Anthony "where's me blimmin barrel" Bradford comments on the Bike Mart SuperMoto Race day

It seemed that 3 things were always going to happen on the Bike Mart Supermoto Race day held Saturday April 5th 2003, The sun would come up, the sun would go down, and Nigel Healey would get the hole shot!

So complete was Healeys dominance, that he holeshoted every race he entered then held the lead, seemingly with ease right to the checkered flag. The one race where Stephen Briggs came within striking distance, the red flag came out and the race was stopped due to an accident.

Stephen Briggs showed great sportsmanship, after over shooting the entry to the infield dirt section, he went on rather than endangering the the other riders behind by attempting to U-turn into the oncoming stampede, whilst knowing full well, at best he would be heavily penalized or at worse disqualified. Shame on a cheeky Tony Rees ;-) for suggesting Briggs was "just after a hot lap" at the very well attended prize giving ceremony, held at the end of a very successful days racing.

Many riders put their hands up as SuperMotard stars of the future, none more so than Shane Howell, his 1st race was a lesson in controlled aggression. His best lap that race was a stunning 1:07.600. Consider this, Howell, on a standard Husky 610, with less than ideal road/trail rubber mounted on standard rims got to within 2 seconds of the days undisputed SuperMotard star Nigel Healeys best lap of 1:05.669. Other up and coming riders to impress were Brendon Coad, Gareth Mair, Robert Howell (beating his son twice!), William Doe and Peter Nolan to name just a few. With riders such as these coming through the ever swelling Motard ranks, behind the established SuperMotard stars such as Nigel Healey, Brendon Stephenson, Stephen Briggs and Tony Rees, SuperMotard in New Zealand is in great shape for years to come.

The Bike Mart team and the other sponsors put on an excellent day. Todd Sutherland in particular put in a Mammoth amount of work to make the day the complete success it undoubtedly was. Tim Gibbs was on hand with his world class transponder system to make sure every lap in every race was documented to the millisecond. A lot of volunteers put in A LOT of tireless hours of hard work and were rewarded with an awesome display of SuperMotard talent that is fast being unearthed in New Zealand.

Any rider who did not come in from a race without a huge grin needed to be checked for a heart beat, it was that good!

All and sundry have vowed to return next year!

Over 60 riders turned up on the day with all manner of machines in the back of the ute, van or house truck!

The evolution of serious SuperMotard machines in New Zealand over the inaugural round held April 2002 had to be seen to be believed! It was also very encouraging to see how many Motocross and Enduro guys threw road tires on their standard bikes (inc. standard wheels) to instantly create a whole new class of racing machine! Many Road Racers did the same thing with the dirt bikes they use for training..

The mix of ages and riding codes, all sharing tips, tricks and passing over years of knowledge, made for an en-richning atmosphere. The mix of machinery was impressive, as was their sound, from the snarling high pitched rasp of the two strokes to the purposeful bark of the 4 strokes, all were adding to the excitement thick in the air. By the end of the day, many friendships were added to and many new ones were founded.

Although this was the only dirt/road SuperMoto race to be scheduled thus far this year, Id like to point out to all the riders who raced bikes with standard wheels, that your bikes will be even more competitive on the tighter Cart tracks used predominantly in the Wellington based SCS series and Auckland Motorcycle Club run Supermotard Series, than at the track used for the Bike Mart Taupo Supermoto Race! These 2 series are proving to be very popular and are really taking off! They offer competitive racing with a fantastic social atmosphere to boot!

I'd just like to take the opportunity to Todd and his team of volunteers as well as the riders who made this day the AWESOME day it was, you guys rock!

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