Why 3 rounds down south?

[Teambwr47]

So most of the population live on the North Island where the only NZ tracks that the rest of the World knows anything about (Manfield and Taupo) are located. This year Hampton Downs will open and become the premier track in NZ again on the North Island.

So, why is there three National rounds on the South Island?

Having spoken to a potential sponsor this week it has become painfully obvious that the South Island Nationals are not that commercially attractive as those on the North Island or indeed the Tri-series and street races specifically Paeroa and Wanganui.

So if we are going to have races in a part of NZ that take place where the minority live surely we should have 3 races in the North and just two down South?

[Kickaha]

So most of the population live on the North Island where the only NZ tracks that the rest of the World knows anything about (Manfield and Taupo) are located.

Pretty much irrelavent what tracks the rest of the world know about when you're not getting International coverage and as we've seen population base certainly didn't give better numbers on the grid


This year Hampton Downs will open and become the premier track in NZ again on the North Island.

Quite true however until a few years back you wouldn't have called any NI track the premier NZ track as Ruapuna was easily the best overall facility in the country


So, why is there three National rounds on the South Island?

Because unlike the NI, the clubs down here are willing to step up and run the events


Having spoken to a potential sponsor this week it has become painfully obvious that the South Island Nationals are not that commercially attractive as those on the North Island or indeed the Tri-series and street races specifically Paeroa and Wanganui.

Not attractive in what way, are their products not sold South, do they not have a market here or aren't interested in establishing one??

If all they're interested in is coverage then you wouldn't do the Nationals at all you'd just do the street races

[puddytat]

We had a bigger crowd at Ruapuna than Pukie..... Plus there may only be 3 tracks down here but they're probably the best:yes:

[Biggles08]

So most of the population live on the North Island where the only NZ tracks that the rest of the World knows anything about (Manfield and Taupo) are located. This year Hampton Downs will open and become the premier track in NZ again on the North Island.

So, why is there three National rounds on the South Island?

Having spoken to a potential sponsor this week it has become painfully obvious that the South Island Nationals are not that commercially attractive as those on the North Island or indeed the Tri-series and street races specifically Paeroa and Wanganui.

So if we are going to have races in a part of NZ that take place where the minority live surely we should have 3 races in the North and just two down South?

Come on southeners....man up...this will be a goody!:jerry:

I tend to agree Teambwr47. Now if we could get the grids full in the north Island rounds the south boys n girls would have no comeback! It will be very interesting to see how many people up here in NI enter the Hampton Downs round this year...I'm picking a few more than last year entered the Puke round.

[Kickaha]

I tend to agree Teambwr47. Now if we could get the grids full in the north Island rounds the south boys n girls would have no comeback! It will be very interesting to see how many people up here in NI enter the Hampton Downs round this year...I'm picking a few more than last year entered the Puke round.


Yeah but that is a big "if" the Southern rounds were better supported by competitors and the public even though we only have the "minority" of the population

Hampton downs should get big entries this time around but only because the track will still be a bit of a novelty

Would you still agree with Teambwr47 if you lived in the south?, sounds more like a pair of whinging Northern bitches wanting the nationals reorganized to suit themselves :bleh:

[sidecar bob]

sounds more like a pair of whinging Northern bitches wanting the nationals reorganized to suit themselves :bleh:

Sounds like the reverse of you & divvo. :bleh:
Anyway, heres where all the fun is at. http://www.nzcmrr.com/

[Mental Trousers]

The larger population in the North Island simply means there's a crapload more knockers and useless, whinging wankers who won't get off their arses. Unfortunately that also means that those are willing to do something have to contend with huge masses of knockers and useless, whinging wankers. Those that do get stuck in and do things do a bloody good job, but there's only so much they can do and put up with.

More people need to do more. That's all.

[racer40]

hi Teambwr47, there are not more rounds up north because no club wants to run them because of the costs involved, whereas the the SI tracks are cheaper to hire. but i do agree with you in that we should be doing 2 rounds down south ( i am sure kickha will be back on here again soon)

[DELLORTO]

until hampton downs open...theres realy only 2 useable tracks in the north island those being manfeild and taupo

But down south theres 3 decent usble tracks.....

when hampton downs opens it will hopefully grab all the attention and get great sponsors.

it would be good if someone could put nz sbks's on sky sport again ......:niceone:

[HDTboy]

sounds more like a pair of whinging Northern bitches wanting the nationals reorganized to suit themselves :bleh:

Unfortunately I have to agree with the sidecar nutter

[lostinflyz]

ah considering its the nationals it shouldbe at every damn track in nz.id dont care where it is.

why the fuck would you want less races in our premier competition you idiots.

just imagine if you live in aussie, there tracks are all fucking miles apart. count yourself blessed.

[Nonbeliever]

, sounds more like a pair of whinging Northern bitches wanting the nationals reorganized to suit themselves

+1

stay up north if it doesnt suit you and your "sponsors" then.

[Wingnut]

ah considering its the nationals it shouldbe at every damn track in nz.id dont care where it is.

why the fuck would you want less races in our premier competition you idiots.

just imagine if you live in aussie, there tracks are all fucking miles apart. count yourself blessed.

Exactly.

Whats with all the negativity with regards to the Nationals? By all accounts from what I have read on this website at times, we are probably lucky that they still get run at all.

Just out of interest, I wonder what the ratio of north island riders travelling south is, opposed to the south island riders heading north - during the nats that is?

[Teambwr47]

Ok...before we all go off on a rant fest my original is not a poke at anyone who lives on or even prefers the South Island or in fact either island. Its intended as a point of discussion........

The nationals and all the racing will take place where MNZ and those clubs wishing to help out deem it should take place however....

While there will undoubtedly be those who shout 'you're not a kiwi butt out' or 'you've only been here 5 mins' etc etc I do have the un-rose tinted view of the racing here that an 'outsider' can bring to it.

If you look at the realities, the greater (by some considerable margin) part of the population and therefore market for bikes and virtually everything else is in the North Island, as are i would guess, most of the race licence holders.

There is always a problem with spectator numbers and volunteers but from the outside looking in at cold hard facts and numbers, most who look at NZ without a bias would assume, I think, that there would be more racing in the North than South.

Scale it up and its effectively why World events have stayed in recent times where the population and therefore markets are.... until of course masses of cash is poured in to influence things.... Qatar is a prime example.

I am not in any way saying reduce the number of races we do as someone mentioned above but lets see where the discussion ends up............:innocent:

[slowpoke]

It's not convenient but the truth is that Manfeild and Taupo are in the middle of bloody nowhere and are a marketers/sponsors nightmare.

Ruapuna and Levels have got good population bases to draw on so are no brainers. With only minimal TV coverage at best Teretonga makes reasonable sense too, Invercargill alone is twice the size of Taupo. Yeah, Auckland may only be a coupla hours away but how many spectators make that trip?

Edit: it's not convenient for me either but that's the way I'm lookin' at it. And to all those saying "more rather than less", "what are you winging about?" I wonder how many of you will be reaching into your pockets to do the whole series?

[JMemonic]

If you look at the realities, the greater (by some considerable margin) part of the population and therefore market for bikes and virtually everything else is in the North Island, as are i would guess, most of the race licence holders.


Your logic make good practical sense in some respects but population base does not always mean the support is there, I will offer up another example of the odd discrepancies between the two islands, motor cycle rallies, there are a bucket load more in the South than the North why is that?

Perhaps because the folks down here say stuff and get on with doing rather than acting like those who base themselves in that waste of taxpayers money called the Beehive and say it then form a committee to discuss the idea then survey interested parties, then try to obtain sponsorship etc.

[Tony.OK]

I'm guessing that if we didn't have that stupidly expensive creek to cross no one would care, if ya could drive across that is.
How many hours do racers and spectators in Aus and US go? More than the entire length of our wee country I'm picking.

Until we get a promotions team running the Nats I think the pressure and costs to our little clubs will keep on limiting where races are held. But this has been covered before.

And it'd be interesting to see what ratio per capita of racers for each Island, am picking the Sth might have the edge.

[slowpoke]

I'm guessing that if we didn't have that stupidly expensive creek to cross no one would care, if ya could drive across that is.


Yep, it's gotta be the most expensive strip of water in the world. What other country charges damn near a weeks wages to go 20 sumthin' km's and back again?

If I head down I gotta get from Teretonga Sunday evening to the Wairarapa and back to Wellington in time to fly out Tuesday and it all revolves 'round that blardy boat.

[SWERVE]

Hers my 2 cents worth.
I too am from UK and thought nothing of doing practice/ track days at Croft - Oulten park - Donington during the week and on consecetive days then Mallory park or Cadwell at the weekend.............. and for those of you who know Uk i lived in Norwich which apart from having Snetterton down the road is bloody miles from anywhere............ team BWR you will appreciate the travelling involved there eh.
I would do the same here if it wasn,t for that boat ride that costs a second mortgage to take. Dont mind the driving.roads aren,t as good as UK motorways but lot less traffic.
I think Ruapuna & Levels are obvious choices because of ther close proximity to each other and of coarse ChCh which is cheap to fly into if thats the way you do it as opposed to flying into Palmy or tuapo which again costs a fortune. do sometimes wonder about the validity of teretonga (it is a long way even from here) but as earlier stated a national series should be run at ALL tracks and if the facility is not used we will lose it (then you would have something to whinge about).

I would like to see Hampton downs - taupo - Manfield - ruapuna - levels - teretonga as the series.............. but would need run as 3 weekends together for both islands and would need to have a decant gap inbetween nth & sth is rounds to accomodate finances - interisland travellers -etc.
also believe streetstock should be a national class NOW (but thats another rant)............................................. ... may the debate continue

[scracha]

From what i know of you you've been in the sport of racing in NZ for a relatively short space of time but seem to want to change an awful lot of things...

:innocent:

[lostinflyz]

how many events and the like have been shifted to auckland in the past 3-4years and have been a miserable failure because people expect volume makes interest,.even when you put on shitty events and overcharge to all hell.

Just cause theres people there dont mean shit. if you apply this logic to the world we are virtually the last place on earth literally, that anyone would go to hold any event. or do anything.but we still have plenty of concerts and international events.

[scrivy]

Would you still agree with Teambwr47 if you lived in the south?, sounds more like a pair of whinging Northern bitches wanting the nationals reorganized to suit themselves :bleh:

Er Kick...... you know I'd never take the piss out of you.....:whistle:
But seriously, you got PMT??:crazy::pinch::eek5:

LOL!

[oyster]

I've been going to NZ Nationals for about 10 years now, about half I lived in Invercargill, the other half in Christchurch. It varies from year to year, but generally both the hosting clubs see running the Nationals as a honour, and the highlight of their year. It's a vehicle to present and promote the sport at the highest level, and mostly makes good money, which can be re invested during the club year. Yes, the Nationals are are a fundraiser! And it's not because the costs are low, it's because hard work is done to get sponsors to
carry a lot of the cost, then promote it well to get the gate take up.
I understand the two hosting NI clubs are reluctant to run the Nationals, quite a different viewpoint to the SI clubs. We have population centres near our venues, and that certainly helps too, big time.
And Brian, I don't know how much riding you've done down here, but if you've been here you can't help but notice how strong Road Racing is. Here in Christchurch alone are 4 clubs dedicated solely to road racing. Our new calendar out shows 46 Road Racing events from July'09 to May '10. Really, the NI has the population base, but does it have this depth of following?
And finally, I'm one eyed of course, but we think our circuits are the best.
The three are all different, relative to the 3 NI ones are certainly safer, and
offer technical challenges to develop a new generation of top riders.

[wharfy]

The only SI track I've raced on (or even been too) is Ruapuna and it is my favourite circuit.
I personally think that 3 rounds on each Island with a bit of a gap would be the go.
How about a separate points tally for North & South and an "Island" championship so you could be part of the fun and have something to brag about. I would quite like to be able to go to work and say I was 22nd in the North Island championship. Nobody outside of the race scene would need to know there were only 22 entries. (Notice that I think my idea is so good the number of entries has doubled from the Nationals 10 :))

If they were on consecutive weekends then the folk from the "Other" Island could take a couple of weeks leave for the "overseas" rounds and travel each weekend for the rounds on their island.

I don't think the Ferry trip is such I big issue I've sprung $430 for a return crossing to do Greymouth (Van and two people) and will almost certainly do the SOT next year.


I do think that there needs to be some "lesser" series combined with the nationals (like an island series or maybe the "privateers cup" will do the trick) as there are only about a dozen National level racers in the country. Check out the times on My Laps at events where Nats racers attend club events - big differences in times and not all down to the bike.

[scrivy]

I cant fathom that us mad bike racing lovers can't organise to billet/accommodate fellow racers from either the same or different islands so that the costs of doing the Nats are reduced! Hell, we might even have a great time socialising while we're at it!!

As most of you will know, my TRRS on the 27th/28th of December does just that. Free camping (with security guard in attendance), free showers for campers, free awesome dinner with free beers and free live band on the 27th night, and free BBQ on the night of the 28th!

All you have to pay for is the entry - oh, its only $120 for 2 days too!!

You also get to watch a dramatic 3 hour race too!! Let's turn this event into a great social occasion where us mad bastards can socialise, talk bikes, party, drink and be merry ! (I was going to say be gay - but some people might get too excited and invite Kick)...... :bleh:

[slowpoke]

I don't think the Ferry trip is such I big issue I've sprung $430 for a return crossing to do Greymouth (Van and two people) and will almost certainly do the SOT next year.


I do think that there needs to be some "lesser" series combined with the nationals (like an island series or maybe the "privateers cup" will do the trick) as there are only about a dozen National level racers in the country. Check out the times on My Laps at events where Nats racers attend club events - big differences in times and not all down to the bike.

Some pretty good ideas there Wharfy. For those of us with trailers rather than vans though the cheapest fare is $700-ish for that fuggin' boat.

For what it's worth isn't the qualifying cut-off 115%? (or is it 109%?) for the Nationals? Anybody who can qualify could be a Nationals level racer....but fear of looking slow or coming towards the back of the field stops a lot of folks entering. The funny/sad thing is if just half a dozen extra people in each class said bugger it and had a go the series would be transformed.



I cant fathom that us mad bike racing lovers can't organise to billet/accommodate fellow racers from either the same or different islands so that the costs of doing the Nats are reduced! Hell, we might even have a great time socialising while we're at it!!

As most of you will know, my TRRS on the 27th/28th of December does just that. Free camping (with security guard in attendance), free showers for campers, free awesome dinner with free beers and free live band on the 27th night, and free BBQ on the night of the 28th!

All you have to pay for is the entry - oh, its only $120 for 2 days too!!

You also get to watch a dramatic 3 hour race too!! Let's turn this event into a great social occasion where us mad bastards can socialise, talk bikes, party, drink and be merry ! (I was going to say be gay - but some people might get too excited and invite Kick)...... :bleh:

It's not the same Scrivy: billetting and socialising was all very well on our under 17 footy trips, but now that drinking is legal, and chasing skirt is too expense (half ya house if you're caught) the fun has gone out of it.

Nah, you're absolutely right, it should be as much fun off track as it is on.

[White trash]

In recent years we've accomodated Septimus and Farquar, along with Pig and Goober.

More recently the Team Feral boys stop by for a couple of nights and van parking.

Best fun of the whole meeting is getting on the piss around the BBQ talking shit. Love it.

[neil_cb125t]

Nationals should be as the heading states..... the top competition of the country, Using the top tracks of the country and hopefully managed by the best orginisers/clubs.

I will be going to nationals in 2011, it will take me a year to save to make it down there. The only way I can do it is because the RNZAF has a hire pool facility using NON public funds. We can hire a massive camper for a 1/4 the price of any civy company. a 2 berth van from a civy company for 23 days was over 4k!!

Thats the biggest problem - its right in peak holiday season - meaning the ferry crossings and accomodation or campervans or tent sites are at a premium!! if you compete seriously at club level in the top 3, you will spend close to Nationals budget anyway its just a far more concerntrated hit. ( maybe not in superbike )

Street stock is a great entry level class - but should remain out of nationals, to try and get people to move up - which is what i have done.

I cant wait!

my 2cents... may i have some change??:msn-wink:

[scrivy]

Thats the biggest problem - its right in peak holiday season - meaning the ferry crossings and accomodation or campervans or tent sites are at a premium!!

You're spot on Neil. This has been talked about numerously, but still nothing is done about it. Imagine how much money would be saved by all racers if it was at a decent timing to give cheaper prices.

[wharfy]

Some pretty good ideas there Wharfy. For those of us with trailers rather than vans though the cheapest fare is $700-ish for that fuggin' boat.

Thats why I got a van it is a good investment, not only cheaper to ferry but you can sleep in it to save a few $ Also handy when your kids want to shift flats on a wet Wellington Saturday :)



For what it's worth isn't the qualifying cut-off 115%? (or is it 109%?) for the Nationals? Anybody who can qualify could be a Nationals level racer....but fear of looking slow or coming towards the back of the field stops a lot of folks entering. The funny/sad thing is if just half a dozen extra people in each class said bugger it and had a go the series would be transformed.



Yeah as long as the leader don't catch the tail enders on the last lap or two, either make it shorter so they don't catch then at all or long enough to give the top 3 or 4 the chance to get clear after they catch them - not sure how you could manage that ?

Just image how embarrassing it would be if someone's title chances were spoiled by having to wait for me to wobble round Dunlop on the last lap :(



It's not the same Scrivy: billetting and socialising was all very well on our under 17 footy trips, but now that drinking is legal, and chasing skirt is too expense (half ya house if you're caught) the fun has gone out of it.

Of course I am so dedicated, like any top athlete I would not be out leering up, just a nice quiet place to meditate prior to competition :)


Nah, you're absolutely right, it should be as much fun off track as it is on.

It is I love being in the paddock with all the witty and charming people that make up the bike racing fraternity :)

[TonyB]

It seems to me reading this that the common issue is 'that fuggen ferry'. Has anyone tried to get Transrail (or whoever they are this week- I loose track) to be a major sponsor for the Nationals? Maybe its possible to cut a deal where competitors get to cross the ditch at a greatly reduced cost? It would just be a matter of MNZ confirming who the competitors are. Just a thought....I guess its been tried before?

[scrivy]

Of course I am so dedicated, like any top athlete I would not be out leering up, just a nice quiet place to meditate prior to competition :)

I reckon there should be no practice.
You should have to kick tyres to figure out their pressures.
The race order should be random - so you dont have time for tyre warmers, race preparations etc. just a 3 minute call up prior to racing!! (Full bladder or not...)

There should be compulsory socials/leer ups at days end (obviously not before racing).

Oh, and meditation should be outlawed...... :bleh:
(Ask Sidecar Bob - many years ago I used to go into what was known as a 'Veg mode' prior to racing. Nowadays I'm race ready faster than you can say 'Look at that skank over there'!)

[slowpoke]

Yeah as long as the leader don't catch the tail enders on the last lap or two, either make it shorter so they don't catch then at all or long enough to give the top 3 or 4 the chance to get clear after they catch them - not sure how you could manage that ?

Lapping is all part of racing mate, and much less of a hassle than you'd think. If they didn't expect people to be lapped they wouldn't have 15 lap races and a 115% cut-off time. If someone is gonna catch us in 15 laps they won't have too many probs getting past

Of course I am so dedicated, like any top athlete I would not be out leering up, just a nice quiet place to meditate prior to competition :)

C'mon, a la Casey Stoner you too could be throwing up into your helmet during a race.....

It is I love being in the paddock with all the witty and charming people that make up the bike racing fraternity :)

We aren't talkin' 'bout the Vic Club here are we? Nah, just kiddin', you're right there are some top folks in the paddock, and it would be great to see more of 'em in the Nationals paddock.

[codgyoleracer]

I reckon there should be no practice.
You should have to kick tyres to figure out their pressures.
The race order should be random - so you dont have time for tyre warmers, race preparations etc. just a 3 minute call up prior to racing!! (Full bladder or not...)

There should be compulsory socials/leer ups at days end (obviously not before racing).

Oh, and meditation should be outlawed...... :bleh:
(Ask Sidecar Bob - many years ago I used to go into what was known as a 'Veg mode' prior to racing. Nowadays I'm race ready faster than you can say 'Look at that skank over there'!)

You forgot the compulsory stop in each race to eat 7 dry weetbix whilst reciting a dirty joke over the tanoy, aslo that no one should be allowed to ride their own bike/sidecar, reverse grid orders become compulsory, + the organiser should be allowd to black flag any competitor randomly & for no good reason (minimum 3 per race). That should even things up & get a bit of heart warmning chit-chat in the pits going ?

[scrivy]

You forgot the compulsory stop in each race to eat 7 dry weetbix whilst reciting a dirty joke over the tanoy, aslo that no one should be allowed to ride their own bike/sidecar, reverse grid orders become compulsory, + the organiser should be allowd to black flag any competitor randomly & for no good reason (minimum 3 per race). That should even things up & get a bit of heart warmning chit-chat in the pits going ?

I knew I'd get a commonsensical reply from you Glen!! Typical!!!

Nah - you're on the money!! Imagine the hilarity at meetings!!
Er..... when you say organiser - am I allowed to ride around with a black flag and wave it to whoever......????? That should see me get further up the results..... :niceone::first:

[scrivy]

I still reckon sacrificial crashings from people would make it worthwhile for spectators!!! We could put names in a hat - whoever got pulled out would have to perform a crash......... of course, you'd have to get up and bow afterwards..........

OR......

You could also pretend to be out cold - spectators just love to see blood sports.......

Ratings for our series would go sky high!!

So, who's gunna be the first volunteer for this new initiative???
:laugh::blank:

[codgyoleracer]

I still reckon sacrificial crashings from people would make it worthwhile for spectators!!! We could put names in a hat - whoever got pulled out would have to perform a crash......... of course, you'd have to get up and bow afterwards..........

OR......

You could also pretend to be out cold - spectators just love to see blood sports.......

Ratings for our series would go sky high!!

So, who's gunna be the first volunteer for this new initiative???
:laugh::blank:


Sacrificial crashings (nice) - , bonus points for extra height (if the highside choice is chosen). Loss of any non essential body parts also gains brownie points.

Black flags would be at organisers discretion Scivy - however it is likely to be directly related to the quantity of beers, pies & porn supplied to said organiser by said competitors.

[k14]

The only SI track I've raced on (or even been too) is Ruapuna and it is my favourite circuit.
I personally think that 3 rounds on each Island with a bit of a gap would be the go.
How about a separate points tally for North & South and an "Island" championship so you could be part of the fun and have something to brag about. I would quite like to be able to go to work and say I was 22nd in the North Island championship. Nobody outside of the race scene would need to know there were only 22 entries. (Notice that I think my idea is so good the number of entries has doubled from the Nationals 10 :))

If they were on consecutive weekends then the folk from the "Other" Island could take a couple of weeks leave for the "overseas" rounds and travel each weekend for the rounds on their island.

I don't think the Ferry trip is such I big issue I've sprung $430 for a return crossing to do Greymouth (Van and two people) and will almost certainly do the SOT next year.


I do think that there needs to be some "lesser" series combined with the nationals (like an island series or maybe the "privateers cup" will do the trick) as there are only about a dozen National level racers in the country. Check out the times on My Laps at events where Nats racers attend club events - big differences in times and not all down to the bike.
Six rounds is too much. Like I have said before, have two rounds in each island and each competitor can drop their worst round. That way a south islander can race at the two rounds down here and one in north (have ruapuna and altenate levels with teretonga), a north island competitor can come down to ruapuna and do manfeild and hampton downs for the north island rounds. A south island competitor can do hampton. That way someone from the other island only has to do one ferry crossing and only be away for one weekend. Maybe 3-4 days off work (assuming they don't work weekends). Same thing for a south islander. I'm only doing south island rounds next year because it takes too much time off work to come up two times in two months. If I could make scrivy's event that would quite possibly take the place of 1 or even 2 south island rounds. Bang for buck it beaths nationals and it has prizes.

The way to get more people along is to shorten it and make it easier for people to go across.

P.S. Do people know that MNZ does get a group discount on the ferry? I'm crossing over next weekend and it cost me $316 return for van and me. I think it was about $60 less than the lowest advertised on website. Good way to save money, plus the added benefit of being able to make changes up to 24 hours before sailing for free.

[KS34]

Sacrificial crashings (nice) - , bonus points for extra height (if the highside choice is chosen). Loss of any non essential body parts also gains brownie points.

Black flags would be at organisers discretion Scivy - however it is likely to be directly related to the quantity of beers, pies & porn supplied to said organiser by said competitors.


Thats the one:niceone: I think they should introduce a pull your bike number out of the hat! Everyone turns up with their bike then the number is put into a hat, what ya pull out you run! I'd love to have a go on Stroudy's machine:first:

[KS34]

P.S. Do people know that MNZ does get a group discount on the ferry? I'm crossing over next weekend and it cost me $316 return for van and me. I think it was about $60 less than the lowest advertised on website. Good way to save money, plus the added benefit of being able to make changes up to 24 hours before sailing for free.

If you are a MNZ member you get quite a few discounts and I'm pretty sure the ferry is one of them although I looked on the MNZ site recently and couldnt find it but first time I got my licence pack it had vouchers/offers with it.

[k14]

If you are a MNZ member you get quite a few discounts and I'm pretty sure the ferry is one of them although I looked on the MNZ site recently and couldnt find it but first time I got my licence pack it had vouchers/offers with it.
Look on the main page and on the right side there is a little "click here" for deals and you can look at them there. You need to quote some number when you use the ferry booking.

[lostinflyz]

hmm $316 you say for a van.

that would make hampton downs a possibiltiy

[Kickaha]

I don't think the Ferry trip is such I big issue I've sprung $430 for a return crossing to do Greymouth (Van and two people) and will almost certainly do the SOT next year.

I reckon the ferry is one of the smaller costs associated with doing the Nationals


I cant fathom that us mad bike racing lovers can't organise to billet/accommodate fellow racers from either the same or different islands so that the costs of doing the Nats are reduced! Hell, we might even have a great time socialising while we're at it!!

I have a tent, you can sleep on my lawn next time you're down


(I was going to say be gay - but some people might get too excited and invite Kick)...... :bleh:

The only gay man I get excited about is you Scurvy


In recent years we've accomodated Septimus and Farquar, along with Pig and Goober.

And you and Sue were top hosts as well, Pig and Goober should be back up for the next one, better get that Snow White cd hidden



Thats the biggest problem - its right in peak holiday season - meaning the ferry crossings and accomodation or campervans or tent sites are at a premium!!

South Island rounds in November and NI rounds Feb/March either before or after Paeroa


It seems to me reading this that the common issue is 'that fuggen ferry'. Has anyone tried to get Transrail (or whoever they are this week- I loose track) to be a major sponsor for the Nationals?

Why would they do anyone a deal when you're pretty much fucked getting across the ditch any other way



P.S. Do people know that MNZ does get a group discount on the ferry? I'm crossing over next weekend and it cost me $316 return for van and me. I think it was about $60 less than the lowest advertised on website. Good way to save money, plus the added benefit of being able to make changes up to 24 hours before sailing for free.

Although Bluebridge are sometimes cheaper than the so called discounted fares, $60 cheaper last trip back from Puke on Bluebridge than the "discounted" MNZ fare

[slowpoke]

I reckon the ferry is one of the smaller costs associated with doing the Nationals


It is, but it's one cost that doesn't seem value for money. Spend money on tyres, fuel etc and you get to do skids, spend money on duct tape and you get to do all sorts of things to Scrivy without anyone calling the cops.......but paying $100/hr to get from A to B when they are virtually within sight of each other seems excessive.

[wharfy]

I reckon the ferry is one of the smaller costs associated with doing the Nationals



Although Bluebridge are sometimes cheaper than the so called discounted fares, $60 cheaper last trip back from Puke on Bluebridge than the "discounted" MNZ fare

I prefer the Bluebridge, usually cheapest and sailing times suit me.

[kittytamer]

How about treat the Nationals as a championship for the proffesssionals to do all rounds and then 'local' racers enter their local rounds. This would boost the numbers at each round without all the travelling involved. This makes alot of sense to me., the local guys are racing on their local track all year and then the national circus comes to town and they can show the big boys how it's done!
It would be a similar situation to having local racers enter GP's as wildcards (Ben spies on the Suzuki at Laguna Seca Moto GP last year for example)