Hampton completes the set.

Hampton takes heat 2

Ryan Hampton continued on his winning way in the final leg of the Burt Munro Challenge held in the rural town of Wyndham.

A 40 minute ride from Invercargill sees the hamlet transformed into a street racing track with all classes of machines navigating their way around the hay-baled streets at breakneck speeds.

Hampton's 'Hampton Honda' CBR1000RR was again the dominant machine at the track and the likable Cantabrian put in another powerful performance to take two of the three heats contested.

The third heat was the only glitch in team Hampton's entire challenge.

According to team Boss Robin Hampton, 'Ryan missed the start and ended up fourth after the first corner, then on the start straight he committed to an inside pass on Lee Munro which ended up with quite a large tank slapper entering turn one, he managed to save the slapper but ended up too wide exiting the corner, hit some loose hay on the track, then hit the deck. After a very short, abrupt self criticism he was back on the bike and back on the gas, carving through the field. After 3 laps he had got back to fourth and set the unofficial overall lap record for the Wyndam circuit at 36.372.'

Robin then noted 'I have gone back through My Laps history the best time I can find is Andrew Stroud at 37.567, so in the meantime until someone can verify a quicker time we will claim the record.'

Fantastic stuff!

Lee Munro finished second overall with three 2nd place finishes on his Ducati 999s and Jamie Galway's Daytona 675 finished third in the 'Jim Beam' Formula Wyndham class.

Munro was also successful winning the BEARS class races.

Bryan Hill from Ashburton claimed the Formula Three title on his SV650 while Gavin Veltmeyer took the Super Motard Open title in a motard-typical series of great dices with Chris Manson and Jason Feaver.

Brent Scammell took the Super Motard up to 450cc class on his Honda CRF450RA and brought the crowd to its feet with a huge mono across the line.

Kevin Orr's Yamaha FZR600 took the pre '89 class and Sid Chaloner added to his collection of Munro-bilia by winning all three heats in the pre '82s on his Suzuki GSX.

A good crowd, estimated at more than 5,000 stood behind the bales to watch the meet.

The end of the day's racing saw the conclusion of the 2010 Burt Munro Challenge. It was again a fantastic event, this year blessed with generally good conditions and more great racing.

Congratulations to all who raced, organised and attended. One hell of a weekend.

More pictures and video to follow.

Tregoning makes it three in a row

Grant Tregoning recovered from start line mechanical failure to win on his No2 bike.

Fraser Gillespie, the President of Oreti Park Speedway, notes in his official’s welcome that the Burt Munro meeting is ‘now in its fifth year’. This means that local champ Grant Tregoning has won 60% of ‘Solos’ Trophies awarded.

Even a mechanical failure at the starting tape of the hotly contested final didn’t distract Tregoning. He calmly (or so it appeared) assessed the problem, later identified by his mechanic as 'a fueling issue', and called for his backup bike.

Trouble at mill

Seemingly without missing a beat he jumped on the number two machine, and after seeing off a spirited challenge by Moore Park’s Larry Ross, lead from turn three all the way to the chequered flag.

Dale Finch, also from Moore Park in Christchurch finished second on the points table and Andy Aldridge never recovered from a bad start in the final to finish third overall.

Pitt & Demanser take the Sidecars Final

Tregoning described the win as 'awesome'.

In the huge field of sidecars Whanganui's John Pitt and Kervin Demanser took the hotly contested final.

It was another successful event on the Burt Munro Programme and big ups to the organisers who managed to get through a 56 race programme and still keep smiling.

Results

Solo: Grant Tregoning (Oreti) 1; Dale Finch (Chch) 2; Andy Aldridge (Chch), 3.

Sidecars: John Pitt and Kervin Demanser (Whanganui) 1; Fraser Gillespie and Nigel Cuckow (Oreti) 2; Grant Thompson and Chris Nixon (Oreti) 3.

Solo Support: Matthew Heenan (Oreti) 1; Josh O'Docherty (Chch) 2; James Thompson (Chch) 3.

Solo Classic: Brendon Manu (Auck) 1; Pete Stenning (Oreti) 2; Graham Wedlake (Hawke's Bay) 3.

Junior Solo: Adam Shuttleworth (Oreti) 1; Zane Pay (Oreti) 2; Jake Gillespie (Oreti) 3.

Oreti's Jake Gillespie has a bad start in the 250 Demo's.
After a tense few moments on the track he was able to walk back to the pits. 

Ryan Hampton takes Teretonga sprint crown

Part of the good crowd streaming in to watch the Sprint Races

Ryan Hampton on his way to
his second win of the day.

Cantabrian Ryan Hampton continued on his winning (and very fast) way in the 'E Hayes and Sons' Sprint Races at Teretonga Park. The day was highlighted by two closely fought wins on his Honda CBR1000RR over the flying BMW 1000 SSR piloted by John Ross, also from Christchurch.

It was another great performance by Hampton who overcame the variable conditions in a meet that started wet and finished dry and sunny.

Ross did manage to reach the top step of the podium by winning the BEARS class, which featured some of the largest fields of the event. Ross's was also the only machine on the day to crack the sub one minute barrier for a lap of the picturesque circuit.

Invercargill local Jeremy Holmes won the F2 class on his Honda CBR600RR and Tiamaru's Johnny Small won the 'Southland Honda' F3 event on a Suzuki SV650.

Gavin Veltmeyer's KTM was again the one to beat taking the Super Motard open class, with the 450's going to John Crawford from Bluff on his Suzuki RMZ450.

Sid Chaloner's FZR750R at 'the Elbow'

Sid Chaloner from Te Anau won the Pre '89 class on his Yamaha FZR750R, another local man John Beck won the Pre '82 crown on his Suzuki RGB500 with Tony McQueen from Lower Hutt successful in the Pre '72 on a Kawasaki H2 750 and also the Pre '63 class on a Norton Dominator 500.

There was some controversy around the pits as one round of racing was lost due to veteran machines dropping oil on the track and the time it took to clean the surface.

One race team manager called for a change in format when he noted that 'we have guys on Superbikes doing 300kph and on the edge around here while the track is being compromised by the oil dropped by the older bikes.'

Hampton leads Ross to the Chequered Flag.

There were suggestions that running the newer machine's full programme in the early part of the meeting would enhance safety.

Nevertheless Officials did a great job clearing the track and good racing was underway again not long after.

Overall it was another splendid meeting held in the Munro spirit, full of great racing and spectacular sights.

Feaver takes feature Beach Race - Watson continues to impress.

And they're off! Jason Feaver takes the lead he held all race.

Unofficial Results.

Jason Feaver from Christchurch on his re-bored Honda CR survived a late-race fuel stop to win the featured 50 mile Burt Munro Trophy on Oreti Beach.

Made world famous in the 'Fastest Indian', the hard sand again resonated to the sounds of motorcycles going flat out, up and down the mile long circuit. Sunny conditions prevailed at the start of the programme before giving way to afternoon showers and humid conditions.

Jason Feaver

In a changed format from previous events the sand was left un-graded, the course was moved further down the beach and the start time was revised to a mid-morning green flag - and a full set of races followed.

Bikes charging through the sea mist were spectacular.

Feaver started proceedings well by taking the first event on the program, the 'Southland Honda Championship', run over two 8 lap races.

Tim George continued his weekend of dominance on the Quads with another commanding ride in the 'Zookeepers Championship'.

New South Welshman Watson was as spectacular
on the beach as the long track.

Murray Royal took the spoils in the 'Jack Daniels' Classics and Christopher Watson was again commanding, spectacular and a long way in front when the chequered flag fell in the 'Cabbage Tree Championship' for bikes up to 500cc. He was a comfortable distance ahead of the pack at the finish of the 'E Hayes and Sons SMCC' 1 mile dash for the Mrs Haynes Cup too.

Baynes Challenged early.

That took us to the featured main where Feaver led from start to finish. He was pushed in the early going by 2008 Trophy winner and local man, Greg Baynes on a KTM 450SX-F , but in the end the Honda had enough of a lead to enable a fuel top up to the handlebar mounted auxiliary tank only a few laps from the completion of the race.

A lead he maintained to the finish.

The Crowd was a good one for the Friday Morning start.

That concluded a spectacular day of speed and flying sand in a celebration of the Munro Spirit.

Attention now turns to the first of Saturday's events, the Sprint racing at beautiful Teretonga Park.

Hampton Smashes Hill Climb Record

Ryan Hamton on the Hampton Honda CBR1000RR
destroys the Hill Climb Record.

Showery conditions prevailed for the running of 2nd event in the Burt Munro Challenge.

It was also warm and humid on the southern tip of the mainland as competitors tackled the Maverick Bluff NZ Road Hill Hill Climb Championships.

The twisty road time trial climbs 1.4km from start gate to finish line and riders were further challenged by the conditions that started wet and dried out somewhat as the event progressed.

None of this seemed to make any difference to Christchurch flyer (and 'winging south sponsors) Ryan Hampton who knocked almost three seconds off the existing record with a 46.21 ET on his third run on board the Hampton Honda CBR1000RR.

'The bike performed very well and I'm very happy to get the win and the record as well' said the rapidly rising star. 'We ran Metzler full wet weather tyres all day. We could have gone to a slick or a cut slick later in the event, but it's only a 50 second run, and the wets are nice and soft and sticky' he continued.

We'll be following Ryan's progress at Teretonga and the Wyndham street races closely.

In the other classes, the Under 600cc was won by Chris Manson from Omaru on a Honda CR500 and the Quads were again won by Tim George in 49.38.

In the classics categories the Pre-63 event was won by Chris Swallow (54.12) on a Velocette Venom. The Pre-82's were won by Chris McMeeeken (54.08) on his GS1000. The Pre-89 class went to Kevin Orr (53.20) on his FZR600.

It was another fascinating day's motor sport with the crowds up close to the action and feeling 'part of it'.

The event was largely without incident except for one reported errant stoppie in the car park at the end of the course.

Action now moves to the sand at Oreti Beach and the next round of the challenge.

Aldridge and George Dominate Long Track

Ascot Park Raceway - The Long Track

Unofficial results.

Christchurch's Andrew Aldridge and Tim George from Amberley produced dominating displays at the inaugural Burt Munro Challenge 'Long Track' event, held at Ascot Park Raceway.

The event was also billed as the NZ Long Track Championships which was decided by a series of heats and was followed by the 'NZGP' event in each class.

The facility also hosts horse racing and the aptly named Long Track provided an opportunity to see machines operating at full tilt - with spectacular sliding turns at each end of the oval.

Andrew Aldridge was dominant on the long track.

Alrdridge, racing in the 'Yamaha Rodgers Motorcycles & Need a Nerd' Speedway Solos (no gearbox) category, gapped the field by a very healthy margin in every heat and went on to dominate the GP by a similar margin.

It was virtually the same story from George in the 'Zookeepers Cafe & Spruce Up' Quads, with #68 putting a large distance between he and the following pack.

It was 'almost' the same story for Christopher Watson in the 'South Island Solo Spares and Newfield Autos' long track solo events.  The visiting Aussie (and his large contingent of traveling supporters) put in three dominating performances in the heats to take the NZ championship, but a DNF put paid to his NZGP tilt, where local man John Tuffey took the chequered flag.

Chris Watson took the NZ Championship before a DNF
in the NZGP

The 'Dig it Earthmoving' Sidecars provided equally spectacular slippin' and slidin' with Kevin McDonald & Karl Hosie taking the NZGP and our unofficial reckoning had locals Fraser Gillespie and Nigel Cuckow taking the NZ championship. (This was subject to a countback at the track - we'll confirm as soon as official results are posted. Other podium places as well.)

Overall it was a very impressive start to BMC with good racing, great venue and a large crowd in good spirits attending.

Tim George ran away with the quads

Day 2 of the challenge sees events shifting to The Maverick Bluff NZ Road Hill Climb Championships where we'll have results as soon as possible after the conclusion of racing.

Great action as Jason Fever and Alex Griffen put on the dice of the day.

The Grandstands were full almost from the commencement of racing.

Day 1 - Chch to Q'town

The spectacular Southern Alps in the distance

Day 1

Christchurch to Queenstown.

Well now we know why there are so may Goldwings on the road. We did 450+km this afternoon and it was comfortable, capable and very enjoyable. Fantastic touring motorcycle.

Passing through some of the spectacular Mackenzie region countryside helped, but the bike was simply fabulous.

Room with a view

The effortless way it rolls away distance is quite remarkable. So smooth and strong and comfortable. You do have to take it a bit easier through the twisties because of the sheer size and girth of the vehicle, but the way it makes up in other areas (comfort and smoothness) compensates.

Conditions have only been perfect. Even down to the tail wind that followed us down from Christchurch. Bright, sunny and warm all the way.

Amazing scenery

We left Christchurch and the good folks at Hampton Honda at around 2pm and arrived at Queenstown around 8pm. Not too bad considering that we did stop for a number of photo opportunities along the way.

We had a very nice meal in the Mercure, overlooking the lake and now we’re looking forward to tomorrow, Invercargill and the kick-off to the Burt Munro Challenge.

Can’t wait.

Today’s route:
http://goo.gl/maps/2NOC

Welcome

THE PLAN so far:

We're picking up a magnificent Honda Goldwing from Hampton Honda (20 Carmen Road Christchurch Ph 03-3498968) on Tuesday and heading South for the annual Burt Munro Challenge in Invercargill.

This year the Challenge kicks off with the NZ Longtrack Grand Prix on Wednesday afternoon at Ascot Park. Followed by the Hill Climb on Thursday, Beach Racing on Friday, Circuit Races on Saturday at Teretonga Park Raceway with a Speedway meeting at Oreti Park immediately afterwards. The racing is rounded off with Street Racing in Wyndham on Sunday.

The Magnificent Goldwing. Co-pilot 'doesn't like to admit it'
but she's 'looking forward to the luxury.'

It's now the biggest event in Southland and on the Bike calendar with thousands of motorcyclists coming from all over the globe to celebrate the Life and Times of Munro, B.

We'll be following up with a Photo Tour of Southland, Southern and Central Otago, before heading back to Christchurch.

This year we have invested in better broadcasting equipment, better audio and publishing hardware. We have our Nikon D90, a Go Pro Hero for onboard images, and a full 1080 HD camcorder packed to capture all the action. We'll post mainly photos and web res video every opportunity we get and file daily results reports where possible.

We'll upload the HD footage soon after we return to base.

We can't wait to get under way. Here's our test from KIWIRIDER on our last 'Wing opportunity.

Leave us a message on the blog if you'd like a look or a run-down on the bike. They are quite spectacular machines.

Here's a library of shots from our coverage from previous events:



See you on the road!
BD & CP