Paeroa’s Mark Whyte can classify himself now as a leading international rider after he finished fourth overall in his class at a major international motorcycling event in Romania last week.

The 52-year-old father-of-two was racing his trusted Beta 300RR Racing dirt bike at the famous Red Bull Romaniacs extreme enduro event, held over four gruelling days from July 23-27, a competition where just to finish is itself considered an outstanding achievement.

Mark, along with a large contingent of fellow Kiwi dirt bike racers, accepted the challenge to race the Romaniacs and all returned home this week with cherished memories of not only the extreme racing challenge, but also the sights and scenes of the picturesque venue.

They were based in the medieval city of Sibiu, located in the Transylvanian region of Romania, in the central south-eastern area of Europe, for the duration of the event and the New Zealanders were in awe of the spectacular Carpathian Mountains, on which a large part of the racecourse was set.

“It was unbelievable really and I’m feeling pretty sore,” says Mark, shortly after he touched back down again in New Zealand.

“It was my second attempt at this event. I couldn’t finish it last year. It helped with this being my second time over there because I knew what to expect.

“But it was 30 degrees the whole time we were over there this time, and we even had a couple of days of heavy rain. It was pretty brutal, and I believe that’s what the organisers want it to be. They plan for the course to mentally and physically destroy the riders.

“The uphills and downhills were like I’ve never seen before.

“But the guys from the Beta factory over there were incredible and helped me a lot,” says Mark, himself the owner of a Beta motorcycle shop in Paeroa.

It is interesting to note that Mark is currently leading the Veterans’ 50-54 years’ class within the intermediate grade in this season’s New Zealand Enduro Championships with just the fifth and final round still to be run, the finale set to be run near Masterton on November 2.

Greek rider Dhmhtrhs Margos won the Iron Grade overall at the Romaniacs event, with New Zealand rider Tony Walch, now based in Auckland but formerly from Taradale, featuring in 27th overall.

Meanwhile, German rider Manuel Lettenbichler won the Gold Grade overall in Romania, while Hungarian Kornel Ott won the Silver Grade and Germany’s Kevin Gallas won the Bronze Grade.

Impressive performances were seen by several of the other Kiwi riders in Romania too, with Thames rider Chris Birch finishing runner-up in the Silver Grade and Papakura’s Ryan Hayward clinching fourth and Whangaparoa’s Jacob Refoy 11th in the same division.

Whangarei’s Owen Broughton, Whangamata’s Ethan Jameson and Tokoroa’s Sean Clarke placed 11th, 12th and 13th overall respectively in the Bronze Grade.

Many of these intrepid New Zealanders will, of course, also be back in racing action near Masterton in November.

Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com