Motorcycle Maketplace Magazine

By Steve Green

On Sunday the VMX Central Motorcycle Club held a Vintage Motocross fun day to help raise money for the Horowhenua Bicycle Motocross Club. The event was held in a rolling paddock on Nathan Murray’s property at Ohau, just South of Levin, overlooking Lake Papatonga.
The scenery overlooking the lake and surrounding farmland was spectacular and combined with a clear blue sky made for an excellent day out.
The bikes entered were many and varied, including, Paul Collier on a Suzuki DR250, Keith Staples on a 1952 G80CS Matchless, Terry Sanson on a Yamaha TT500 and event organizer Owen Kirk on a Suzuki DR500.
For the senior riders there was the main track running the length of the paddock while the younger riders had a small track beside the car park and the very small children seemed to find their entertainment in the sticky mud beside the sign in table. By the late afternoon there were four very muddy, but very happy toddlers tramping up and down in this mud under the watchful eye of one of the mothers.
On the main track there was only a little bit of mud by the start line and down the back of the track so riders had good traction for the whole day enabling some fast cornering as the track went up and down the rolling hill with very few straights, making controlled cornering important.
Officials were kept to a minimum, to the point that there was one guy to start the races and one guy to wave the chequered flag at the finish and sometimes the same guy did both. I am not 100% sure if either of them actually counted laps, not that it mattered much as there were no lap scorers and no prizes either, however everyone I spoke to was having fun.
The children’s track only had a few young riders on it who were obviously happy to go round and round all day.
The organizers are also hoping to once again run the historic Johnny Old Motocross on the original circuit on Kukutuaki Road, Levin, provisionally in April 2010. Not run since 1987, this event was a Nationally recognized Motocross meeting drawing riders from all over the country on many of the very same bikes that are now competing in the Vintage Motocross events.
For more photos from this event visit www.sportsimages.co.nz

Memorial Mort Andrews Sand Prix, Sunday 6th September.
By Steve Green

On Sunday the Manawatu Orion Motorcycle Club along with Motocross sponsors AFC Motorcycles, and in association with the Andrews family hosted the Memorial Mort Andrews Sand Prix at Taikorea MX Park.
This memorial for Mort Andrews was combined with round one of the Manawatu Orion Motorcycle Club’s Motocross Championships.
Mort Andrews who was a former Patron of the Manawatu Orion Club passed away last year and this meeting acknowledges the uncountable hours Mort gave to the Club and motorcycle sport locally, including buying and building the very Motocross Park that the event was held at.
There were two separate tracks at the event, one for the four to eleven year olds on the Mini track and the older children and Seniors on the main track. For the Minis, they had quite a long track that doubled back on itself in a small tree lined valley. At the start of the day it was cold in the valley with frost on the ground and ice on top of the puddles but it did not seem to worry the big fields of young riders.
The main track was huge with a big loop over the hill and down by the Minis before going back over the hill and looping around beside the main carpark and pits area. A big field of riders and a number of big jumps and hairpin turns gave the small crowd an excellent days Motocross action to watch.
Photos of the event can be seen on www.sportsimages.co.nz

New Zealand Classic Motorcycle Racing Register, August 30th, 2009.
By Steve Green

On Sunday, August 30th, hundreds of classic motorcycle racing enthusiasts from all over the North Island descended on Manfield Autocourse on the outskirts of Feilding for the annual New Zealand Classic Motorcycle Racing Register’s, Manfeild meeting. Despite the poor weather forecast, the day started with a clear blue sky and although there was growing cloud cover as the day went on, there was no rain until just after the final race.
Bikes competing on the day included Vintage, Classic, Post Classic and over a dozen sidecars. Lady racers were also there in good numbers with Janet Wilson on her 1954, 350cc, BSA Gold Star running in the top group in her class, as was sidecar passenger Joanne Mickleson with her father Neville at the controls of their 800cc, Matchless G12. In the Veteran class was Joanne’s Grandfather, Jack Mickleson who was racing a 350cc, MAC Velocette of 1939 vintage.
There was plenty of close racing on the track and even a little bit of unintentional classic Scrambles action off the track occasionally, as riders took the corners too fast and ran out of tarseal.
The sidecars too had their action both on and off the track, Keith Sinclair came all the way down from Auckland to race his 1975, Harley Davidson Sportster powered sidecar only to have the frame break and the battery expire requiring a new battery and some electrical engineering on the frame.
For Gordon Skilton from Pahiatua, the frame was OK but the Norton Atlas engine powering his classic sidecar was giving trouble, which was rather annoying for a former New Zealand Sidecar Champion who still likes to go fast.
The unsung heroes of the meeting were the many helpers who kept everything running from the time keepers and flag marshals through to the many pit crew who helped the rider’s between races. Some like Mrs Vicki Tate from Wanganui have traditionally always been there over the years, helping to make sure that husband Colin is fed and watered and their 1962, 750cc, Norton Domie race bike is also refuelled between races. Others like Vincent Veltman are also now regular helpers at the races and although standing about half a metre tall and barely a year old he even has his own little R Twin Works, Pit Crew T shirt. For some reason little Vincent has not been a huge help with the BMW race bike but he is certainly popular with the mothers and young ladies.
For more photos of this meeting visit www.sportsimages.co.nz