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LEADING NZ CROSS-COUNTRY RIDERS REVEAL THEMSELVES
2021 New Zealand Cross Country Championship CAPTION: The...
NZSBK AND MOTOFEST AT HAMPTON DOWNS POSTPONED
2021 NZSBK Championship It will still possibly be the...
MOTOFEST AT HAMPTON DOWNS IS APPROACHING AT SPEED
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The list below is of ACTIVE MNZ permits for this weekend. Please check directly with the club to see if they are still running their event under Level 2 COVID-19 alert level restrictions.
Saturday 6th March:
* NZ Trial School Trial Clinics for ADV Riders - Hosted by Pioneer Motorcycle Club Inc. (Trial)
* Kaihoka Lakes MX - Hosted by Nelson Motorcycle-Club (Motocross)
Sunday 7th March:
* Mosgiel District MCC Cross Country Series (round 1) - Hosted by Mosgiel District Motor Cycle Club (Cross Country)
* Bel Ray 3 - Hosted by Huntly Motorcycle Club - HMCC (Cross Country)
* Tauranga MCC Club (round 4) - Hosted by Tauranga Motorcycle Club (Motocross)
* TT Series 2021 (round 1) - Hosted by Christchurch Offroad Motorcycle Club (Motocross)
* Club Trial - Hosted by Ixion MCC (Trial) ... Read MoreSee Less
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That dude ain't gonna live much longer hooking it into the grass like that 🤣 in that photo
I thought this quote originated from Burt Munro ( You live more in five minutes on a bike like this going flat out than some people live in a lifetime ) and Burt preceded Sic by a few years. But both great men knew the feeling !
The 2021 New Zealand Mini Motocross National will be held on 9th & 10th October in Leeston, hosted by Christchurch Offroad Motorcycle Club
The 2021 New Zealand Veteran & Woman's National will be held on 30th & 31st October in Taranaki, Hosted by Taranaki Motorcycle Club
Thank you to the Motocross commission and the clubs for hosting these amazing events for us! ... Read MoreSee Less
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Hahahah Duane Calvert-Strachan vets & womans nats for our first wedding anniversary? 😂🤪
Thomas Stiven I better get training since I’ll be a vet 🤣
Marty Axtens lock the date in fulla
Amie Roberts
Peter Drew
Mark Kim Daz Chantel LadyLanez Jess 🤙 tys will love it if some of his family can finally watch him... and on the biggest event of the year
Trip to Christchurch for your birthday Renee? 😂
Dena Hazelden
Daniel Murphy
Adrian Calder keen on this brother ?
Brendon Fogarty
Johnny Burkhart
Tayla Miller
Scott Barkley 🤔
Natalie
You old enough yet? Josh Charlwood
Zara Gray
Ben Morrissey
Sara Priest october road trip ?
Mark Anderson get fit
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Hi Team, for anyone who missed the previous post. As it stands the Hampton Downs Round scheduled for this weekend has been postponed to a later date and Taupo next weekend will now be our Round 3.
For full details check previous post. We will keep you updated on any changes that may present. Stay safe and be kind.
-Bayleigh ... Read MoreSee Less
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2021 Holloway Builders TT Series - Round 1 - Hosted by Christchurch Offroad Motorcycle Club
Entries close Thursday 4th March for event on Sunday 7th March
Enter online with Timing Tech
2021 Waikato Schools Motocross Challenge - Hosted by Patetonga MX
Entries close Friday 5th March for event on Friday 12th (Secondary) & Saturday 13th March (Primary & Intermediate).
2021 Southland Cup - Round 1 - Hosted by Southland Motorcycle Club
Entries close Monday 8th March for event on Saturday 13th March. ... Read MoreSee Less
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CAPTION: The senior podium at round one of the 2021 New Zealand Cross-country Championships near Marton on Sunday was (from left) Palmerston North's Paul Whibley (2nd), Napier's Tommy Watts (1st) and Napier's Reece Lister (3rd). Photo by Andy McGechan, BikesportNZ.com
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world, but the hardiest of Kiwis have once again knuckled down to find a way to carry on with their lives.
The 2020 New Zealand Cross-country Championships were abandoned when the virus first impacted on sports in New Zealand in March last year and, almost exactly 12 months later, a fresh outbreak again threatened to end the competition before it had really begun.
As Auckland was put on Level Three alert and the rest of the country set at Level Two conditions at midnight on Saturday, plans to run the opening round of the Yamaha-sponsored 2021 New Zealand Cross-country Championships near Marton on Sunday was thrown a curve ball.
At virtually the last minute, organisers were told that medics would no longer be available to attend the event and a mad scramble followed to find an alternative or no racing could take place.
Right up until about half an hour before the racing was due to begin at Marton on Sunday morning, event organisers were considering an abandonment.
Fortunately a paramedic made themselves available and racing could finally go ahead, many of the riders having already arrived in the region well before the pandemic restrictions had been announced and comfortable in the knowledge that racing could continue without flouting the fresh Level Two restrictions for the region.
"It was a bit of a drama for us to get this happening," said Motorcycling New Zealand cross-country commissioner Chris Smyth.
"We spent a couple of hours ringing around medics between 11.30pm and midnight, but thanks to help from (MNZ national series steward) Lauren Stockley we got it all organised and we were only half an hour late getting started.
"As for the racing, this track was probably a bit more demanding for the junior riders than is generally the case, but this is meant to be a test for them. It wasn't impossible for them anywhere."
Taupo's Wil Yeoman led from start to finish to dominate the 90-minute junior grade race overall (and in his premier up-to-300cc four-stroke class) on Sunday morning, crossing the finish line half a minute ahead of runner-up rider Luke Brown, from Eketahuna. Third overall was Dannevirke's Charlie Free, finishing more than two minutes further back.
Rotorua's Daniel Bates was fourth overall and was best of the junior up to 200cc two-stroke class riders, while Masterton's Max Williams (eighth overall) claimed the 85cc junior class win.
The three-hour senior race in the afternoon was less cut-and-dried.
Taupo's Wyatt Chase led from the start but he soon had Napier-based former Wairoa rider Tommy Watts nipping at his rear wheel. Watts took the lead and never looked back, while behind him it was fierce battle for the top spots between Chase, another Napier-based former Wairoa rider in the shape of Reece Lister, Raglan's Brandon Given, Hamilton's Sam "Charlie" Brown and a hard-charging Paul Whibley.
Palmerston North's Whibley had be trapped in traffic at the start but was quickly moving forward from the back of the pack and, by the halfway stage of the race, he was up to fifth.
It ended up with Watts taking the outright win by just 20 seconds from Whibley, with Lister claiming the third podium spot, crossing the line three minutes later.
"I had a terrible start and it was so dusty and hard to pass in that first lap," said the 19-year-old Watts afterwards.
"I was back in about 15th position, but I just chipped away and then took the lead on lap two (of seven). I knew Paul (Whibley) was coming and I had a crash on the last lap. That rattled me and he caught right up, but I held on until the end."
Round two is expected to go ahead near Dannevirke on Sunday, March 14, before the riders head to the two South Island events that will wrap up the series, at Gore on April 17 and at Mosgiel the following day.
Points from only the best three results from the four rounds will be counted towards the championship titles, with riders to discard their worst result. This also allows competitors the option of having to make only one trip across Cook Strait.
The New Zealand Cross-country Championships series is supported by Yamaha NZ, O'Neal apparel, The Dirt Guide, Oakley goggles, Bel Ray oils and Michelin tyres.
2021 NZ Cross-Country Champs
Round One – Sunday, February 28 – Bush Riders Motorcycle Club, Marton
Round Two – Sunday, March 14 – Central Hawke's Bay MCC, Dannevirke
Round Three – Saturday, April 17 – Gore and Districts Motorcycle Club, Gore
Round Four – Saturday, April 18 – Mosgiel District Motor Cycle Club, Mosgiel
Credit: Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com ... Read MoreSee Less
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It will still possibly be the biggest motorcycling event on the 2021 calendar, but we're now just going to have to wait a little longer for it to happen.
Poised to mark its fourth anniversary at the popular north Waikato race track this coming weekend (March 6-7), the Mike Pero MotoFest has unfortunately now had to be postponed due to the latest efforts by the Government to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
At this stage, the sport's governing body in this country, Motorcycling New Zealand, has decided that the 2021 New Zealand Superbike Championships (NZSBK), an integral component of the MotoFest extravaganza, will remain a four-round series and that the racing that had been set for Hampton Downs this coming weekend, will now be staged at a later date, yet to be confirmed.
These are uncertain times, but it is hoped that round four, set for Taupo's Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park on March 13-14, will still go ahead as planned and Hampton Downs will hopefully be added back into the calendar after that.
The MotoFest programme was to include several separate major competitions – MotoFest not only hosting the third round of four in this year's NZSBK (including the New Zealand TT title races), but also the second annual Motul NZ Classic Grand Prix and the Shoei Helmets-sponsored Classic Two Stroke races as well.
Fingers are crossed that all these competitions will still be able to go ahead when a replacement date is determined.
This latest announcement is a massive blow to the tirelessly-dedicated members of the New Zealand Classic Motorcycle Racing Register (NZCMRR) who have been working alongside the Hampton Downs promoters and Motorcycling New Zealand officials to ensure MotoFest would run smoothly.
The four-round NZSBK series kicked off at Mike Pero Motorsport Park, Ruapuna, on the outskirts of Christchurch, on the weekend of January 9-10, with round two followed just a week later, at Levels International Raceway, near Timaru, and that set the cauldron bubbling ahead of what had been an expected MotoFest boil-over.
With Hampton Downs now expected to be added on after the Taupo round, it will become the crucial series finale.
The 2021 New Zealand Superbike Championships are supported by Sky Sport Next, Aon Insurance, Pirelli, Trust Aoraki, Redpath, CTAS, MX Timing, BikesportNZ.com and commentators Neil and Brad Ritchie.
Class leaders after two of four rounds in the NZSBK series are Whakatane's Damon Rees (Superbikes); Christchurch's Aaron Scott (Superbike B, support class); Christchurch's Dale Finch (Supersport 600); Whangamata's Jarad Horn (650 Pro Twins); Invercargill's Cormac Buchanan (Supersport 300 and Supersport 150); Hamilton's Billee Fuller (GIXXER Cup 150); Tauranga duo Barry Smith and Stu Dawe (Sidecars).
Credit: Words and photo by Andy McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com ... Read MoreSee Less
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Hopefully it can be rescheduled for wkd 20/21st to make it better for riders travelling long distance.
Bloody Covid. Just run a double header at Taupo and get it done. It’s long enough between rounds 2-3 let alone dragging it out longer
Seen teams testing on Monday 11 days before next round, including MNZ Official. Remind me why this 10 day restriction was imposed. Its a joke, its time someone suggested breaking away from MNZ.??
The south islanders can't just hang around up north waiting for a decision. Sad to say but taupo would need to be the last round.
Alan Hough
Double Header at Taupo. Track is already booked. Lets finish this!!!
Shay Miller
Stink
Has this been fact checked for fake news? As an NZSBK competitor I have not received any official communication about anything being postponed.
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