Born: 1933
Inducted into MNZ Hall of Fame: 2016
First to introduce electronic timing to MNZ events, Tim Gibbes did this with his own money and raised the standard of events to world class by hosting them on the World Wide Web. This was state of the art when he pioneered it first in 1999.
Gibbes was the manager for the first New Zealand team to compete at an International Six Day Enduro (ISDE), taking the riders behind the iron curtain to Czechoslovakia in 1982, a time of Cold War supremacy.
He was also the first team manager for the New Zealand Motocross des Nations team. He took a team of three then-unknown teenagers to the USA, who were quickly launched onto the world stage through his leadership – Darryll King, Shayne King and Daryl Atkins.
Gibbes brought the name ‘Motocross’ from events held in other countries to New Zealand. He also organised the first ever international Motocross in New Zealand, bringing riders from all over, some of whom were world-class competitors of that era and names that would subsequently become kiwi favourites.
Woodville Motocross was created by Gibbes from a patch of his ‘in-law’s’ farm. He designed and engineered a world-class facility still being used for the annual New Zealand Motocross Grand Prix.
Gibbes was MNZ’s Motocross Commissioner for a period of time, during which time he lifted the profile of Motocross amongst his peers, held motocross workshops and forums and ensured the on-going role of the commissioner.
In addition, Gibbes was also a talented rider, competing for Australia for works and factory racing teams. He continued to race overseas after becoming a kiwi, including competitions in Japan and the USA.
Gibbes was also a professional test rider for international companies in New Zealand and performed tyre testing for global brands. The manufacturers would bring their prototype tyres and executives to New Zealand, safe in the knowledge their trade secrets would be kept safe by Gibbes.