    |
 |
|
|
|
WITH 300 riders at the opening round at Woodhill Forest on October 9-10, the AMPs Grand National Cross Country championship series has clearly taken off. Last year the series attracted just on 600 individual riders over five rounds so the series organiser, GNCC Ltd., looks well on track to exceed that over the course of the 2004-05 series. Entries have been flooding in for round two at Matata in the Bay of Plenty this weekend (November 13-14), indicating that GNCC Ltd.'s ideas are working.
After analysing all forms of off-road motorcycle competition in New Zealand, dirt bike enthusiasts David Palmer and Greg Power hit on the GNCC formula.
As a long-time off-road racer, Power wanted GNCC events to be rider-friendly from sign-on to the chequered flag.
"What made dirt biking so popular in the boom period of the 1970s was that it was accessible, and lots and lots of fun," Power says.
"Over the years, competitive events have lost some of the fun aspect, and officials sometimes forget what it's all about. So, we looked at it from the competitor¹s point of view. Why should riders stand in line for ages waiting to sign on? How could we stream line that?" Power wondered.
"We also found that the mass starts so popular with race organisers are not that popular with competitors. So we have come up with a staggered start system with the fastest riders starting first and then progressively slower riders starting behind them," Power adds. "We also wanted to separate some of the classes, so we have came up with a two day format. ATVs, junior riders and trail riders run on Saturday, then we have Clubmen, Rookies and Women on Sunday morning, followed by the Elite, Pro and Expert riders on Sunday afternoon.
"This format means the newcomers are not getting lapped by much faster riders, and that makes the racing safer as well as more fun for everyone concerned," he says.
"It was also important that we mapped out courses with great care to avoid bottlenecks. We also had to consider how well the tracks would stand up to the effect of two or three hundred motorcycles over the course of a weekend. We do not want to have a situation where the track becomes impossible to ride."
With Power¹s enviable off-road competition record allied to David Palmer¹s considerable IT skill and experience, GNCC Ltd. was in a position to use computer power to speed up everything from sign-on, through lap scoring to the output of detailed results.
But first, Palmer had to produce the Racesync software to produce accurate results. Naturally enough, this involved quite a bit of time to get working reliably.
A typical GNCC event also utilises no less than four lap-top computers, three bar-code readers, a desk-top PC and a laser printer. Assembling all this in a rural setting and making sure it works reliably is Palmer¹s responsibility. As a result, he has made sure he has plenty of back-up and a reliable electricity generator.
"Every GNCC course is different with its own personality and bias. Courses have sand, dirt or clay bases. Some are tight and twisty requiring precise and accurate riding whereas others are fast and open," Palmer explains.
"Any individual course might work towards an individual riders¹ particular style. However, over the course of the five rounds in the current series, the winner is going to be the person who can ride fast in any terrain."
This year marks the third season of GNCC competition with dates carefully selected to avoid clashes with other major off-road motorcycle events.
While GNCC Ltd. takes care of the logistics, the dates and promotion, it contracts Power Adventures to do the hands-on work on the day. This includes supplying the manpower, arranging public liablity insurance, establishing and monitoring a safety plan, arranging first aid workers, and of course, ambulances.
"Because of the care we go to in laying out each course, we do not expect to have to use the ambulance, but it¹s there just in case," Palmer adds.
The remaining rounds of the AMPs GNCC series are:
November 13-14, Matata, Bay of Plenty
December 11-12, Waimiha, Waikato-King Country
January 8-9, 2005, Maramaru, Hauraki
February 12-13, 2005, Tokoroa, Central North Island
