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Vermeer On the Hunt For No.1 Spot
Vermeer On the Hunt For No.1 Spot
OCTOBER 31, 2013: Wairarapa’s Reuben Vermeer knows a thing or two about racing off-road-motorcycles and he’ll be out to prove that again this weekend.
The 30-year-old Masterton pest control officer and bee keeper has been single-handedly taking his Sargent Yamaha YZ450F into battle against two-man teams at recent marathon off-road events and he’s been giving as good as he gets.
Vermeer finished ninth overall to win the ironman (solo rider) section of the big Six-Hour Dirt Bike Challenge near Tokoroa three weeks ago and this weekend he heads back to the volcanic plateau to tackle the big annual Acerbis Four-Hour cross-country race and again he’ll be doing it alone.
He reckons he has some unfinished business with the Taupo race.
He was heading for what would then have been a career-high result at the Acerbis Four-Hour in Taupo last year on Saturday, charging through the field ahead of hundreds of the country’s top off-road motorcycle experts, when, with six of the seven arduous laps completed, an accessory bolt sheared off that was holding my after-market handlebars in place.
“It gave me quite a fright. I could feel and hear that something wasn’t right but, when the handlebars suddenly came loose, I had real problems.”
He still finished the race, cleverly using trackside marker tape to lash the handlebars in place, but he was also left to rue an opportunity lost.
Vermeer has since gone from strength to strength and now rates among the favourites of the gutsy ironman brigade.
“I have not done much training, other that lots of bike riding. But I am pretty fit.
“I’ve been riding a bit with (fellow Yamaha ace and three-time former national cross champion) Adam Reeves, of Palmerston North, and he’s given me quite a few pointers. I’m always trying to match him and always chasing him.”
Yamaha’s current national cross-country champion Adrian Smith, of Mokau, will also be a favourite to win outright on Saturday. He is teamed up with fellow Yamaha BikesportNZ.com rider Callan May, of Titirangi.
Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com
ENDS
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