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Thirty-one-year-old Koikeda was on a 2009 G450X provided by BMW Motorrad
Japan for this first race of the JNCC All Japan XC Enduro series.
Showing unrivalled skills, he won the opening round of this prestigious
off-road championship that takes place on a variety of terrain, including
fields, tracks and motocross courses. With a race duration of three hours
and a lap of around six kilometres - or at least nine minutes for the
quickest riders - the JNCC is an exciting competition format that placed
the BMW rider right in the mix with a variety of 450cc and 250cc race
machinery from the Japanese `Big Four' manufacturers.
Despite atrocious weather conditions, which meant that his laps were
actually taking between 27 and 32 minutes to complete, Koikeda Takeshi
remained focussed throughout and secured the top spot on his BMW G450X.
"It was an amazing event and I was delighted to win on a BMW machine as
an enduro rider," said the former All-Japan National Motocross Champion,
who spent many years racing 250cc dirt bikes. "The main course, as well
as the Extreme section, had some great downhill sections that resulted
in a challenging, but exciting lap that needed 30 minutes to complete.
"Because of the weather during the race, vision was bad at times due to
the amount of rain and mud flying around but I managed to get close to
the front after the first lap and started to put pressure on the leading
rider. After my second pit stop the rain and lightning got worse and it
was pretty tiring out there but I kept my concentration levels high and
was able to take the lead and ride to the finish without making any
mistakes. This was a new environment for me and there are lots of things
I still need to learn but it was great to have the support of BMW
Motorrad Japan and the G450X."
Koikeda Takeshi will be back in action for the next round of the JNCC on
17 May and will also be competing in the 2009 Japan Enduro Championship
series, which takes place from April to September.
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