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Subaru Savvy Leads NZ Adventure Series

Michael Jacques / 28.04.2005

Adventure racing may be the world’s toughest sport, but more often than not it is skill and tactical appreciation that win races. Certainly that was the case in Coromandel’s ARC Adventure Race.

Coromandel’s annual ARC 24 hour event was once again hosted the second round of the Sportzhub.com national adventure racing series. While series leaders Team Kathmandu, winners of November’s Southern Traverse, were not lined up, the field did include three of the four top teams from last years national series, including winners Team Subaru of Wayne Oxenham, St Lynch, Carl Bevans and Alexandra Stuart.

The race got underway with a spectacular surf start on the main beachfront at Whangamata, with several having an upside down start to the day. Out in the Pacific the challenge was no less intimidating with a two-metre swell causing havoc that included a capsize for race favourites Team Subaru.

The 12k ocean kayak finished with another spectacular surf beach at Onemana. First team off the water was the dubiously dubbed Team No Sponsors of Wayne Hodgetts, Keri Devine, Jeremy Kujelign and Geoff Parkin. Team Pro-4 Nutrition of Phil Wood, Phil White, Rhys Burns and Anne Mortimer followed nine minutes later, finishing with a spectacular dumping in the surf. Favourites Team Subaru trailed almost 50min behind after only two hours.

A short coasteering section followed, where teams spent as much time getting washed off coastal rocks and cliffs as they spent running around them. Team Subaru made up time, moving from seventh place up to fourth less than 15min behind the early leaders.

In the following mountain bike leg Team Whakatane Great Outdoors of Dean Sisson, Mark Murphy, Jamie Rhodes and Linda Wright emerged as leaders, but had given away bonus time for collecting checkpoints in favour of hammering through the course.

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