NZ GOT (young) TALENT

[SWERVE]

While some may say that the state of motorcycle racing in NZ is not at its best right now and that the organising powers need to "pull their fingers out". Add this to a worldwide recession and you would think that the whole scene was not 'on the up".:mellow:
Well someone forgot to tell the South Is youngsters...................:Punk:
First of all the level of presentation within the Streetstock 150 class is fantastic. This time last year half the bikes were still in various colurs mainly from road paint schemes and only a handfull were were in team colours......... Last weekend at levels there was a fantastic turn-out of machines with the grid looking very professional. Well done everyone especially the Mums & dads who finance most of this....... special well done to the "Woodley" family whos bikes are always immaculate and a well deserved "best presented bike award" going to Vanessa Woodley-Gill. Good stuff guys.:rockon:
This level of presentation is not only with the bikes, ALL the youngsters are becoming very focused in their approach to racing and it shows not only in their attitudes and sportsmanship towards each other, but in the quality of racing too. If you watch these guys closely they provide some off the best 'full action" racing you will see. :gob:
This class has brought to the spotlight some serious talent over the last few years, Cameron Jones, Glen Skatchil, Alistar & James Hoogie just to name a few. But its not stopping there......... watch out for Cameron Hudson (are all camerons born to race well) he rode a 125 gp bike this weekend and was to say the least "IMPRESSIVE":done: another young lad who had his first sucess this weekend was Jayden Curtis(16) from the west coast who took Dads 675 to his first victory in clubmans.:done:
I suggest you NZ 600/superbike team managers keep a close eye on some young homegrown talent for the future.

This talent pool of youngsters doesn,t stop at streetstock. many have already made the jump into F3, Pro twin and 600SP. It was great to see so many of these 150 graduates at Levels last week riding larger bikes.
Lets hope that they can gain the support needed (sponsorship) to carry on their success into the senior ranks. And provide some AWESOME racing over the forth-coming seasons.:scooter:
I cant go on to name all the promising talent as it would take an age......... however use this thread to tell everyone who you think is talented or feel free to "blow your own horn".
The Mums & Dads / sponsors/ organisers should take a bow to what they have achieved. Im sure Pete Jones (oyster) never knew what he had started all those years ago in Invercargil.:yes:

[DELLORTO]

im 14 and ive love to race street stock but i jsut live too far away from the tracks they race.....it would be good to race with my age group

f4 buckets it is for me now though

[lostinflyz]

ay swerve i agree. all the front running bikes were nicely presented and certainly tidy.

You can add to this theres some real cracker racing going on. i didn't catch much at levels but round 1 of sportzfotoz at invercargill a few weeks ago i actually made the effort to go watch the racing. Heaps of passing at the front, plenty right to the back. I was really impressed. too often we watch alot of racing cause the bikes are new and shiny but its pretty dull. it was such a nice change to see proper good racing.

[SWERVE]

yeh Dellorto its a real shame that the North Is clubs have not been able to replicate the successful junior training and racing scene that Oyster and MCC have going down here.
Hopefully the new 250/streetstock class will be a worthy successor and run alongside the 150 class. If enough people and dealers/bike shops see the possibilities for this to highlight young talent and put road relevent bike on show it maybe the answer to having a thriving junior race series right across both islands. Good luck with the buckets in the mean time.
Spot on lostinfly...... you will never be bored watchin streetstock if ya like close battles no matter what position they are contesting.

[roadracingoldfart]

yeh Dellorto its a real shame that the North Is clubs have not been able to replicate the successful junior training and racing scene that Oyster and MCC have going down here.
Hopefully the new 250/streetstock class will be a worthy successor and run alongside the 150 class. If enough people and dealers/bike shops see the possibilities for this to highlight young talent and put road relevent bike on show it maybe the answer to having a thriving junior race series right across both islands. Good luck with the buckets in the mean time.
Spot on lostinfly...... you will never be bored watchin streetstock if ya like close battles no matter what position they are contesting.

Im afraid i have to dissagree with you saying the N.I is behind the S.I with young riders , there may be a few less but with the likes of Steve Bagshaws Moto Acadamy and the VMCC 150 scholaships there is a good gene pool coming through.
Not all NEW promising riders have to be 12 or 14 years old and i have a team of awesome racers doing really good things including challenging for overall victory in the VMCC winter series in F3 and P/C junior.
The inclusion of 250 multis in the streetstock class has helped to swell the grids and the smiles around the pits is great to see with many parents now getting the bug and racing themselves after seeing thier kids having so much fun.
This is not intended as a bash on your thread but please , look around more than your own back yard and accentuate the possatives you see , not the nasty negative bits.

Paul .
Manager , Shower Buddy/ Dunlop Race Team

[SWERVE]

Point taken.......... but iam not having a go at the Nth Is clubs or the success they and yourself have had.
Just saying how great it is to see SO MANY youngsters with talent out there at the moment.
I know there is no shortage of young (or slightly older) talent in the Nth Is. And i am a big fan of what Steve Bagshaw has done too.
I dont care how the talent comes thru the ranks as long as it gets the help and encouragement it deserves. However i dont think that anyone can deny that the whole junior development program in place at MCC is second to none.
Lets hope that we can all "come together in perfect harmony' (as per beatles/john lennon) and make this a nationwide develpoment program with support for everyone from everywhere.
Good luck for the future.

[roadracingoldfart]

Point taken.......... but iam not having a go at the Nth Is clubs or the success they and yourself have had.
Just saying how great it is to see SO MANY youngsters with talent out there at the moment.
I know there is no shortage of young (or slightly older) talent in the Nth Is. And i am a big fan of what Steve Bagshaw has done too.
I dont care how the talent comes thru the ranks as long as it gets the help and encouragement it deserves. However i dont think that anyone can deny that the whole junior development program in place at MCC is second to none.
Lets hope that we can all "come together in perfect harmony' (as per beatles/john lennon) and make this a nationwide develpoment program with support for everyone from everywhere.
Good luck for the future.


I agree , the S.I scene is bursting and thats got to be goot for the sport.
I would like to see an accadamy started to foster upcoming racers but the kiwi too hard attitude will prevail i feel. sad i know but if someone doesnt agree with me then prove me wrong and get the ball rolling.
Im not the guy either as im too inept :shit:, just ask anyone that knows me :blink:

[puddytat]

I started racing in clubmans last year with the R6 which was a hoot, but I realised that to learn more I needed to get into a class that wasnt as expensive & on to a bike that was more suited to my ability...I had stared running on the r6 before I was ready to walk so to speak.
After watching the youngsters (& elders) on the streetstocks having race after race of intense racing I decided to get a 250 twin when MCC announced that they would run with the 150's. I can afford to crash it. Because I can afford to crash it I will be able to HTFU & take the leap of faith I feel was lacking last season as I didnt want to trash my roadbike. I cant wait!! Roll on Rnd 1 of KOR,& Im sure Im going to get taught some lessons by the 150 crew. I wonder if there'll be any other Prolights there though....
Good onya MCC!!:clap::2thumbsup

[quallman1234]

Most of the 150SS riders in the N.I get bugger all 'mentoring' with the exception of a few lucky ones. There needs to be more input from people who actually know what they are doing. The skill would improve awesome amounts by doing a little amount of this, just to guide these guys a little bit.
Moto-Academy are doing a good job within the 125 class.

[Billy]

Most of the 150SS riders in the N.I get bugger all 'mentoring' with the exception of a few lucky ones. There needs to be more input from people who actually know what they are doing. The skill would improve awesome amounts by doing a little amount of this, just to guide these guys a little bit.
Moto-Academy are doing a good job within the 125 class.

The only reason the riders in the North Island arent getting any mentoring,Is a lack of input from the clubs and apathy on the part of the riders.There are any number of experienced riders who have offered their time including,Brian Bernard,Glen Williams,Jay Lawrence,Jarrod Wintle,Shaun Harris and Myself and Im sure I could add too that list no problem.However I have organised with some of theses guys to do mentoring and liased a the club,only to turn up on the day to be told,Sorry dont have any tracktime for you ,to the point I gave up and stopped asking other people to give up their time for no apparent reason.Further too that I have offered my time on this very site a number of times and had no response.As I have stated in another thread,Myself with the asisstance of Jos Mason from NZBADD and a number of other high profile KB suppliers and riders are negotiating with a club to introduce a junior championship including rider training with the added bonus of a scholarship for the National series in the new 250 production class for atleast 1 rider.However this will not be reserved for a North Island rider or riders, it will be decided on merit and if its not supported it will end as quickly as it started

[quallman1234]

The only reason the riders in the North Island arent getting any mentoring,Is a lack of input from the clubs and apathy on the part of the riders.There are any number of experienced riders who have offered their time including,Brian Bernard,Glen Williams,Jay Lawrence,Jarrod Wintle,Shaun Harris and Myself and Im sure I could add too that list no problem.However I have organised with some of theses guys to do mentoring and liased a the club,only to turn up on the day to be told,Sorry dont have any tracktime for you ,to the point I gave up and stopped asking other people to give up their time for no apparent reason.Further too that I have offered my time on this very site a number of times and had no response.As I have stated in another thread,Myself with the asisstance of Jos Mason from NZBADD and a number of other high profile KB suppliers and riders are negotiating with a club to introduce a junior championship including rider training with the added bonus of a scholarship for the National series in the new 250 production class for atleast 1 rider.However this will not be reserved for a North Island rider or riders, it will be decided on merit and if its not supported it will end as quickly as it started

There you go, that explains it. Cheers billy.

[budda]

for an old past-it racer, you still have a knack of getting your point across.
Being "deserving" doesnt mean you're "entitled", and some of the relative newcomers have unfortunately bought into this mindset - Billy is correct, and all it will take for this to be proven is for a few"deserving" people to get their finger out and mind into gear. In this Sport, you EARN support .......

[Crasherfromwayback]

Make all aspiring young road racers go round and round in the dirt first.

Works everywhere else!

[wharfy]

While some may say that the state of motorcycle racing in NZ is not at its best right now and that the organising powers need to "pull their fingers out". Add this to a worldwide recession and you would think that the whole scene was not 'on the up".:mellow:
Well someone forgot to tell the South Is youngsters...................:Punk:
First of all the level of presentation within the Streetstock 150 class is fantastic. This time last year half the bikes were still in various colurs mainly from road paint schemes and only a handfull were were in team colours......... Last weekend at levels there was a fantastic turn-out of machines with the grid looking very professional. Well done everyone especially the Mums & dads who finance most of this....... special well done to the "Woodley" family whos bikes are always immaculate and a well deserved "best presented bike award" going to Vanessa Woodley-Gill. Good stuff guys.:rockon:
This level of presentation is not only with the bikes, ALL the youngsters are becoming very focused in their approach to racing and it shows not only in their attitudes and sportsmanship towards each other, but in the quality of racing too. If you watch these guys closely they provide some off the best 'full action" racing you will see. :gob:
This class has brought to the spotlight some serious talent over the last few years, Cameron Jones, Glen Skatchil, Alistar & James Hoogie just to name a few. But its not stopping there......... watch out for Cameron Hudson (are all camerons born to race well) he rode a 125 gp bike this weekend and was to say the least "IMPRESSIVE":done: another young lad who had his first sucess this weekend was Jayden Curtis(16) from the west coast who took Dads 675 to his first victory in clubmans.:done:
I suggest you NZ 600/superbike team managers keep a close eye on some young homegrown talent for the future.

This talent pool of youngsters doesn,t stop at streetstock. many have already made the jump into F3, Pro twin and 600SP. It was great to see so many of these 150 graduates at Levels last week riding larger bikes.
Lets hope that they can gain the support needed (sponsorship) to carry on their success into the senior ranks. And provide some AWESOME racing over the forth-coming seasons.:scooter:
I cant go on to name all the promising talent as it would take an age......... however use this thread to tell everyone who you think is talented or feel free to "blow your own horn".
The Mums & Dads / sponsors/ organisers should take a bow to what they have achieved. Im sure Pete Jones (oyster) never knew what he had started all those years ago in Invercargil.:yes:

I didn't think it would be long until Jayden Curtis got onto his old mans 675, I met them at SOT earlier in the year and Jayden was riding the wheels off his old BMW.
Good to hear he's going well.

[Clivoris]

It seems that club road racing is in very good health with lots of juniors and first timers giving it a lunge. What Oyster and others have achieved in the Mainland deserves a bloody knighthood. It's pretty clear that it has become infectious as well, and the future of road racing in the South is well and truly secured. Future champions will come from there.
Billy, you and other more experienced racers with the energy to help out are a huge and underused resource. I'm really sorry that your efforts turned to ash in your mouth, but obviously the people you arranged things with, weren't the right ones. Decisions get made at committee level mate, and on race-day the decisions are made by the people responsible for the meeting. Sometimes miscommunication occurs, or if plans haven't been discussed with them...... Big ups for what you are doing, I hope it exceeds expectation. It is also great to see your recent communication through formal club channels.
In our defense all I can say is that we are doing the best that we can.

[oyster]

The secret to the SI success in Junior RR is simple. 3 words
Recruit, support, train.
Until a club commits to the resources and (meeting)structure to provide these 3, nothing will happen.

It's a much bigger story than that of course, read Kiwi Rider, Aug edition
"Sportz Fotoz Cup turns 5" The stats tell the story, nothing is as successful as this.

One things for sure, and it'll touch a few NI nerves I guess. Scholarships and Academies don't work. They are elitist, unfair, put too much (detrimental) pressure on young people and no one, yes, no one can really pick the long term sport acheivers. The real answer is put this energy into building a safe, well supported base as wide as possible. Then maintain it as required with "spot" mentoring and elite coaching when the "elite" level is being reached.

As I say, simple, and down here the evidence is overwhelming that it works.

[Billy]

The secret to the SI success in Junior RR is simple. 3 words
Recruit, support, train.
Until a club commits to the resources and (meeting)structure to provide these 3, nothing will happen.

It's a much bigger story than that of course, read Kiwi Rider, Aug edition
"Sportz Fotoz Cup turns 5" The stats tell the story, nothing is as successful as this.

One things for sure, and it'll touch a few NI nerves I guess. Scholarships and Academies don't work. They are elitist, unfair, put too much (detrimental) pressure on young people and no one, yes, no one can really pick the long term sport acheivers. The real answer is put this energy into building a safe, well supported base as wide as possible. Then maintain it as required with "spot" mentoring and elite coaching when the "elite" level is being reached.

As I say, simple, and down here the evidence is overwhelming that it works.

No,Not at all Pete,We are quite happy to listen too any suggestions you make,After all you guys are getting the results we can only dream of at this stage and as I said in my reply too your email,The scholarship is just something Jos from NZBADD wanted too do and I think it will help raise the profile up here to try and get some newbies interested.We have some other ideas as well but will get back too you with those when I know more.Im sure if I can establish a reasonable channel of information with the clubs and keep them up with what we have planned,We can work it out.As youve stated simple and maybe weve been trying to over complicate it too the point it becomes too much for the commitees to deal with on top of their already heavy work loads.Like I said,Im sure we can organise something.

[Clivoris]

The secret to the SI success in Junior RR is simple. 3 words
Recruit, support, train.
Until a club commits to the resources and (meeting)structure to provide these 3, nothing will happen.

As I say, simple, and down here the evidence is overwhelming that it works.


No,Not at all Pete,We are quite happy to listen too any suggestions you make,After all you guys are getting the results we can only dream of at this stage and as I said in my reply too your email,The scholarship is just something Jos from NZBADD wanted too do and I think it will help raise the profile up here to try and get some newbies interested.We have some other ideas as well but will get back too you with those when I know more.Im sure if I can establish a reasonable channel of information with the clubs and keep them up with what we have planned,We can work it out.As youve stated simple and maybe weve been trying to over complicate it too the point it becomes too much for the commitees to deal with on top of their already heavy work loads.Like I said,Im sure we can organise something.

Couldn't agree more with both of you. Pete, while the ideas are "simple", how much truth is there in the talk that you put A LOT of your own time and money into making the SI scene happen?

[oyster]

Relative to motorcycle road racing, yes I've put in quite a bit. But then I've raced (well, tried!) heaps myself, and loved it. I have 3 boys who've raced. So what I've "given back" is probably about fair for the benefits we've recieved.
Plus I recieved back the huge pleasure of working with young people growing up in the sport in the age they start as children, following on to fine young adults.
You can't put a value on that.

But think of this. My son plays soccer. His coach is qualified to this, and can lose his qual if he doesn't perform. He has to study to get/keep these quals. He has to finish work early on Wednesdays to coach after school. He can't work Saturdays. On Saturdays he coaches his young team, then goes across town to ref a game, then has a game himself. If the game is 1 hr drive away he picks up as many kids he can fit in his car and takes them there. Usually at his cost. Then during the week nights phone calls, adminstration and such. He arranges prizes and attends club committee meetings. Isn't he amazing!!! No not really, he's just a normal sport volunteer that exists in thousands across the country across every developed sport we can think of. Except road racing maybe....

So no, I do nothing extraordinary, no way do I work as hard as this soccer coach.

[Clivoris]

Geez Pete. You hardly do anything alright:laugh: It's the only way that these things happen and I remember talking with you about how the momentum grew within your club, as other parents became involved. More power to you.

[SWERVE]

There you go again Pete.......... probebly the most humble/under-stated man in NZ motorcycling.
I am still amazed at how you manage to fit in as much in a week as you do. You are at least equal to the "footie coach' if not superior.
Remember the coach is part of a big national scene with all the network/support that goes with it.
You started this whole thing by yourself. In the early days there was virtually no supporters and you still carried on. Jenny & Paul shared your vision and then came MCC.
But no NATIONAL support network yet. But still you produce NATIONAL champions.
I know its much bigger now and lots of Mums /Dads helpers make things happen and contribute in many ways. But stand and take a bow it was your baby and it is a resounding success.

Good luck Billy with your ideas up north. Pete is right the initial junior part of the training should be without pressures just concentrating on enjoyment of the sport (you know the "hooked" part just happens anyway)
However i think there should be a scholarship package available for when the right riders are ready to move on up. Good luck too you ALL.

[wharfy]

No not really, he's just a normal sport volunteer that exists in thousands across the country across every developed sport we can think of. Except road racing maybe....

So no, I do nothing extraordinary, no way do I work as hard as this soccer coach.

The soccer analogy is very good !!!
I think possibly one of the advantages MX has over road racing is that heaps of NZ kids have dirt bikes and can find somewhere to "play" by themselves or have a "pickup" game on any bit of vacant ground (I know it causes some problems occasionally) without to much danger - a bit like soccer.
Whereas road racing requires a considerable infrastructure to do it safely and without becoming tagged as "boy racers"

It is good to hear that you are having success down there at getting young folk into the sport. :niceone::niceone:

I think motorcycling could probably learn a bit from yachting, by comparison to soccer BOTH are elitists sports that require considerable $$$ to get into.

It is probably a bit soon to judge the Moto Acadamy (its only its second season) but Glen Sketchell is one of it's "graduates" so I hope it keeps going.

Once again good on you down there for the great work you have done. :first: