Pukekohe race track

[Shaun]

Don't ask me how I know or who I have spoken to but, I can gaurantee that our mate Paul has done all of us a massive favour!

It is sad and injust for it to be at Paul's exspence, but some times it takes a Horse to bolt before the gate is shut, as the death of my father prooved to me many moons ago.

The AMCC are acting very seriously about the safety of the race track and so is our own road race commisioner and MNZ.

So to all of Paul's freinds and supporters out there, rest assured, things are being done to help prevent this kind of a catastrophie from happening again.

[R6_kid]

i guess that's good to hear, still say bring on Hampton Downs though.

[bugjuice]

This is what's pissed me right off about Paul's accident. Paul's isn't the first on that hill/corner. It's always been one of the many black spots of that track, and for one with only 6 corners, that can't be a good thing at all. There's been a couple of deaths and serious crashes on that hill, and that's just since I've been here and known about the track. Bikes, cars, open wheelers, trucks... WHY WASN'T ANYTHING DONE YEARS AGO?!

It's a good technical corner, for sure. It's one of those that gives you a buzz when you start getting it right, but to have a fukin stupid amco barrier just a couple of meters from the track?! that's just retarded whoever thought of that..

CHANGE IT NOW!!!!!!!! FFS

[FROSTY]

Im 100% in agreement that pukie is dangerous
This complaint has been going on for a lot of years.
The self same corner ended my racing about 14 years ago
Heres the problem though as I see it
THE TRACK OWNERS DONT CARE
It really is that simple

Maybee Im talking out of turn but the only real world solution I can see is to slow the bikes down on that series of corners.
No it wont solve the problem but it will at least reduce it
A chicane of some sort to pull the speed down to a reasonable level

[Masterchop]

Its good to hear that they are going to fix that corner, it is dangerous.

I had a bit of an off on it in the national champs a few years ago,and hit the wall.
Broke my ankle into lots of bits and and broke 4 ribs,spent a week in Middlemore hospital and ended up with plates and screws holding my foot on.

But there will allways be bad corners that need fixing and we will still race on those tracks,because we love riding fast and we know it is a dangerous sport before we go out there each time.

[Rossi Gal]

Good to hear Shaun & Speedie, thanks for the news.

[Leong]

A chicane of some sort to pull the speed down to a reasonable level

There used to be a chicane there in the late 70's. I remember it was a good spot for photos from a public area.

[k14]

This is great. I too am very worried about the track and it sucks to no end that Motobob's accident had to occur before anything serious was done about it.

Very interested to see what happens about it. Would not be at all sorry to see bike racing suspended indefinately there.

[Cleve]

Thanks for the news Shaun. I am willing to do anything I can to help.

[Kickaha]

It is sad and injust for it to be at Paul's exspence, but some times it takes a Horse to bolt before the gate is shut

It's been at a lot more peoples expense than Paul, he's the latest in a long list of people that have been seriously injured (or worse) on that corner

good to see they're finally doing something, but it is way to late for a lot of people

[Lou Girardin]

Pukekohe should be closed. Too many people have been injured or killed right in that spot. I don't believe that racing should be completely risk-free, but that place is a joke. The Counties Racing club needs a sharp lesson.
Besides, those bloody drifters are ruining that track for bikes.

[Torque]

Good news, really hope this time something will be done to improve safety. :yes:

[Quasievil]

Close the track down, its about to be redundant anyway, hampton downs is a go so who would choose puke corners over that, or even Taupo.
Its a disgrace nothing has been done, especially since so many have gone down on that corner and suffered serious injuries as a result.

[Dai]

When I first started biking in the early 70's , I was a frequent visitor to this race track. I stopped going there after one particular accident.

An American bike rider by the name of Cal Rayborn came to this country on a holiday. At the time he held the world motorcycle speed record. He also was one of the top US riders in their events. If I remember rightly he was a contracted rider to Yamaha.

Cal was persuaded to ride at Pukekohe by the NZ bike fraternity.

He crashed, I dont know why, on the straight in front of the stands and died there and then.

To this day I still have the memory with me and every now and then it sort of pops into my mind.

Before this I had been on the track for a few race days, afterwards I never went back.

Pukekohe has always as far as I remember been a dangerous track. One friend of mine, Alan Old, came off on the corner before the same straight and finished up wearing away the cheeks of his arse. A very painful accident but not fatal.

Hampton Downs, a purpose built track up to modern safety standards seems to be exactly what we need. I for one would not be upset if Puke was closed and the land developed.

My 2 cents worth.

[Drunken Monkey]

Calls for closing the track sounds like the pinnacle of narrow mindedness to me. Sure, if it's too dangerous for bikes, stop racing bikes on it. Sliding a few meters into the armco inside a roll cage and wearing a hans device is not quite in the same league as rag-dolling it in leathers. I doubt dropping bikes from the circuit will be a make or break issue, if they can turn a profit and still keep, let's be honest here, the vast majority of track users (i.e. cagers) without the likes of some of you fellas, all the better.

[Cleve]

Last year (or was it this year?) a young car racer died at Puke after hitting the armco and bouncing back into oncoming cars. It is just as bad for them as well.

[Cleve]

and part of an email I sent to AMCC.

<< Having raced at Pukekohe a few times over many years and been aware of the dangers I have now made the decision that I will now no longer race there. It is just too dangerous and not worth the risks. In the past I was young and perhaps immaturely unconcerned with the dangers, more recently just keen to be back doing something I love. Now I am not. Myself and a number of other riders would like the AMCC to never hold another race meeting there until the major track safety issues are resolved. Motor racing is a dangerous sport and we all acknowledge that. However Pukekohe is unnecessarily and irresponsibly dangerous, especially for motorbikes.

Many of us are pleased to hear that Hampton Downs has finally received resource consent and hope that in a couple of years it will be the home track for the AMCC. In the meantime, until either the Pukekohe issues are resolved or Hampton Downs is completed we hope the AMCC will hold its future rounds at the Taupo circuit.

Yours
Cleve Brown >>

[speedpro]

An American bike rider by the name of Cal Rayborn came to this country on a holiday. At the time he held the world motorcycle speed record. He also was one of the top US riders in their events. If I remember rightly he was a contracted rider to Yamaha.

Cal was persuaded to ride at Pukekohe by the NZ bike fraternity.

He crashed, I dont know why, on the straight in front of the stands and died there and then.

He was riding a 2-stroke, it was running methanol fuel. Whoever did the porting broke out the side of a transfer port. It was repaired using Devcon(or similar) but it broke off allowing in air causing the motor to lean out. This is REAL bad on Methanol. It seized and spat him off. He was killed. To this day methanol is still banned from being used in 2-strokes because of this accident. This accident had nothing to do with Pukekohe safety standards. The resulting decision regarding methanol and 2-strokes is probably one of the worst knee-jerk reactions ever by what is now known as MNZ. 2-strokes are made for methanol, sort of like turbo 4-strokes.

[Drunken Monkey]

Last year (or was it this year?) a young car racer died at Puke after hitting the armco and bouncing back into oncoming cars. It is just as bad for them as well.


Sure, because that's never happened anywhere else...

[SuperDave]

It's pretty pathetic that they are only opening their eyes with regards to this now. Whilst I only know of two incidents personally, from reading what people say I gather that that corner is very notorious and has claimed many lives and caused much injury.

At least it's finally going ahead though, I can't fault that. Better late than never.

[scott411]

if its so dangerous don't race thier, its your personal decision, its the same with the Isle of Man, its dangerous but you make the decision on your own.

[Cleve]

if its so dangerous don't race thier, its your personal decision, its the same with the Isle of Man, its dangerous but you make the decision on your own.

Which I have done. However IOM is a one off. Puke is part of the AMCC rounds and the Nationals. You are compelled to do them if you are serious about points. THAT is the difference and the reason why it is more than just choosing not to race there. Many can't make that choice.

[k14]

Which I have done. However IOM is a one off. Puke is part of the AMCC rounds and the Nationals. You are compelled to do them if you are serious about points. THAT is the difference and the reason why it is more than just choosing not to race there. Many can't make that choice.
That is the exact apprenhension I have about racing there. I think I will be racing there in March and I'll just have to suck it in and block the armco out of my mind.

Has anyone heard any news on whats happening? Or is it just going to remain at status quo?

[GIXser]

unfortunately , people only take action when disasters have already ocurred,
it will probably be a few more incidents before "they finally close the track.. after all "they" are not directly affected.
i for one will not step foot on puke track anymore, too many people have suffered unnecessarily too many times.
nuff said"

[justsomeguy]

if its so dangerous don't race thier, its your personal decision, its the same with the Isle of Man, its dangerous but you make the decision on your own.

Well said Scott.

------

Why do they need to close the track? Why don't you stop riding on it??

Take responsibility for your own actions.

[k14]

Well said Scott.

------

Why do they need to close the track? Why don't you stop riding on it??

Take responsibility for your own actions.
Mate, read the thread. Exactly what Cleve said. For some people you don't have total control over whether or not you race there.

[Cleve]

Dumb comments like "well you don't have to race there..." just annoy me. It is wimps comment. It is not like we are spoilt for choice with dozens of great race tracks to race at. I want to race at a track like Puke but without having to hit a wall at 180k's plus because there is no run off. Again, I WANT to race at Puke, it is a fast and thrilling track. But it is IRRESPONSIBLY and UNNECESSARILY dangerous.

[justsomeguy]

Dumb comments like "well you don't have to race there..." just annoy me. It is wimps comment. It is not like we are spoilt for choice with dozens of great race tracks to race at. I want to race at a track like Puke but without having to hit a wall at 180k's plus because there is no run off. Again, I WANT to race at Puke, it is a fast and thrilling track. But it is IRRESPONSIBLY and UNNECESSARILY dangerous.

I find in life often you need to pick your battles, some things are worth the effort, others just a waste of life.

Hampton Down's is supposed to be a figment of reality and Taupo is just two and a half hours away.

Personally I just hold it steady over that rise and keep it at a steady 180.

Maybe one day when I reach your level of skill and life experience I'll understand how you feel.

Have a good night,
JSG

[Yellow Streak]

Don't ask me how I know or who I have spoken to but, I can gaurantee that our mate Paul has done all of us a massive favour!

It is sad and injust for it to be at Paul's exspence, but some times it takes a Horse to bolt before the gate is shut, as the death of my father prooved to me many moons ago.

The AMCC are acting very seriously about the safety of the race track and so is our own road race commisioner and MNZ.

So to all of Paul's freinds and supporters out there, rest assured, things are being done to help prevent this kind of a catastrophie from happening again.
What happened??

[Keystone19]

See here: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=39612

[suzuki21]

What happened was terrible, I dont like anyone from our sport getting injured/killed but....................
1. How many off you that dont want to race at Pukekohe have - or will be racing at Paeroa? This track is a disaster waiting to happen.
2. Every track will be dangerous no matter how it has been designed.
3. Is it a problem of people riding outside their ability? Too much hp Too soon?
4. Manfield had a death recently, shall they get rid off the front straight because thats where he crashed?
5. Chris Daws died on the Manfield front straight in the early 90's, all straights should be banned?????????
6. A friend of mine still has back injuries from sitting on the start line, lets ban starts.
7. I found Taupo way more dangerous than puke.
8. I love pukekoe, I find it exciting, and if all corners were banked, flat, with runoff etc, its just going to make the corner way faster - vicious circle.
9. The only thing I dont like about it is the amount of Aucklanders there.

[cowpoos]

I agree that taupo has the ponteinual to be a very dangerous track for bikes..

time will tell if we are right...but I hope we arn't

[Shipwreck]

I have to agree that all tracks have some element of danger in them. Some more than others, especially Puke for me. I'm another on the long list who has binned it coming up over the hill. I was more fortunate than most being able to walk away with only a few scraps and bruises.

Last time out I wasn’t so lucky. I messed up bad and went down hard at the end of the main strait (new track).It was later in Taupo hospital nursing my broken bones when it occurred to me that it could it could have been worse. I was lucky enough to stop on the grass but my bike slid over the grass an back on to the track. My worry is if you’re coming off the strait and into the chicane a little hot and go wide onto the grass and back on to the track. I can see a potential for getting T- Boned by someone coming back on or a bike sliding back on track and taking someone out.

I guess in the end all we can do is to try our best make our tracks as safe as we can, be wary of the existing danger areas on the track, and apply some kind of risk management when racing.

[Cleve]

What happened was terrible, I dont like anyone from our sport getting injured/killed but....................
1. How many off you that dont want to race at Pukekohe have - or will be racing at Paeroa? This track is a disaster waiting to happen.
2. Every track will be dangerous no matter how it has been designed.
3. Is it a problem of people riding outside their ability? Too much hp Too soon?
4. Manfield had a death recently, shall they get rid off the front straight because thats where he crashed?
5. Chris Daws died on the Manfield front straight in the early 90's, all straights should be banned?????????
6. A friend of mine still has back injuries from sitting on the start line, lets ban starts.
7. I found Taupo way more dangerous than puke.
8. I love pukekoe, I find it exciting, and if all corners were banked, flat, with runoff etc, its just going to make the corner way faster - vicious circle.
9. The only thing I dont like about it is the amount of Aucklanders there.

OK, some of your points are good but sometimes you are just being silly.
No one is saying that starts and back straights should be banned. What I and many other racers are saying is that Puke (and by the way please spare me the anti Auckland wank- it is so boring) is unnecessarily dangerous. When Kato hit the wall and died at Suzuka the MotoGP boys stopped racing there...When Ayrton Senna hit a wall and died they moved the wall and changed the track safety. That is basically all that is required at that spot. There is a bank that you can move for not too much cost and hassle and that would make a big difference. People wouldn't go faster around that corner (well maybe not much anyway). Most are pretty much at their limit in speed and lean angle. The WHOLE point is not that motor bike racing is dangerous and we should just get on with it but that certain parts of Puke (and last time I looked the thread was Pukekohe and not Taupo or Manfield - but we can talk track safety improvements there as well if you want) and in particular one corner, has a tragic history of numerous bad crashes as a result of high speed PLUS no runoff.

[k14]

Yep cleve, thats exactly right. I can't see how people can say some of these things. Heck, half of them don't even race.

I can sympathise if they are worried about loosing their only local track to have a bit of a fang at a trackday once every couple of months but for us racers its a totally different scenario to take into account.

Some of us have put tens of thousands of dollars into racing for the ultimate goal of becoming national champion (and maybe going further). So when there is a nationals meet at puke we are more than compelled to race at the event cause even though we are not comfortable with it, not all of the people we are racing against do and so we are left with no option but to race.

It has already been proven countless times that the level of safety is far from ideal and in this age where safety is put above all things I can't belive nothing is being done to remedy it.

[k14]

What happened was terrible, I dont like anyone from our sport getting injured/killed but....................
1. How many off you that dont want to race at Pukekohe have - or will be racing at Paeroa? This track is a disaster waiting to happen.
In regards to that question, the big difference is that Paeroa is totally down to the person. There is no national championship that hinges on racing at Paeroa, it is totally down to the rider whether he/she races there. Whereas if you read my previous post you will see the explanation why you are compelled to race at puke.

[Cleve]

This report below is of interest. It is regards to Indianoplis in the USA having a round of the MotoGP.

<< The problem with the IMS Formula One layout is the right-hand final corner onto the front straight. With the track running clockwise, the F-1 cars face a wall on their left as they speed toward the finish line. Since this is unacceptable for motorcycles, FIM safety boss Claude Danis was tasked to find a solution...>>

Hmm sounds like Puke...

[k14]

Hmm sounds like Puke...
Cept there is one small difference. There the officials are being proactive whereas here they are just turning a blind eye.