Do you have a good dirt bike? Do you have insane riding skills? Are you tough and resourceful? Or maybe you're just extremely lucky?

You're going to need to have all of those things as the sixth annual running of the Husqvarna Hard Adventure Enduro attracts the country's elite dirt bike riders to the Central North Island this coming Labour Weekend.

It is expected to be a "last man standing" affair again this year, with plenty of obstacles lined up to sap the spirits, trap, trick and wear down even the most experienced of dirt bike racers, including those talented Kiwis who have just returned from racing the International six days Enduro in France.

The Husqvarna Hard Adventure Enduro skipped a beat last year, unable to be run because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that may be why this year's resumption so quickly filled the limited quota for entrants.

Rider entry numbers quickly reached the prescribed 120 and had to be closed off two months ago.

The event is designed to be difficult. Using a similar format to the notorious Red Bull Romaniacs international hard enduro that is held each year in Romania.

To be staged in forestry land around Tokoroa, Putaruru and Taupo, the racing will take place over two-and-a-half days over Labour Weekend – starting Friday evening, October 21, and winding up on Sunday afternoon, October 23 – and, when the bike engines are switched off, or the riders cry "enough", late on Sunday afternoon, that "last man" will have earned every accolade that could be heaped.

When the event was last run in 2020, it was Thames rider Chris Birch who was that last man standing.

World-renowned Kiwi international rider Birch is entered again this year and can expect to be challenged by such talented riders as back-to-back (2021 and 2022) national enduro champion Dylan Yearbury, from Cambridge, Wainuiomata's record eight-time national trial champion and 2022 New Zealand Extreme Off-Road Championship series leader Jake Whitaker, alongside a trio of Australian stars who are making the trip especially for this event.

Birch won the inaugural Husqvarna Hard Adventure Enduro in 2016, before Yearbury returned from eye injury to win it the following year and then repeated the feat in 2018.

But Birch then won it twice more, back-to-back in 2019 and 2020.

As a former winner also of the iconic international Romaniacs event (back in 2010 and then became Silver class champion at that same event earlier this year), it perhaps rubber stamps Birch's status as a favourite to succeed at home again in 2022.

Each day's track will be different , will be up to 150-kilometres in length and will feature Gold, Silver and Bronze-graded sections.

"This event will not be a typical New Zealand hard enduro; it will be real Adventure Enduro, and each grade will be set to give riders a real sense of adventure, as well as testing rider's ability to complete the grade that they have entered," says organiser Sean Clarke, himself a Kiwi international with outstanding racing credentials.

"This event is as close to the famous Red Bull Romaniacs (in Romania) as I can make it, so that Kiwis can take the challenge here before going overseas. It will let riders know where their riding skills are at and what they need to work on."

It kicks off on Friday with riders signing in and then undergoing motorcycle and equipment scrutineering from 3pm.

Starting in the SATCO logging attachments yard in Tokoroa at 5pm will be the event "prologue", with riders tackling a man-made course to determine qualification and starting positions for the following day.

"The riders can expect two days of hard riding on Saturday and Sunday that will push them to their limits," says Clarke.

"Although not quite as hard as the Romaniacs, it will still be a good work-out, with a lot of trail riding between the hard bits. There will be between six and eight hard sections per day and total riding time for the fastest in the Gold grade is expected to be between five and six hours."

He said the Silver and Bronze grade courses will be slightly easier, although still very challenging.

There are about 300 kilometres of trail and tracks waiting for the riders, with section names hinting at what lies ahead – names such as "Parachute Drop Up", "Log Jam", "Keep your Lunch Down", "Last Climb", "Rock Garden", "The Big Down" and "Romaniacs Ridge", while riders will also have to take their bikes on a Flying Fox across a river.

An indication of just how challenging the racing might be is in a note to riders that they must also carry "survival equipment", including a cell phone, first aid kit and survival blanket.

The event is sponsored by Husqvarna NZ, Forbes and Davies, O'Neal, Ogio, Arai Helmets, Maxima Racing Oils, Forma boots, Maxi Grip, Blur, Forest Trail Events, Kiwi Rider magazine, SATCO logging attachments and Michelin tyres.

-By Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com