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Photo - Lining up at Taupo:
Stolen from Kiwi Biker:
Guy Inglis is a guy who knows his way around the road race scene having been involved in the World GP two stroke era.
Spotted his name in the Pacific Road Race Results: having a dabble himself in the very rider friendly series and he has kindly provided a report for us.
Bill asked me to put some words together from a rider's point of view 2004/05 PMC.
I've done only two road race meets ever, and they have been this year's round 1 & 2 of the Pacific Motorcycle Club: Championship run at Taupo (the club hails from Napier).
I recently purchased an old but tidy RGV250 race bike with a view to trying my hand at racing on the hard stuff. Frustrated with the cost of track days at Pukekohe (I'm Auckland based and have not yet raced an AMCC event, so can't comment on that.) coupled with the high speeds and marginal feeling of safety at that track (ie Armco too close to run off areas) a friend (also running an RGV250) and I ventured south to Taupo to see if that would be any more road bike racer (beginners remember) friendly.
The first round (November) was run under near perfect weather conditions - sun, little wind, and warm temperatures. The second round was dry but a persistent cold wind from Ruapehu kept the jackets on between races. The Taupo circuit is fairly short but deserves more profile than it has - I think - from a riders perspective you are always busy and there are several lines to learn particularly for the last corner before the main straight, so it keeps you thinking. I would say it is more challenging but less daunting at the same time (lower overall speeds help) than a track like Pukekohe for the learner racer. The facilities (club room, toilets, parking areas etc) put Puke to shame really - considering Pukekohe is the circuit that is closest to our biggest city. Spectators are treated with toilets that have lighting that works etc.
Anyway enough of Pukekohe bashing - as Bill pointed out the event is well attended - close to 100 riders I think at Round 2. In general road racing in NZ suffers compared to its motocross/off road brothers when you look at competitor attendance, and I think the PMC series is perhaps going a fair way to address this.
How?
The club is friendly; the entry fees are reasonable (this is partly dictated by track hire costs and out of club control); the event is well run and is kept ticking along at a good pace. The next race is always ready to go and there's no long waits. As a racer you get 3 races and 2 practice sessions - 5 track sessions in all and that's if you enter only one class. Many enter more. They have the great idea of letting spectators who turn up on their bikes go out at lunch time for a small fee ($10 I think?) which makes their day more enjoyable too (assuming they don't get too excited and crash like one or two have!). It's only a low level club event so there's no gate fee for spectators. And of course (perhaps this is the biggest reason?) Taupo is centrally located so people from Wellington or Auckland, Tauranga or Wanganui can get there without a huge travel marathon.
A well run event and worth a look if you are a rider or a spectator. Both Pacific Motorcycle Club and Victoria run events there (maybe others too?) so check out the schedules and go have a look.
To Pacific Motorcycle Club - well done & thank you. Good fun.
Guy Inglis.
