state,” he said. “We had riders coming from as far as Invercargill in the south to Whangarei in the north. We had plenty of first-timers giving it a go too … we sold more day licences this weekend than ever before.

“Both days featured challenging terrain that got progressively harder quite quickly as the day wore on. After talking to the riders, even those who had timed out, they all said how much they enjoyed it. But there will be a few sore people this week.”

Round two is set for Central Otago on the weekend of April 19-21. Only six of the seven rounds will be counted, with riders expected to discard points from their worst result.

The weekend is sponsored by Yamaha Motor New Zealand, Motorcycling New Zealand, Johnston's Moto of Inglewood, Egmont Industrial Supplies, Hunger Contracting, USWE, New Plymouth Underwater, Power Farming, Taranaki Mix (concrete supplier), Vision Subsea, Rooster Inc, Sharp Sheet Metal, Tu Bliss Nitro Mousse, Hirepool, EVS, Gaerne boots, O’Neal apparel, Oakley goggles, Motul oils, Leatt, Ndub graphics, Kiwi Rider magazine, Silver-Bullet, Best Build Construction, Macaulay Metals and Mitas tyres.

2025 Yamaha New Zealand Hard Enduro Nationals calendar:

Round 1: Taranaki, March 20-30;

Round 2: Central Otago, April 19-21;

Round 3: Canterbury, May 10-11;

Round 4: Northland, July 19-20;

Round 5: Wellington, September 27-28;

Round 6: Canterbury, November 15-16;

Round 7: Wellington, November 30.

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