New Zealand - A constant rumble echoed around the district as thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts from as far away as Australia converged on Southland for the biggest Burt Munro Challenge weekend yet.
In its third year, the annual event once again lived up to its reputation as "one hell of a weekend", attracting a record number of racing entrants, spectators and rallygoers, organisers said.
An exhausted but happy Wayne Affleck, chairman of the Burt Munro Challenge steering committee, was last night thrilled with its success.
"We are delighted with the weekend and the way the Southland public has got behind us."
Fine weather pulled in huge crowds to the Oreti Beach racing and to Wyndham, with more than 7000 and 6000 attending respectively.
The rally also attracted its highest number ever with 2300 registering, Mr Affleck said.
Apart from three high-speed chases during the weekend, police were applauding the event as being an excellent weekend.
Sergeant Peter Graham, of the Southland strategic traffic unit, said there had been no arrests and he attributed it to the Southland Motorcycle Club's exceptional organisation and it having zero tolerance to bad behaviour.
"There was the odd speed infraction and dangerous overtaker but nothing major," he said.
While there had been some "patched gang members", patches were removed without any trouble after those wearing them were given the option to do so or leave, he said.
According to Venture Southland, 700 motorcycles crossed the inter-islander ferries to attend the event and huge numbers had also travelled from throughout the South Island.
Venture Southland events co-ordinator Jazz Beckett said there had also been groups from Australia. "It's fantastic to see so many people," she said.
While Saturday night's speedway racing was dampened by rain, about 5000 people still flocked to the event. Among them was economist and Southland Times columnist Gareth Morgan.
Mr Morgan said his wife Jo was a first cousin of one of the main organisers, Tim Mulligan, and had been to all the Burt Munro Challenges but it was a first for him.
"Jo convinced me to come and have a look ... It's not your normal rally," he said. "With the rally and the race meetings, it makes it really unique putting the two different groups together."
Thrills and spills on the tarmac accelerated at Wyndham yesterday.
Standing out in the masses, dressed in a bright green top and perched on a grandstand near the starting line was Southland District Council Mayor Frana Cardno.
Mrs Cardno said the event had so many positive spinoffs for the region and especially the Wyndham locals.
Disclaimer: The opinions in this article are solely those of the writer, and may not reflect the beliefs of anyone at Outlaw Biker World.
This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of political, human rights, economic, democracy, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Home
