Event Reports

Details: Written by Darren Humphreys; Created: 15 February 2013

The riders were presented with a clear sky and a moderate breeze, we all continue to be spoilt with a fantastic summer. Selections have been completed for those that will represent the West Coast North Island centre at Track Nationals in Invercargill. The seniors and Under 19's were in transit to Invercargill and so unavailable for the evenings racing.

The racing tonight began with 5 lap handicap races to warm up followed by team sprints to teach those going to Invercargill the rules of the team sprint then short tight 1 lap races then finished off with long handicap races to help expand lung capacity and build fitness. An observation of the evenings racing was the repeating story of old bull and the young bull, but with a twist. The A & B 5 lap handicap race saw old bull Jaycob Humphreys lead the scratch riders to the front of the race only to be rolled in the home straight by the young bull James Denholm. The twist came in the long handicap race at the end of the evening when old bull Brent Zimmerman was caught by young bull James on lap 5 of the 15 lap race. Brent slotted in behind James and drafted behind him for a lap or two but would not pass James, so leaving James with no protection from the wind. Despite this plan working to the young bulls advantage in the earlier race he was not happy about the role reversal and made his displeasure clear to all. The situation was such a distraction that James refused to race and eventually pulled out of the race.

Details: Written by Glenys Taylor; Created: 14 February 2013

The conditions certainly weren’t as good as the previous week but some good times were still posted. The message about keeping off the road whilst waiting to start seems to have got through as no one was penalised this week. There are a group at the top of the table all on 6 points which shows that they have been able to improve on their previous best time each week. When you look at the times of these few the outstanding performer is Andrew McKenzie who has been able to improve by a minute each week. I wonder if he will be able to do the same next week.

Thanks to our helpers on the night – Kirsty Kaihau on the turn, Paul and Carol Roberts along with Stu McKenzie on the start line and also the finish.

For full results click here

Next week is the final night at Kairanga before the competition shifts to Linton Army Camp. Prize money will be awarded at the final night but will be split between the crit series and the time trial series. You must be present to claim prizemoney. Unclaimed prizemoney is returned to the pot for the next series.

Details: Written by Glenys Taylor; Created: 31 January 2013

The first night in the summer series 2013 saw great weather and a good turnout of riders. A warm welcome to the new comers . Hope you enjoyed your time trial and that we will see you back again next week.

The new assembly point in the yard of Horizons Regional Council worked well and riders are reminded that they will need to stay in the yard until after the race briefing if they have already completed their warmup. Riders will be penalised if they are caught standing on the seal at the start area. There will only be the holder and the starter allowed on the seal. Everybody else is to be well off the seal.

Click here for full results. With such a lot of riders turning up for the first night it will be interesting to see whether numbers fade or grow in future weeks as points start accumulating.

Details: Written by Glenys Taylor; Created: 07 February 2013

The weather conditions again played in our favour and on a fine, slightly overcast windless Waitangi Day evening a record was set. It had taken some time to reach this stage. He had tried hard in the last series of time trials, knowing that he was capable of beating the previous record, but the weather wasn’t playing the game. So Matiu Kaihau was beaming and the smile was obviously one of pure satisfaction that he had at last achieved the desired result. Well done Matiu. Let’s see if you can do another next week. The new official record for the 12 km course is 15mins 14secs.

In fact everybody who completed was able to break their previous personal best as the conditions were so good.

The new assembly point and new race briefing are working well. One slight hiccup was when 2 riders were locked in the yard. It was fortunate for them that the key had not gone too far and was still within shouting distance so they could escape to tell the story.

Thanks to Nev Weir, Stu McKenzie, Lenka Martin for helping on the start and finish line and to Kirsty Kaihau for marshalling at the turn point.

Click here for results

Details: Written by Darren Humphreys; Created: 30 January 2013

A perfect mild evening with a slight breeze greeted the 36 riders and their supporters, and insured that an extended uninterrupted programme will be raced with all results in the hands of the riders and not the weather. Riders from Wanganui and Waipukurau joined the Bike Manawatu riders, and added to the quality of the racing. The meeting was the last opportunity for riders to push their claims to a spot in the West Coast North Island team to compete at Invercargill in the New Zealand age group championships late February.