For the third round of the Japan Enduro Championship the country’s best enduro riders gathered in outskirts of Sendai for the one-day sprint enduro format.

Following heavy rain during the day before the race, the track was extremely muddy, which left the conditions overly difficult. With deep ruts, muddy bogs, slippery forestry and moving rocks it proved to be a challenging day in the saddle. Reducing the proposed 15km special test to approximately 5km, competitors battle hard over the eight scheduled laps.

KTM’s Taisuke Mizukami won the Elite (IA) class. Fending off fierce opposition from Yamaha’s Yutaro UchiyamaIt, the young contender held on for his first win of his career.

In the IB class Manamu Watanabe (Yamaha) secured victory.

The Japanese Enduro Championship continues with rounds four and five in Hidaka Hokkaido on September 23-23.

Results:

Elite(IA) class

1, Taisuke Mizukami, KTM250SXF, 0:53:47.35

2, Yutaro Uchiyama, YAMAHA YZ250F, 0:53:55.24

3, Masanari Ota, KTM250XCW, 0:54:15.24

4, Tomoyasu Ikeda, KTM450EXCR, 0:54:34.85

5, Taku Izumi, YAMAHA YZ125, 0:58:22.84

6, Yusuke Kondo, YAMAHA YZ144, 1:01:03.02

IB class

1, Manabu Watanabe, YAMAHA YZ250, 0:49:19.92

2, Shinji Aoki, KTM150XC, 1:03:38.60

3, Yusuke Inouem HONDA CRF250R, 1:05:43.03

Photos and Text : BIG TANK MAGAZINE