Motorcycle racing at car meetings?

[vinducati]

Excuse my ignorance, but have motorcycles ever raced at a car meeting?
I ask because car meetings tend to get a large crowd, therefore I wonder whether it is a good way to get the sport in front of people who have not seen it before.
Also this could possibly seen as an advantage to sponsers. Especially as car meetings are often covered by major television networks.
Perhaps there are practical and or political reasons why not?
I am just curious.
Cheers

[Mystic13]

Car meetings are organised by car clubs and I think they have the meets full with cars. I have a friend that organises some though so I'll pop him an email and ask. Although I think I know the answer. Of course you'd have to comply with MNZ and the other body at the one meet. It already sounds too hard.

:-)

[scrivy]

Been done a few times in the past, and some classes have been invited back again in the near future if they want to.

Not hard to organise, only a MNZ permit and steward is required as per other meetings.

[ellipsis]

...quite a few car meetings will or have had m/c class or classes...usually bikes are a poor third cousin and wouldnt be there if a lot of the car enthusiasts had their way...cars drop a lot of fluids, have done at any car/bike meetings I have had anything to do with...one of our more entertaining meetings is competing for the Brooklands Trophy...a competition between CAMS and the Sth Canterbury Car Club at Levels in September...

[rastus]

raced at car meetings over the years and are always treated as third cousins. They charge usually around $200.00 for entry and have had times where have been called up to the dummy grid and sat there for ages cooking engines and they decide to stand you down as the t.v. crew want to have the cars out then instead. One meeting only got three laps in the whole day and put up with snobby pricks looking down their noses at you. Last meeting at Hampton Downs got rained out and no refund of course. A meeting there coming up in the next few weeks for cars and bikes. $200.00 entry fee. Also remember the Nationals at Taupo when Jason McKewon got badly hurt and dragged to the side of the track so they could get the cars out in time for the t.v. Ambulance had to wait until they were finished before being able to take Jason to hospital.

[Grumph]

Pretty much all been said...

Pros - possibly more TV and spectator exposure

Cons - Severely restricted track time, Debris and fluids on the track, Organisers attitudes, Severely restricted pit area, invariably higher entry fees....etc.

The only car meeting I ever encountered where we were treated as equals was the old Lady Wigram meetings where most of the senior organisers had been bike racers too.

[CHOPPA]

ASBK are combining about 3 races this year with the Ozzy V8s they seem to really like it. Ill let ya know my thought cause im racing the final round at PI with the V8s

[The Chow]

Excuse my ignorance, but have motorcycles ever raced at a car meeting?
I ask because car meetings tend to get a large crowd, therefore I wonder whether it is a good way to get the sport in front of people who have not seen it before.
Also this could possibly seen as an advantage to sponsers. Especially as car meetings are often covered by major television networks.
Perhaps there are practical and or political reasons why not?
I am just curious.
Cheers

Mate , yes they have and they have all been cock ups as far as I can remember. You guys should not play second fiddle to Tin Tops.(Just my opinion)

[slofox]

Back in the olden days when I were a racer, most of the Ruapuna meetings were combined...

BUT: My worst ever crash on the track was caused by a cage dropping oil in a corner...:angry:

[Grumph]

Back in the olden days when I were a racer, most of the Ruapuna meetings were combined...

True...and very few meetings in the season. And we were squeezed up at the southern end of the pits in no mans land....secondclass citizens even then though the Canty club had made a major contribution to building the track.

[The Chow]

Back in the olden days when I were a racer, most of the Ruapuna meetings were combined...

BUT: My worst ever crash on the track was caused by a cage dropping oil in a corner...:angry:

Remember them well TZ750's and 125s on the same track EXCITING!!!!

[Wingnut]

Last year the South Canterbury Car Club invited bikes (via the South Canterbury M/Cyle Club) to attend their club days. It was very low key and plenty of track time was had by all.

Really appreciated them including the bikes.:yes:

[wharfy]

The Friday practice days at Manfeild before most of the winter series races are shared with cars and there don't seem to be to many problems.

Obviously bikes at most car meets will be a "support" class and get less time, facilities etc. But the exposure from even one race at a V8 supercar round would be worth it. Sadly the street meetings would be a no go as the barriers (to protect the spectators) would be completely useless at protecting riders in the event of a prang.
But if they ever do a V8 round at Hampton Downs MNZ should PAY to get the top ten Superbike guys to one race in front of that crowd. !!!

[vinducati]

If safety issues where taken seriously, seeing a Superbike Round with our top riders, put on a show in front of a big crowd would be great for the promotion of motorcycle racing in NZ.
I remember seeing Andrew doing a demo at the Aussi V8 Supercar round at Pukekohe years ago, the crowd loved it.

cheers

[wharfy]

If safety issues where taken seriously, seeing a Superbike Round with our top riders, put on a show in front of a big crowd would be great for the promotion of motorcycle racing in NZ.
I remember seeing Andrew doing a demo at the Aussi V8 Supercar round at Pukekohe years ago, the crowd loved it.

cheers

Hmmm.....I wonder if Choppa's M1 MotorSport guys have any influence in the V8 scene there might be an opening there?

[jellywrestler]

i went to round at Pukekohe when Kevin Curtin, Damien Cudlin (17 yrs at the time) etc were riding.
truck racing too.
one of the trucks did doughnuts on the start finish line with shit flying everywhere right before teh superbikes went out.
It was raining and the shit on the track, both tyre rubber chunks and fule oil that is chucked out by cars made it a death trap.
added to this that some tracks need extra airfences etc put up for bikes and taken down for cars makes it difficult.
Great idea but one that's a can of worms really.
Sidecars fora wee while were going to car meetings. At the first meeting the crowd were up at the fences loving it, the car guys resented the popularity and pretty soon made it uncomfortable for the bike people to enjoy themselves.

[wharfy]

i went to round at Pukekohe when Kevin Curtin, Damien Cudlin (17 yrs at the time) etc were riding.
truck racing too.
one of the trucks did doughnuts on the start finish line with shit flying everywhere right before teh superbikes went out.
It was raining and the shit on the track, both tyre rubber chunks and fule oil that is chucked out by cars made it a death trap.
added to this that some tracks need extra airfences etc put up for bikes and taken down for cars makes it difficult.
Great idea but one that's a can of worms really.
Sidecars fora wee while were going to car meetings. At the first meeting the crowd were up at the fences loving it, the car guys resented the popularity and pretty soon made it uncomfortable for the bike people to enjoy themselves.

Yeah I was thinking more of a publicity thing at a couple of high profile meetings, just so the petrol heads can see how close and exciting bike racing can be. Of course there can be no guarantee that Stroudy wouldn't just fuck off into the distance as he can sometimes :)

[scrivy]

Yeah I was thinking more of a publicity thing at a couple of high profile meetings, just so the petrol heads can see how close and exciting bike racing can be. Of course there can be no guarantee that Stroudy wouldn't just fuck off into the distance as he can sometimes :)

At the invitational truck meeting in Timaru back in 2008, the organisers paid for sidecars to be there. All we did were handicap races, but put on a great show, and as you say Wharfy, the crowd saw how exciting it can be. All 10,000 of them!
We have been invited back to several other events recently too.

Scrivy

[CHOPPA]

Hmmm.....I wonder if Choppa's M1 MotorSport guys have any influence in the V8 scene there might be an opening there?

They are endurance racing but thats a good idea, car endurance and bike endurance same day I think there only 3 hr. Event promotion is something id really like to do

[scott411]

Event promotion is something id really like to do

cool to hear, its good to hear a young guy wanting to get into running races, when you get it right is it very rewarding personally, $$ wise not so much in my experience,

[codgyoleracer]

i went to round at Pukekohe when Kevin Curtin, Damien Cudlin (17 yrs at the time) etc were riding.
truck racing too.
one of the trucks did doughnuts on the start finish line with shit flying everywhere right before teh superbikes went out.
It was raining and the shit on the track, both tyre rubber chunks and fule oil that is chucked out by cars made it a death trap.
added to this that some tracks need extra airfences etc put up for bikes and taken down for cars makes it difficult.
Great idea but one that's a can of worms really.
Sidecars fora wee while were going to car meetings. At the first meeting the crowd were up at the fences loving it, the car guys resented the popularity and pretty soon made it uncomfortable for the bike people to enjoy themselves.

I did that meet, and it was great to be part of a true motorsport event that had lots to see and do for the visitors.
Upsides were: Big crowds, plenty of pizzaz/entertainment, lots on non-bike new supporters/observers, heaps of exposure for well presented teams + even race length TV coverage!
Down sides: limited track time, usual car/bike confrontations, track conditions, limited classes allowed to race.

Overall for the sport though upsides outweigh the down sides, IMO

[CHOPPA]

cool to hear, its good to hear a young guy wanting to get into running races, when you get it right is it very rewarding personally, $$ wise not so much in my experience,

I wanna start with a supermoto! Just a small thing to get my feet wet. Its on the to do list for the next 12months and M1 are behind me

[scott411]

I wanna start with a supermoto! Just a small thing to get my feet wet. Its on the to do list for the next 12months and M1 are behind me

always here to help dude, even when i will be half a world away send me an email or a facebook message,

i did run a motard race a few years ago at Meremere Dragstrip, was a pretty cool day,

sometimes the worst thing about running an awesome meeting, is not being able to ride yourself,

[slowpoke]

Second/poor cousin to the car guys? So what? I was at Manfeild a couple of days before the NZGP weekend and I could not believe the infrastructure/promotion/investment in 4 wheel racing as opposed to the pissant show that is our premier NZSBK event at the same venue. Thousands of spectators show up as opposed to a couple of hundred, "Grid Kid" child minding/amusement, decent sponsor/corporate facilities, proper catering, co-ordinated vehicle transport etc etc etc etc etc. If you get the chance just go along and check out how things can be done with decent promotion and investment.

You'd get more promotional opportunities at one big car event than a whole season of NZSBK events.

As it stands we can barely organise a farting competition at a baked bean factory and could learn and gain a thing or two from associating ourselves with the 4 wheel guys who are obviously doing something a lot more right than we are.

I did the Lady Wigram event a couple years ago and it was a an absolute hoot.

[scott411]

Second/poor cousin to the car guys? So what? I was at Manfeild a couple of days before the NZGP weekend and I could not believe the infrastructure/promotion/investment in 4 wheel racing as opposed to the pissant show that is our premier NZSBK event at the same venue. Thousands of spectators show up as opposed to a couple of hundred, "Grid Kid" child minding/amusement, decent sponsor/corporate facilities, proper catering, co-ordinated vehicle transport etc etc etc etc etc. If you get the chance just go along and check out how things can be done with decent promotion and investment.

You'd get more promotional opportunities at one big car event than a whole season of NZSBK events.

As it stands we can barely organise a farting competition at a baked bean factory and could learn and gain a thing or two from associating ourselves with the 4 wheel guys who are obviously doing something a lot more right than we are.

I did the Lady Wigram event a couple years ago and it was a an absolute hoot.


you are not wrong, the car guys do put on a better show, but they also pay a huge amount in entry and promotion fees to make it happen, then they go out and get sponsors that can enjoy the enviroment, they also invest some of the sponsorship money they get to go into the corperate packages so there sponsors feel they are getting value for money,

[SPman]

It was bikes at the NZ Grand Prix at Pukekohe, that got me into bikes - namely Jim Redman doing demo laps on a 250/4 Honda - I think it was an RC162 - sounded great after all those sodding boring single pot Manx Nortons and things!. The following year they had Hugh Anderson on a works 125 Suzuki....

[schrodingers cat]

I ask because car meetings tend to get a large crowd, therefore I wonder whether it is a good way to get the sport in front of people who have not seen it before.
Also this could possibly seen as an advantage to sponsers. Especially as car meetings are often covered by major television networks.


As a long term car guy involved at a high level, personally I love it when there are shared meetings.
The crowd gets bigger because the bike people seem more supportive viewers that car people.

Unfortunatly at the top end it is all money. The TV is there because they are paid to be. In actual fact, nobody really gives a shit about the crowds in the TV age.

We ran a TraNZam at Ruapuna years ago at a shared meeting. The diff pressurised and blew the nose seal out on the entrance to the final corner. As soon as we discovered where all the oil was coming from and ran down to alert the officials the bikes had been released and about 4 of them went down. That felt shitty.

The Ruapuna club days always have a leisurely lunch break. I've always though that some bike racing on 'A' track spread thoughout the days would give the flaggies time for a bite/leak what ever (if they rotated round the flag posts)

PS 'Sponsorship' at the top end is pretty sparse. Really its all private hobby money no matter how shiny it looks

[slowpoke]

It just so farkin' frustrating when I see such hard working crews as the Manawatu-Orion Club doing such an amazing job at the last round of our Nats with virtually nothing. It really is a "love job" 'cos they get absolutely nothing tangible out of it. And you know sooner or later someone is gonna understandably crumble under the load or the weather is gonna step in and they'll be left in a worse position than when they started.

The sad thing is that by and large the cars aren't that exciting to watch and most of 'em sound shit. Stand at the pit wall or exit to Dunlop at Manfeild when Mitch Evans goes past in a Toyota open wheeler and it's quite underwhelming in comparison to to any of the top guys on a Superbike or 600.

It's the ol' 3 P's rule though eh? Promotion Promotion Promotion. Something our sport just has not mastered. TV is a nice dream but even just simple local things could get a few more folks through the gate and actually make a few shekels to reinvest and grow awareness of the sport and associated events.

Ok, ok, Reverend Rantalot has left the building.....

[Kickaha]

We ran a TraNZam at Ruapuna years ago at a shared meeting. The diff pressurised and blew the nose seal out on the entrance to the final corner. As soon as we discovered where all the oil was coming from and ran down to alert the officials the bikes had been released and about 4 of them went down. That felt shitty.


The "Drink Drive 500" ?

TraNZam was about 1/100 of a second faster than the quickest bike on day 1

[BMWST?]

Second/poor cousin to the car guys? So what? I was at Manfeild a couple of days before the NZGP weekend and I could not believe the infrastructure/promotion/investment in 4 wheel racing as opposed to the pissant show that is our premier NZSBK event at the same venue. Thousands of spectators show up as opposed to a couple of hundred, "Grid Kid" child minding/amusement, decent sponsor/corporate facilities, proper catering, co-ordinated vehicle transport etc etc etc etc etc. If you get the chance just go along and check out how things can be done with decent promotion and investment.

You'd get more promotional opportunities at one big car event than a whole season of NZSBK events.

As it stands we can barely organise a farting competition at a baked bean factory and could learn and gain a thing or two from associating ourselves with the 4 wheel guys who are obviously doing something a lot more right than we are.

I did the Lady Wigram event a couple years ago and it was a an absolute hoot.

its a plain numbers game,probably directly proportional to the relationship between bikes and cars on the road.....You will find the average petrol head will enjoy the bike racing.But probably not enough to shell out his money for a bike only meet.

[budda]

They are endurance racing but thats a good idea, car endurance and bike endurance same day I think there only 3 hr. Event promotion is something id really like to do

Oh Jeeeesus - Talk to me late next week Chop, you've got my number.........